For the past 12 years, I have dissected and modified hundreds of shoes, taught running form clinics around the country, opened a minimalist store in my home town of Shepherdstown, West Virginia, directed races (from 5K fun runs to marathons), got local children excited about running, and most importantly listened with all my senses –starting…
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Four Yoga Poses Every Runner Should Know
by Charlotte Clews. Stretching won’t do much for your speed, and flexibility alone won’t make you less prone to injury but that doesn’t mean you should never stretch. While it’s true that a perfectly aligned human body moving in a natural environment should be able to maintain good muscular balance without any additive stretch or…
Recap of Minimalism and Healthy Running
I recently came across this video of an interview that two West Virginia University journalism students Sean Manning and Robert Kreis produced. The Shepherdstown Chronicle ran an accompanying article on Two Rivers Treads and healthy running. Enjoy.
Let’s Do Lunge: Dynamic Movements and Exercise Drills
Join me, my kids Leo and Lily, and my fellow movement teacher and Two Rivers Treads Education lead Paul Koczera, as we lead you through several exercise snacks that are demonstrated in these three videos. Do these simple dynamic movements and drills whenever and wherever you can. They can be done any time of day,…
Marine Corps Marathon 2013 Report
I ran my 22nd Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday (2:47, 83rd overall, 2nd in my age group to my Marine friend, Alex Hetherington, 46, in 2:42). I will respect the post-race recovery period. I was sore on Monday, but it was not too bad. I went for an easy jog with my dog. It was…
Semper Fly 2013: Marine Corps Marathon Race Day Strategies
For a few nail-biting weeks, uncertainty clouded the future of the 38th Marine Corps Marathon. But it’s all systems GO! for 30,000 runners now that the U.S. government shutdown has ended. The world’s largest marathon without prize money will be run October 27 through the nation’s capital as scheduled. “Runners, we are on,” director Rick…
Breathing Exercises for Runners: But First, Are You Able to Breathe Nasally?
We run primarily with our legs? So why is the Natural Running Center publishing a three-part video series (with accompanying text) on breathing? The answer is simple: Better breathing is the secret weapon to running better, feeling better, relaxing better, thinking better, being in better posture, sleeping better, and so on. Trust me here. Maybe…
Ask Sock Doc: Recurring Running and Walking Injuries, Morton’s “Toe,” and More
Q:I followed your advice and threw away my orthotics and started wearing zero drops. My chronic sacroiliac pain (previously treated with Cortisone) has been completely resolved and all the years of feet and leg pains are gone. But now that I need to see a podiatrist for a painful hammertoe. How do I find one…
How Runners Can Avoid Plantar Fasciitis: Go Minimalist or Barefoot
by Jim Hixson. If you have plantar fasciitis and have been told by a doctor to wear a stability shoe, orthotics, and never go barefoot, do yourself a favor and immediately switch to another doctor, preferably one who has read about how the foot functions, and not just knows all the names of the bones,…
Jamie Summerlin’s 100-Day Freedom Run Across the U.S.
There are runners, and then there are runners who push the known limits of human endurance. My friend and fellow West Virginian Jamie Summerlin is one of these amazing athletes. Jamie Summerlin is a Gulf War-era veteran, having served in the United States Marine Corps for six years. Currently, the Marine veteran serves as the…
Freedom’s Run…Through Civil War History
In just five years, local volunteers and our race committee have taken an idea to start a race in a small town that would highlight both health and history. Our race course for Freedom’s Run takes runners past many important Civil War and Historical landmarks. Each year, the event has grown, with runners now wcoming from all over…
Love at First Gait: HOKA is a Crazy-Looking Running Shoe, So Will Its Popularity Affect Minimalism’s Future?
