I’ve come to a realization that my running shoe preferences have shifted to a point where I simply cannot put miles on certain shoes any more. That’s not to say they are bad shoes, just that they don’t meet my personal needs. The two shoes that I’m going to comment on here both fit in […]
On Human Variability, Running Shoes, and Running Form: The Importance of an Individualized Approach
October 15, 2011 By 23 Comments
I open this post with an illustration of the Galapagos Finches and their variable beak anatomy (illustration by John Gould) – my reason is to emphasize a point. As an evolutionary biologist, I’ve spent much of my life studying anatomical variation, and I think it’s sometimes easy to forget that we humans are animals just […]
It’s OK to overstride…
October 12, 2011 By 7 Comments
…only if you are being menaced by a fire-breathing dragon.
Moses Mosop Bounces on his Forefeet and Floats Through the Air to Win the Chicago Marathon!
October 11, 2011 By 17 Comments
I’ve received a few comments regarding Chicago Marathon winner Moses Mosop’s unique running style – the race was held on Sunday, and Mosop won with a course-record time of 2:05:37. Last night I received an email from Amby Burfoot, who had forwarded a photo of Mosop taken near the finish line at Chicago. The photo […]
Saucony “Drops” 3 Flagship Shoes: Guide 5, Triumph 9, and Hurricane 14 Moving from 12mm to 8mm Heel-Forefoot Drop
October 6, 2011 By 32 Comments
As anyone who has been reading this blog for awhile knows, I’ve long been a fan of Saucony shoes. The Kinvara has been my go-to long run shoe for the past year, and was on my feet for each of my last two marathons. The zero drop Hattori is also a nice little shoe, and […]
Vibram Fivefingers, Barefoot Running, Shoes, Heel Strikes, Loading Rates, and Injury Risk: My Giant Brain Dump
September 29, 2011 By 56 Comments
The American Council on Exercise (ACE) has been taking the shoe industry to task recently. Several months ago they put toning shoes to the test, finding that claims of increased muscle usage and calorie burn are not substantiated when tested in the laboratory. Here’s an excerpt from the ACE toning shoe study: “Across the board, […]
Slow Motion Video: Barefoot and Shod Running Form from the NYC Barefoot Run
September 27, 2011 By 23 Comments
Yesterday I posted a few still shots captured from a video I took at the NYC Barefoot Run. Today I add a a few video clips showing a sample of runners from the event – mixture of barefoot and several Vibram Fivefingers runners (as well as a few other things). Once again, it’s hard to […]
Foot Strike Photos from the NYC Barefoot Run
September 26, 2011 By 41 Comments
As part of my whirlwind trip to New York City, on Sunday morning I attended the NYC Barefoot Run. Rather than starting the race with the other runners, I opted to set up shop about a quarter mile from the starting line with my trusty high-speed video camera in tow. Managed to film all of […]
Off to New York City – Merrell Roundtable and NYC Barefoot Run
September 23, 2011 By 9 Comments
I’m sitting in the airport in NH waiting to board my delayed flight to Newark, with hopes of making it into Manhattan at some point tonight. Figured this was a good time to play around with the Blogpress app for iPad for the first time! I was invited to New York by Merrell, and will […]
Zero Drop New Balance Minimus: Preview Videos of the MT00, WT00, MR00, and WR00 from Running Warehouse
September 22, 2011 By 19 Comments
Haven’t had enough time lately to put together a regular blog post, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to put up a quick one with some preview videos of the new line of zero drop New Balance Minimus shoes from Running Warehouse. Below are preview videos of the MT00, WT00, MR00, and WR00. Enjoy! […]
Skechers Go Run Review: First Impressions
September 18, 2011 By 101 Comments
(UPDATE Dec. 2012: With a new update to the GoRun now out, the original Skechers GoRun can be purchased for as little as $36 at Amazon.com. The GoRun 2 will be reviewed soon here on Runblogger) This post is going to come as a bit of a shock to a lot of people who read […]
More On Running Cadence: Comparative Data from Amby Burfoot and Alex Hutchinson
September 16, 2011 By 27 Comments
In my previous post I provided some data on how my own stride rate and stride length vary with running speed. In that post I referenced another article on running cadence by Alex Hutchinson – I sent Alex my data, and he went ahead and added it to a graph that he had compiled showing […]
Running Speed: Human Variability and The Importance of Both Cadence and Stride Length
September 12, 2011 By 76 Comments
Over the past week a few posts have popped up on blogs that I frequent regarding the topic of running cadence/stride rate. First, Alex Hutchinson at Sweat Science put up a post titled “The problem with 180 strides per minute: some personal data.” In his post Alex shares some personal data on cadence, and emphasizes […]
Heel Lifts and Postural Adaptation: Fun Video by Patton Gleason
September 10, 2011 By 53 Comments
Below is a cool video put together by Patton Gleason, mastermind behind the Natural Running Store and fellow Shepherdstown Running Injury course alum. In the video, Patton uses a stack of wooden blocks to show why a heel lift necessitates postural changes. Great visual, and very clever!
What are Minimalist Running Shoes?
September 8, 2011 By 30 Comments
The flurry of new “minimalist” running shoes being released onto the market can be hard to keep up with these days. An article in Advertising Age recently reported that “according to SportsOneSource, lightweight products — loosely defined as shoes that weigh 9 oz. or less in a men’s size 9 — accounted for 28% of […]
