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
October 26, 2011 By 16 Comments
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
October 23, 2011 By 61 Comments
**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
October 22, 2011 By 33 Comments
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 […]
My 18 Month Old Son’s Barefoot Running Form in Slow Motion!
October 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment
This past weekend I was out in the yard playing with my kids, and I was encouraging my older son to try to get my 18 month old son to run with him. My younger boy has just started to run within the past few months, and on occasion he gets to the point where […]
Shoe Reviews: Somnio Runaissance 2 and Scott T2 Comp
October 18, 2011 By 6 Comments
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 […]
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 […]