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 […]
More On Running Cadence: Comparative Data from Amby Burfoot and Alex Hutchinson
September 16, 2011 By 27 Comments
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 […]
Why a majority of runners, even among international elites, are heel strikers by Blaise Dubois
August 19, 2011 By 56 Comments
Below is the text of a newsletter that my friend Blaise Dubois, a physiotherapist from Quebec City, just sent out regarding the topic of heel striking. If you don’t subscribe to Blaise’s newsletter, I recommend that you do – he sends out a lot of interesting information, and posts like this one are great for […]
Barefoot Running Form in My Kids: Photos of Foot Strikes
July 26, 2011 By 6 Comments
Sometimes a picture speaks volumes. Below on the left is a photo I grabbed from a video that I shot of my 7 year-old son running down the road barefoot in front of my house last weekend (he spends most of the summer either barefoot or in Crocs). On the right is a picture of […]
Irene Davis Lecture on Running Shoes, Form, and Injuries: A Must Watch for Anyone Interested in the Minimalist/Barefoot Running Debate
July 24, 2011 By 30 Comments
Last night I came across a post on one of the Birthday Shoes forums that contained YouTube links to a lecture that Dr. Irene Davis gave earlier this year. Dr. Davis is one of the top researchers in the field of running biomechanics and an expert on the treatment of running injuries. She recently left […]
Acclimation to Running in Minimalist or Barefoot-Style Shoes: Is Form Change Instantaneous, or Does it Adapt Over Time?
July 21, 2011 By 8 Comments
One of my biggest complaints about many of the scientific studies of barefoot and/or minimalist running is that they far too often fail to account for the possibility that form change is a prolonged process. They might take a habitually shod runner, ask them to remove their shoes, and have them run without any prolonged […]
Metatarsal Stress Fractures in Minimalist Runners: What Are the Causes?
July 19, 2011 By 53 Comments
Image via Wikipedia One of the big topics of discussion swirling around minimalist running shoes right now is whether they increase the likelihood that a runner might experience a stress fracture. Clearly, fractures of the 2nd metatarsal are occurring in individuals who give minimalist running a try (for example, check out this great post by […]
Proprioreception: Additional Thoughts on Balance, Stability, and Running from Jay Dicharry
July 15, 2011 By 1 Comment
Image via Wikipedia Quick post here. Based on the number of questions that Jay Dicharry and I received regarding his 3 criteria for a safe transition to barefoot/minimalist running, Jay decided to write a follow up post explaining in greater detail the elements of balance, and why they are important for runners. He also provides […]
Criteria For a Safe Transition to Minimalist Shoes or Barefoot Running: Thoughts From Jay Dicharry, PT
July 13, 2011 By 41 Comments
A few weeks back I was talking on the phone with Jay Dicharry, a physical therapist and director of the Speed Lab at the University of Virginia. Jay is one of the most knowledgeable guys I know when it comes to questions about running gait and running injuries, probably because he combines a strong research […]
Running Form in Recreational 5K Runners: Slow Motion Video
July 7, 2011 By 31 Comments
In my previous post I shared some slow motion video of runners from the 2010 Boston Marathon, highlighting a bit of the variation that can be seen among fairly high level marathon runners. In this post I wanted to share similar video from a recreational level 5K race. These videos were all shot at roughly […]
Running Form at the 2010 Boston Marathon: Slow Motion Video of Barefoot, Minimalist, and Traditionally Shod Runners at sub-3:00 Pace
July 5, 2011 By 25 Comments
Earlier today I was going through some video I have from the 2010 Boston Marathon with a goal of finding a clip of a barefoot runner (I knew I had one, but hadn’t put in the effort to sift through long stretches of video to find him). After a bit of searching, I found the […]
Foot Strike in Running: How Did Runners in the 1950’s Contact the Ground?
June 28, 2011 By 18 Comments
Image via Wikipedia One of the difficulties that we face in trying to determine how to describe “proper” running form (if such a thing even exists) is that data on what runners did prior to the advent of modern, cushioned running shoes are hard to come by. Whereas videos of runners prior to 1970 or […]
Gait Variability Among Elite Runners at the 2011 Boston Marathon
May 3, 2011 By 50 Comments
Shortly after the 2011 Boston Marathon, Steve Magness posted a link on Twitter to a series of videos of the top runners from this year’s race. The videos were all shot at 300fps with the same camera that I have used to shoot my own race videos, and they were posted on YouTube by elvin314. […]
Slow Motion Gait Analysis – You Be The PT Part II
April 15, 2011 By 150 Comments
Ten days ago I posted a series of videos of my friend Lauren running on a treadmill in slow motion. As I indicated in that post, Lauren is a very strong runner, but has been dealing with intermittent, debilitating bouts of ITBS in her left leg for many years. In the comments to that post […]
