MacDougall explains. “The foot is the greatest disciplinarian. You can’t over-pronate, can’t over-train, can’t over-stride … if you do anything wrong, the foot will tell you `uh uh, don’t do that’. Shoes are like morphine: a sedative that deadens the pain.”
Remember when you were a kid? You raced around the playground or the yard for hours at a time, somehow managing not to hurt yourself despite your lack of $150 running shoes and custom-made $400 orthotic inserts. There’s a growing sense…
I’ve been looking at runner’s stride more and more. I’ve covered this in a previous post however I must admit that my concern for runner’s health is concerning me more and more.
We’ve been indoctrinated to believe that when running shoe companies develop new “advanced” materials (without real scientific evidence proving their benefit) that these advancements are better for us. They still call it “technology”, but do not let you be fooled.
Humans have been barefoot for several million years (~2 million actually). It means that our bare feet have the ability to carry us around on all kinds of surfaces – hard ones as well as soft ones. It means that we have the ability to adapt ourselves to our surroundings.
Running shoes or trainers are designed to minimize heel strike and maximize toe spring. Or so you thought… What actually ends up happening is we slam our heels on the pavement harder than necessary because we want to feel the feedback that is, ironically, cushioned by the shoes on our feet. Here are 5 things to look for when you’re buying a pair of runners…
Original post on RailRiders.com/blog. Republished with author’s permission.
A very insightful post that captures the history and future of running footwear. Hope you like it. Happy trails, David.
I boil the kettle and throw some Earl Grey leaves into a pot. The steam rises and the leaves steep into a brew.
I lean back into my chair and put my feet up. The contrast of the cup and saucer and my dirty bare feet amuses me.
The tea tastes good.
While there is no way to avoid problems in our lives there’s certainly a power we possess as humans to push forward through challenges and move on from perceived failures. That’s just it, it is how we PERCEIVE failure that makes the difference.
Okay, I’ll admit it, I stare at runners. I do. I can’t help looking at nearly every runner that I see. Driving to work in the morning I’ll find myself slowing down just enough to catch a few strides of a morning runner. It amazes me how dramatically running shoes alter, err… break, something as primitive and hard-wired within us as running.