You might ask, “Why is the Natural Running Center writing about a shoe that is anything but minimalist. The beefy-sole HOKA One One is as unnatural as a genetically modified Flavr Savr tomato. Because the shoe lacks an outsized, crash-pad heel like your garden-variety ASICS, what exactly do you call the lightweight yet zero-drop HOKA…
The Natural, Minimalist Life: Going Off the Grid with Dr. Phil Maffetone
Minimalism is much more than good-form running in lightweight, flat-sole, flexible footwear. Minimalism is found in music (Philip Glass, John Cage), literature (Raymond Carver), and architecture (Ludwig Mies van der Rohe). Minimalism’s unifying feature or motto is “less is more.” To those looking to lead a minimalist lifestyle, it means knowing how to de-clutter and…
Running Free: From San Quentin Death Row to Running Every Day in His Nike Frees
by Bill Katovsky. I was mountain biking home one recent afternoon with 30 to 40 pounds of groceries and a load of clean laundry. It was hot and I felt sleepy and tired, so I decided to take an extended rest in the shade. I sought out my favorite large moss-covered rock at the end…
Ask Sock Doc: Achilles Tendon Issues, Ditch the Orthotics, and Harmful Side-effects of Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs
Q: I switched to minimalist shoes some time ago, and in the beginning they really helped. Recovery time after long runs shortened, and constant issues I had with my IT band simply disappeared. Unfortunately something has gone badly wrong lately,and for whatever reason I’m getting constant problems with my Achilles tendon. I did a lot…
Air Force & Marine Corps Marathons; Austin Eat & Run; Freedom’s Run
After a brief end-of-summer hiatus of travel for family fun, I’ll be hitting the road for several events this fall. This will provide me the opportunity to speak more about running and health, as well as meet other runners. And, of course, I get to race. In three weeks, there is the Air Force Marathon. …
Gait 101: Learning to Run More Naturally
by Dr. Phil Maffetone. Many beginning runners remark about how much they enjoy the new experience. They care little about the nuances regarding form, technique, or proper gait. As long as they are moving, accumulating mileage over a sustained period of time, they feel content and satisfied. But at the advanced and elite level of…
The Media Want You to Believe that Barefoot Running is Bad for You!
The mainstream media’s love affair with barefoot running was short-lived. Coinciding with the success of Born to Run, when chronically injured runners began kicking off their coffin-like kicks, and going barefoot or minimalist instead, there were a number of enthusiastic articles and books about the most significant development in running shoes since Nike’s Waffle Trainer….
Documentary on Mountain Runner Anton Krupicka; and Freedom’s Run
I am looking forward to seeing the new documentary, “In The High Country”, which is the result of a yearlong collaboration between mountain runner Anton Krupicka and filmmaker Joel Wolpert. The 30-minute film will be shown in Shepherdstown, West Virginia on Friday, October 11, and the screening will be held at the historic Shepherdstown Opera…
Quick Tips: 10 Ways Barefoot Running Resets the Body
1. The feet become thicker and softer. 2. The skin, muscles, bones, and tendons have become more resistant to injury. 3. The skin becomes tough and pliable so it can shape around objects. 4. Running attentively helps to avoid hazards. 5. Form flaws are corrected. 6. There is more work in barefoot running, especially when…
Natural, Minimalist Golf: New Book by Dr. Phil Maffetone
As a recreational golfer, it was with great anticipation that I received Dr. Phil Maffetone’s new book in the mail. In a departure of Phil’s previous titles, this one was centered on golf. Phil’s work has significantly influenced my life, running, teaching on health, and practice of medicine. I was eager to see what he…
“Naturally Respect Your Feet”: Interview with Podiatrist Dr. Ray McClanahan
Portland, Oregon-based Podiatrist Dr. Ray McClanahan is a rarity in his profession. He considers conventional treatment such as orthotics and surgery as a final-resort option for his patients. Instead, he favors a more natural, non-invasive approach that, as he states in the following interview with the Natural Running Center, “respects the inherent strength and integrity…
“Posing” the Question of Proper Running Form: Natural Running vs. Pose Method
Natural running is not some ideal, archetypal running form; it’s what happens when you let your own body figure out what works best for you when you minimize interference between the foot and the ground. It’s what happens when you let your own muscles, ligaments, tendons, and bones do all or most of the work….
Classic Races From the Past: Roger Bannister vs. John Landy at the 1954 Commonwealth Games Mile
The match-up between these two great distance runners at the 1954 Commonwealth Games was billed by the press as both the “Mile of the Century” and “Miracle Mile.” Earlier in the year, Dr. Roger Bannister clocked the world’s very first sub-four minute mile — and it was on a cinder track in Oxford, England! At…
Great Scenes of Barefoot Running in Cinema: “Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.”
This 1962 award-winning, French-made short film was based on an Ambrose Bierce short story of a condemned man in the Civil War, and was later rebroadcast on “The Twilight Zone.” Watch it once– it’s just over 20 minutes– and it will stay with you forever.