:D Barefoot Running

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Originally Posted by Rob Furness

Yes you will run mid/forefoot when barefoot but if you try to land on the forefoot you will likely overcompensate and point your toes down which will overstress your calves. Barefoot running should be forefoot > flat foot > forefoot (meaning your heel will touch the floor lightly each step with your calf relaxed) running entirely on the forefoot will very quickly put you out of action (unless you naturally run this way anyway).

I didn't at any point suggest landing heel first, what I said was that if you concentrate on form and relax, your footstrike will sort itself out

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good reply rob totally agree sorry i think i must of just miss read your previous post.

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Originally Posted by IanDarkpeak

so just by running bare foot my "form" should change, I'm trying to run with my body more upright as I'm supposed to?

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Yes exactly.
A simple exercise is to stand in your barefeet, now jump up and land on your heels.
You will feel all the shock come through your body, you may be able to do this a few times but it aint a lot of fun.
Now jump but land on the fatty pad (forefoot) I would guarantee that you could do this for at least 10 minutes.
Thats what we do when we run naturally, landing forefoot on the pad.

The link I posted to the Lee Saxby article really does explain about posture, technique etc. HERE

CORRECT RUNNING POSTURE
JUMPING
POSTURE EXERCISES

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Originally Posted by Alphin

Hi Ian,

When I was first moving towards the minimal shoe way I found this website useful: -

http://www.barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/index.html

Cheers

Phil

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Originally Posted by Insider

Yes exactly.
A simple exercise is to stand in your barefeet, now jump up and land on your heels.
You will feel all the shock come through your body, you may be able to do this a few times but it aint a lot of fun.
Now jump but land on the fatty pad (forefoot) I would guarantee that you could do this for at least 10 minutes.
Thats what we do when we run naturally, landing forefoot on the pad.

The link I posted to the Lee Saxby article really does explain about posture, technique etc. HERE

CORRECT RUNNING POSTURE
JUMPING
POSTURE EXERCISES

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thanks Phil and Insider? i'll read up a bit more

At least my enforced lay off will give me chance to read and understand as much ad I possibly can and to save up for some f-lites. Just one point my physio made was, yes its good running natural as intended but mix it all up a bit to keep all your muscle groups working.

I wonder if a number of physios/podiatrist are coming round to minimalist running. It certainly seems like its not a fad any more...

Seems that way twister, mine did say she has seen an increase in people with injuries relating to natural running but mainly because they swap to that style building the relevant muscles and neglect other muscle groups. She was very positive about the benefits of the light springy style and higher cadence being much quicker.

I think it's more about acclimitisation. I found my calfs would seize up after about 5 miles at first but I really wish I'd read that post by Rob, above, because, looking back, that's exactly what I was doing. Trying too hard to land on forefoot rather than lettting the foot land naturally. Age is a factor too, I feel, (or perhaps an excuse?) as I have a lot of years of running badly to correct for.

just finished "born to run" found the first few chapters abit heavy but it finishes like a true Utra with a breath taking sprint to the end. A great and inspirational book

best book i have ever read, only thing is i think i have only read about four books.:-)

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Originally Posted by Nigel

I think it's more about acclimitisation. I found my calfs would seize up after about 5 miles at first but I really wish I'd read that post by Rob, above, because, looking back, that's exactly what I was doing. Trying too hard to land on forefoot rather than lettting the foot land naturally. Age is a factor too, I feel, (or perhaps an excuse?) as I have a lot of years of running badly to correct for.

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I've got a feeling that hill runners in general would take to minimalist running quicker than flat landers. Do you do most of your miles on hills? The reason I say this is that most fell runners are wearing pretty much minimalist shoes anyway, and running up a lot of hills will help stretch the calf's (as long as you try to put your heels down a bit).

That's what I've always theorised based on my own experience. I can get away with about 20 miles in my VivoBarefoot Neos till I'm ready to give up. [After about 2 years of changing to minimalist] my calf's are usually the last thing to complain, I find my feet get sore on the top if I do too much, which is a classic symptom.