Just a quick post to announce that my first academic paper on running-related research has been published in the Journal of Sports Sciences – the title is “Foot strike patterns of recreational and sub-elite runners in a long-distance road race.” The research in this paper is based on film that seven of my former undergraduate […]
Journal Article: Foot strike patterns of recreational and sub-elite runners in a long-distance road race
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Skechers GOrun Review: A Second (Positive) Opinion
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If you’ve read my recent review of the Skechers GOrun, you’ll note that I was somewhat surprised by how much I liked running in the shoe despite the somewhat awkward feel that you get when simply standing in them. I’d still prefer that the shoe not have as pronounced a “bump” under the midfoot, but […]
Meb Keflezighi’s Running Form in Slow Motion: Boston 2010, NYC 2010, and NYC 2011
Last Sunday, Meb Keflezighi ran the 2011 NYC Marathon and finished in sixth place with a personal best time of 2:09:13. Much has been made lately of Meb’s decision to sign a sponsorship deal with Skechers, and NYC was his first marathon with Skechers shoes on his feet. In the video below, Meb indicates that […]
The Role of Anecdote vs. Scientific Evidence the Running Form and Footwear Debate
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In my previous post I shared my thoughts on the current debate about running form and footwear – that post was triggered by reading the comments related to Christopher McDougall’s recent article in the New York Times Magazine. A number of commenters criticized McDougall for basing his article off of a few individual anecdotes (his […]
My Thoughts on “Perfect” Running Form and Footwear
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I’ve been reading with some amount of amusement the comments associated with Christopher McDougall’s latest article in the NY Times Magazine. On the one hand there are folks decrying the use of anecdote and asking to see the data showing that barefoot is better, as well as those horrified at the thought of running barefoot […]
Injured: A Pain in the Back and a Depressed Runner
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Sometimes the running gods are cruel. I’ve been incredibly swamped lately between increased work commitments associated with becoming chairman of my department, an impending book deadline (Jan. 15 is approaching fast!), and always sacred family time. As a result, my running mileage and my attention to this blog and its associated email load have taken […]
Running Sock Reviews: injinji, Swiftwick, and Wrightsock
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In a perfect world I wouldn’t wear socks when I run. When at all possible, I do prefer to go sockless, but shoes that allow me to do this without developing blisters are few and far between. What’s more, winter is around the corner, and socks become something of a necessity to help break the […]
Brooks Pure Connect: Too Narrow for My Feet
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**Update: I have now posted a guest review of the new Brooks PureConnect 2. The upper of the update apparently allows a bit more give than the shoe described in this post. After much fanfare and anticipation, Brooks finally released its Pure Project line of running shoes last month. Brooks has been careful to avoid […]
Saucony to Abandon the 12mm Lift Model: Big Move From one of the Big Players in the Running Shoe World
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Last Wednesday I was invited along with several other bloggers to participate in a conference call with representatives from Saucony. The group we spoke with included: Pat O’Malley, Head of Footwear Spencer White, Head of our Biomechanics Lab Chris Mahoney, Senior Designer Sean Robbins, Digital Marketing Manager I’d spoken to Sean before, and have interacted […]
The Once and Future Way to Run: NY Times Magazine Article by Christopher McDougall
Quick post to alert you to a feature article in the New York Times Magazine by Born to Run author Christopher McDougall. The article is titled “The Once and Future Way to Run,” and in the article Chris addresses a number of issues relating to running form and running shoes, and provides some interesting perspective […]