In the comments following my recent post about foot strike patterns of runners from the days before the modern running shoe, somebody asked if I had any video of Abebe Bikila’s stride. After a bit of searching on YouTube, I came across the following clip – jump to the 1:15 mark and you get a […]
Foot Strike, Running Shoes, Barefooting, Injuries, and Biomechanics: The Importance of Both Science and Anecdote
June 29, 2011 By 18 Comments
Just before I left on a camping trip last week I received an email from Amby Burfoot pointing me to an abstract of a paper to be presented at the 2011 meeting of the International Society of Biomechanics. The study, titled “Foot Strike Does Not Predict Loading Rates During Shod or Barefoot Running,” was conducted […]
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 […]
Muscle Tuning and Leg Stiffness: Why Shoes and Running Surfaces Do Matter?
June 15, 2011 By 36 Comments
Over the past few months I’ve come to a few conclusions about my preferences in running footwear. In general, I prefer shoes to have either a fairly soft midsole (e.g., Saucony Kinvara, Mirage, and Peregrine; Nike Free), or virtually no midsole at all (Vibram Fivefingers, Merrell Barefoot, Vivobarefoot, etc.). Shoes that have a substantial but […]
Going Minimalist and Changing Form Help Ultrarunner Nathan Sanel Fix his Shins: Another Anecdote
June 9, 2011 By 30 Comments
I met Nate Sanel on a cold night in October, 2009. Nate had joined his friend Sherpa John Lacroix in his second attempt to run 125 miles across the state of New Hampshire for charity, and I and another local running friend had decided to join them for about 10 miles at about the halfway […]
What is Good Running Form?
May 11, 2011 By 26 Comments
Earlier today I was doing a phone interview with a reporter from the Chronicle of Higher Education and she asked me a question that I have been asked a lot lately: “How would you describe good running form?” This is a question that a lot of people have opinions about (sometimes very strong opinions), but […]
Runner’s World on Running Form
May 6, 2011 By 15 Comments
In case you aren’t a subscriber, I wanted to mention that the June edition of Runner’s World (currently on newsstands) includes an article by Peter Vigneron titled “Does Form Matter.” I wanted to thank Peter for including me and my buddy Harry Hollines (the barefoot runner) in the article, and I have to say it […]
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 […]
The Pros and Cons of Video Analysis: Getting the Runner’s Body Back in Balance by Dr. Phil Maffetone
April 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Last week I published a post where I invited you to play the role of Physical Therapist and evaluate my friend Lauren’s running gait. The response to that post was quite amazing, and we plan to do some follow-up filming outdoors with a local specialist later this week – stay tuned! One of the points […]
Slow Motion Gait Analysis – You Be the PT
April 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment
My friend Lauren is a chronically injured runner. In her case, ITBS on her left leg has been the issue that has plagued her on and off for nearly 10 years. Though she might not admit it herself, Lauren is also a phenomenal runner – easily one of the top female runners currently in the […]
Kid’s Running Form: Under-6 200m Race Footage from the 2011 Stanford Invitational
March 29, 2011 By 2 Comments
Steve Magness just tweeted a link to an awesome video of the kid’s under-6 200m race on the track at the 2011 Stanford Invitational. Steve’s quote introducing the video really hits the nail on the head: “After watching this under 6 200m…kids know how to run/sprint… if only we didn’t screw them up!” Watch them […]
Shoes, Form, and Minimalist Running: My Interview with Jeff Kline of PRS Fit
March 7, 2011 By 5 Comments
Just a quick note here to point you to a podcast interview I did a few weeks ago with Jeff Kline of PRS Fit. We covered a lot of ground in just over 30 minutes, but as you might expect we mostly focused on minimalist running shoes and running form. If you’d like to listen, […]
New Science on Running Barefoot vs. in Low Drop Shoes: Effects on Ground Impact
March 2, 2011 By 18 Comments
Today on the Peak Performance blog Amby Burfoot discusses a new study by a research team at the University of Massachusetts headed up by running biomechanist Dr. Joseph Hamill (see abstract here). The study is an interesting contribution to our knowledge of how running shoes affect the way we impact the ground while we run, […]
Runner’s Roundtable Podcast on Running Form, Injuries, and Performance
February 24, 2011 By 7 Comments
I participated last night in a great Runner’s Roundtable Podcast on running form and how it relates to both injury and performance. The show was a sequel to a well-received previous RRT episode on Running Form that we had done last Fall. Other participants last night for Running Form Part II included Steve Magness, currently […]
