Human Capability of Running
How many of us have been told that we are incapable of running because it does damage to our joints or we just get injured too often? In his book, “Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and
the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen.”, Christopher McDougall states his past of extreme sports and life endangering journalistic assignments, but yet he was often injured from just jogging 2-3 miles. Most of that jogging was also done on back country dirt roads not pavement.
Through much research and the study of the Tarahumara tribes he was able to find his ability to run. His body, as been told was never to run, was truly Born to Run!
Many of us can find the love and passion for running if we just hold to appropriate form and biomechanics. Our bodies are designed to take the stress and pressure of running if that stress and pressure is applied in the appropriate places. Many methods have arisen as of late to bring runners back to their natural form. These methods invite runners to often run barefoot or use a very minimalist style running shoe similar to the Five Fingers from Vibram. The advantage of these approaches is in the way the runner approaches the ground. He is more often utilizing his midfoot to strike the ground instead of heel striking. This will then allow the muscles in the body to take on the pressure instead of the joints.
Running can continue to be a very enjoyable and uplifting experience for everyone no matter how old or how young. Many are latching onto this rapidly growing barefoot running movement because they have experienced decreased injury rates, increased endurance, and overall more enjoyment with running. There are still many out there that do not want to hit the pavement with nothing between themselves and the ground, if this describes you then you should look at a minimalist or low profile style shoe similar to the Vibram Five Fingers, Mizuno Wave, or even utilize racing flats (the issue with the latter is they won’t tend to last very long).
Much of this will take some time as you engage in minimalist/barefoot running. You will have to strengthen your feet, your ankles, and various other leg muscles that you may not be used to utilizing. We have noticed an increase in Soleus (Muscle in the Calf) pain for the first couple of weeks, but it really has not taken active runners much time to adapt at all, plus for an individual that is just getting back into running there is not going to be much more muscle pain than running in the first place, but they will have reduced joint pain overall. Many that we have worked with have found their love for running again through using proper biomechanics.
We hope that the information we provide through www.Barefoot-Running.com can help you learn to improve your running experience by taking advantage of the barefoot running movement the best way for you specifically.
October 4th, 2009 at 8:43 am
The site is looking good!
Re minimalist shoes, my concern is if runners run in them without spending any time running barefoot, they will experience unnecessary pain and injury. It is very easy to hit the ground and run too far too soon when there’s protection (or more accurately, the illusion of protection).
I blogged about this here:
http://foxyurl.com/w6y
And Ken Bob Saxton shares his thoughts here:
http://runningbarefoot.org/?p=1598
The bare foot is the best running coach money can’t buy.
October 4th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Josh,
Thank you for the comments. Those are some interesting points that you bring up in your blog. Our personal experience shows that individuals that have been often hurt running are not getting hurt in five fingers. We have done a few studies with various runners, myself and my wife particularly and have found that my wife slaps slightly in minimalist style shoes, but also does so barefoot. Experienced runners may have a bit of a form adjustment if they tend to heel strike a lot, but midfoot strikers have not had any apparent issues. Myself particularly have knee problems with standard shoes that some running shoe store would sell me with pronation control and all that crap, but my minimalist shoes have virtually eliminated that and I just finished my best week running ever! We have a number of testimonial experiences to back both minimalist and barefoot running.
October 5th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
I switched to VFFs about a month ago and was taking it easy, allowing my body to get used to the change. I never ran further than a mile as I felt my calves and muscles along the side of my foot and ankle strengthen. Then on one of these easy runs, the top of my foot began to ache and I had to stop at about the half-mile mark. I seem to have strained or sprained a rather specific small muscle that runs along the top of my foot. I gave it about a week, pain eased and I went out in the VFFs again but I seem to have reinjured the same spot. Any advice? I love the feeling of running in the VFFs. I hate thinking I’m trading one set of injuries for another by switching footwear.
October 5th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Josh,
I’ve been around tons of people running in Five Fingers for over 3 years now and I can say that in them, some people do try and go longer than they would truly barefoot, but I haven’t seen anyone get hurt. I’ve seen people get sore perhaps, but not hurt. I ran barefoot for years before Fivefingers and still do, and I don’t really buy that running truly barefoot is much different from running in Fivefingers, except that I don’t get stone bruises, stickers or tetanus!
October 5th, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Anne, You may have strained that muscle slightly from overworking it. I had a similar issue a month ago after doing an intense trail run up S. Sister in Oregon, but after a week and a half of taking it easy it was fine and I haven’t had that same issue since. When going barefoot and in five fingers there is a lot more stress on certain muscles and tendons than what you may be used to with traditional footwear. I would just take it a little easier at first, use some ice, and don’t give up, it may take some adjusting.
October 5th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
Anne,
Wow that’s a good one! In years of selling Fivefingers, I’ve never heard of anything like that. But I have seen it with people that have a higher instep and don’t have enough arch support in their shoes. I have a few thoughts: 1) Maybe you tightened the strap too tight. 2) Are you going straight in to running or are you walking 10 minutes to warm up first? — because you should. 3) It’s possible that your feet/arches just aren’t strong enough and you need to build it up even slower. 4) It sounds like you have strained that tendon on top of your foot and even possibly have a little tendonitis, it may be worth trying a topical anti-inflammatory like MyoMed 3x a day. 5)That said, it could be any number of things, or even just random coincidence. Some things are just beyond explaining! Good luck in your running…
October 6th, 2009 at 9:27 am
Thanks so much for the suggestions! I do have a very high arch. I also have a history of spraining my right ankle that may have left muscles/tendons weakened on that side. I’m doing a lot of balancing on one foot while I wait to heal (if you see someone balancing on one foot in the grocery line, that’d be me). My impatience is probably my greatest struggle but I’m thrilled to find compatriots here.