Ever since running with my friends Mark Cucuzzella and Blaise Dubois out in Colorado a few weeks ago, I have been giving another go at a bit of barefoot running. Mark is now running a solid percentage of his weekly his miles fully barefoot (see video below), whereas Blaise supplements his regular training with small […]
Metatarsal Stress Fractures in Runners Part II: Thoughts From a Radiologist
July 28, 2011 By 24 Comments
A little over a week ago I published a post that addressed some potential causes of metatarsal stress fractures in new barefoot and minimalist runners. That post, by Dr. Casey Kerrigan, got quite a response, so I wanted to follow up with an additional post by a running radiologist by the name of Dr. Andrew […]
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 […]
Abebe Bikila: The Man, The Legend, The Heel Striker???
July 1, 2011 By 52 Comments
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 […]
ASICS versus Zero Drop, Maximalist versus Minimalist
June 4, 2011 By 114 Comments
I’ve been following with interest a spirited debate that is taking place over on my friend Bill Katovsky’s Zero Drop blog. Like me, Bill is an advocate for greater variety in shoe choice, and his approach on his blog is to poke fun at the status quo in addition to providing the occasional shoe review. […]
Can running in minimalist shoes strengthen your feet and legs?
May 18, 2011 By 46 Comments
Image via Wikipedia One of the most common claims made by minimalist and barefoot runners (myself included) is that running in minimalist shoes (or barefoot) can be an effective tool for strengthening the muscles of the feet and legs. The idea is that constrictive, stiff, and overly cushioned modern footwear brace the foot, alter our […]
