By Amanda Loudin Jason Bahamundi will go to his grave clutching his pair of Hoka One One running shoes. The finisher of five Ironman races and multiple ultramarathons swears by the big, cushy shoes—and he’s not alone. The brand saw sales increase 350 percent from 2013 to 2015 and most running shoemakers now have a…
In 1961 Simon J. Wikler, D.S.C. (Doctor of Surgical Chiropody) published Take Off Your Shoes and Walk, a successful attempt to explain how modern shoes gradually acquired the characteristics that now prevent the foot from functioning naturally. Despite the persuasiveness of his argument, he is realistic about the difficulty of convincing his opponents that being…
Dr. Ryan Green is managing partner at Varsity Sports Mandeville in Mandeville, Louisiana. He received his athletic training certification in 1997 and received his PhD in Kinesiology from Louisiana State University in 2006. After graduating from LSU and then teaching in the athletic training program at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, Dr. Green went…
We are happy to share the following essay from my friend and colleague Jeff Gaudette, who is the founder of Runners Connect, which is a team of expert coaches dedicated to helping runners train smarter, stay healthy and run faster. Jeff is one of the forward thinkers in natural running movement as well as a…
It is a privilege to share additional insight and expertise from Drs. Kevin and Heather Vincent on the process (and outcome) of their position paper, “Selecting Running Shoes,” for the American College of Sports Medicine’s (http://www.acsm.org/docs/brochures/running-shoes.pdf ) The published document was big news for all runners and walkers, as it represented a dramatic change in…
by Jim Hixson. Q. What is the basic difference between minimalist and traditional running shoes? A. A lot, and it’s not simply a matter of philosophical differences. Minimalist shoes fit the anatomy of the foot, allow the foot to move through its natural range of motion without restriction, and enable the sole of the…
The Latin expression, nihil novi sub sole, which translated means “there is nothing new under the sun,” came to mind when I first come across Dr. Phil Hoffman’s study of feet from the Philippines and Pygmies of Central Africa from the early 1900s. Neither group ever wore shoes. Their feet were healthy. As for the…
An early adopter of minimalism, Jim Hixson was the former general manager of an independent running retail store in St. Louis, Missouri. In addition to currently being a running retail store consultant, Jim will be writing a regular column for the Natural Running Center called “Voice From the Running Shoe Store Floor.” Here’s the opening…
When customers enter Two Rivers Treads, questions always arise about pronation. Many of them in the past have been labeled pronators by well-meaning employees at other running stores. Some claim that they have classified as supinators. They want shoes that fit. They want to run injury-free. Yet it’s not something as simple as asking them…
Blaise Dubois, the great running maestro from the Great North and founder of The Running Clinic, is never shy when it comes to expressing his well-researched, expert opinions about form, footwear, and function. The following essay by Blaise, “10 Good Reasons to Run in PECH shoes (Pronation control and/or Elevated Cushioned Heel)”, recently appeared on…
Last month, I wrote about the need to properly assess your own foot size when buying running shoes. And judging by the number of emails I continue to get from readers on this topic, I feel it’s important to address these concerns once again. First, abandon the notion that you have a shoe size. Instead you…
In the past three years, I have completely rethought how a shoe should fit. More accurately I now think about how a shoe should fit rather than just pick a size. Since I started running more true barefoot miles over the last year my foot size has greatly increased in thickness. I can no longer…
by Steven Sashen. To answer this question, let’s begin with a simple Pop Quiz: Which of the following fictitious shoes gives you more of a barefoot feel: a.) ASICs Nuttin’-2C with a 10mm thick sole b.) Brooks Zilch-City with a 1mm thick sole If you answered B, you’re mistaken. But if you answered A, you’re…
by Dr. Casey Kerrigan. While in Daegu, South Korea last week where I delivered a lecture on biomechanics, barefoot locomotion and minimalist shoes at the International Sports Science Congress that was held in conjunction with the 2011 IAAF World Championships, I caught this photo during the preliminary heat of the 3,000 meter steeplechase where the…
I have been to three different shoe stores here in the Bay Area, and each store person took a look at my current running shoes (I wear them during the day) and said that “I pronate.” One youngish guy (he had the look of an emaciated, long-distance college runner) wanted to sell me some “anti-pronation”,…
The following report by Steve Nearman appeared in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Athletic Association, and is reproduced here with the AMAA‘s permission. Daniel Lieberman, PhD, known in the running community as the “Barefoot Running Professor” has his favorite motto when ad- dressing his favorite topic. “If you think barefoot…
With all his books, coaching experience, training methods, racing achievements, and Ironman-like durability with just over a half-century of miles on his legs, Jeff Galloway is a respected fixture in the running community. And along with many other runners, I’m a subscriber to his email newsletter .But his take on minimalist running shoes in his…
by Dr. Phil Maffetone. In 1994, seven CEOs from the nation’s largest tobacco companies declared under oath before a Congressional hearing on Capitol Hill that “nicotine is not addictive.” Their testimony was a brazenly defiant refusal to acknowledge the legitimacy of several decades of research that proved cigarettes and nicotine were health hazards. Now imagine…
“Ask the Expert” is regular feature of the Natural Running Center. If you have any running-related questions — shoes, diet, gait, injury, transitioning– let us know, and we will do our best to have an expert from our NRC Advisory Board answer them. Kick-off question: Should heavier runners use thickly cushioned shoes to lessen the…
If someone asks you, “please define minimalism,” then Zero Drop highly recommends that you point them in this direction of this two-minute video by Spencer White, who is the director of the Biomechanics Lab at Saucony. He expertly explains minimalist footwear and some of the things you should think about before taking the less-is-more leap….
One might ask, and with good reason, why would a footwear company promote “barefoot running?” Isn’t it in the business of selling running and walking shoes? But Merrell has taken a progressive approach with both footwear and form, a marriage made widely evident with its new Barefoot Running line. Exaggerated heel-striking,slow leg turnover, and over-striding…
Danny Abshire is the author of “Natural Running” (VeloPress, 2010) and the co-founder of Newton Running, a Boulder, Colorado-based company that makes shoes that promote an efficient midfoot/forefoot running gait. He has been making advanced footwear solutions for runners and triathletes for more than 20 years. The following article by Danny will help you safely…
Along with the introduction of its new Minimus footwear line, New Balance has partnered with Playmakers running and apparel store in southern Michigan that created “Good Form Running“. This simple, easy-to follow program will help more people make running a less-painful, more enjoyable, part of their lives. In the video below this chart, Good Form…
Give credit where credit is due. Newcomer to the running shoe sector, Altra Running, coined the term “zero drop,” which describes the ideal barefoot-running style shoe. There is no height difference between heel and toebox area. Your foot can function like nature intended, and that means landing properly on the midfoot or forefoot, and making…
You were born with perfect feet. So what happened along the way? The human foot is designed such that the toes are spread and extended. This allows for optimal balance and stride. In societies where mainly flip-flops or sandals are used, foot integrity is maintained through life and foot problems are avoided. In industrialized societies however, the foot’s…