Much is considered about the recent tread to move away from the bulky running shoes of the past number of years and instead to embrace a more “natural” or minimalistic method of running. While anything I say will likely not affect this current tread or divert the course the multimillion dollar marketing machines that aim to hijack it for industrial gain I would none the less want to throw my hat in to the ring about this subject and provide my meek two cents.
The truth of the matter is that neither side with the argument might be counted as completely right or wrong, there has not been sufficient scientific data to substantiate the claims of either camp. However the anecdotal evidence (and outright noise presented by Christopher McDougall, of “Born to Run” fame) provided by adherents in the minimalist philosophy is now too pervasive to be ignored the ones on the other side in the shoe debate do not have anything but many years of exaggerated injury rates with which to rebut the minimalist claims. In my personal belief the best solution is to follow neither with the all or nothing approaches being pitched through the two sides, instead I would advocate that many individual runner experiment by themselves, both using choice of foot ware and also tinkering using their running gait instead of relying on possiblity to happen upon the most efficient and least damaging stride.
First let us discuss running form since that’s really at the heart of the issue, while the footwear has taken center stage within the debate that is certainly primarily a result of the market forces that exist inside the shoe market. After all no business would every consider admitting your stride is exactly what prevents injury and their $150.00 shoe only serves to enhance your biomechanics, in fact it is the perception that the human form is flawed and never meant to run containing driven industry to become a billion plus dollar industry; nevertheless this is the very claim from the minimalist crowd. As for me I believe that gait is infinitely more valuable, specifically the portion from the gait where the foot contacts the bottom, and also other portions in the stride only because they pertain to speed and the contact portion in the stride.
In my estimation (which can be based on only my own experience and research) the all manner of gaits might be considered the most beneficial depending on the biomechanics and physiology of the individual runner, for instance Haile Gebrselassie’s signature floating stride would not work, neigh is probably not possible for a jogger weighing 185 pounds nor would their stride be the most beneficial for Geb. As such shoes only must be taken into account in how they affect an athlete’s ideal stride i.e. promote better behaviours, nevertheless begs the question just what is a positive running behaviour or gait? The answers is complex because as effortlessly organic problems absolute laws are few in number, however there are a few ground rules which might be generally accepted by experts within the field, the most important is over striding is not good and over striding with pronounced heel strike is even worse. It was once thought by Phil Knight (founder of Nike) yet others that heel striking as a way to “roll” over the stride was the best way to run plus they produce shoes made to promote that gait. These days we understand that over striding actually damages the joints and ligaments of the leg by increasing the forces involved, now it is assumed that landing together with your foot directly below your center of gravity is best at decreasing the forces experienced from the joints. In addition to striking in the correct portion with the stride it’s also important to strike the proper portion of the foot for the physiology, for many it may be okay to heel strike, but also for most runners a mid foot strike is preferable.
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