In the new book. Tread Lightly: Form, Footwear, and the Quest for Injury-Free Running, Dr. Peter Larson (Runblogger) and Bill Katovsky (Natural Running Center co-founder and editorial director) explore the reasons why pain is so frequently a part of the life of the modern runner, and search for potential solutions to the ongoing injury epidemic….
Author: BillK
Autopsy Report: Micah True’s “Manner of Death is Natural”
It’s been just over a month that Micah True’s body was found in the rugged wilderness area of southwestern New Mexico. The legendary ultrarunner and memorable “Caballo Blanco” centerpiece of Born to Run had gone missing after a rather routine 12-mile trail run. An autopsy report released Tuesday by the Office of the Medical Investigator…
Natural Running Through the Generations: Grandson of a Boston Marathon Champion Continues the Barefoot Running Tradition
We received the following email and photos from Jacob Edwards, a youngish distance runner who definitely has the speed gene and a rekindled love of barefoot running, a passion first nurtured by his legendary grandfather John J Kelley.– NRC Dear Natural Running Center, For the past 13 years I have been a competitive runner…
Small Kenyan Town is Where Great Marathoners Live and Train
With a population less than Taos, New Mexico, the small town of Iten, Kenya, which is located in the high-altitude (8,000 feet above sea level) Great Rift Valley, has become the go-to training place for world-class marathoners. A recent article in the New York Times about Iten’s runners revealed the following: Male and female Kenyans…
Walk Right Before You Run (and Only in the Right Shoes)
Half of the customers who enter Two Rivers Treads in Shepherdstown, West Virginia have no interest in running or buying running shoes. That’s because we are not exclusively a “minimalist running store”. We also carry shoes for walkers and hikers. We want people moving and there is no safer, accessible, and natural movement than walking….
Celebrate Family Fitness and Joy of Running
I had the privilege to speak for the second straight year at the Boston Marathon Sports Medicine Conference hosted by the American Medical Athletic Association (AMAA). Last year, my presentation was on barefoot running (the hot topic of 2011). This year, I spoke on healthy aerobic development for life and the work of legendary New…
Aerobic Activity for Runners — Gradually Build Your Endurance Base and Understanding High-Intensity Interval Training (Part 2)
Gradually Build Your Endurance Base. This the second installment on Aerobic Conditioning for Runners, by Dr. Steve Gangemi (aka Sock Doc). Go here to read Part 1. Building your aerobic system is vital whether you’re a marathon runner, or an average guy or gal looking to be as healthy as possible. But you have…
New Documentary Film About a Town of Runners in Ethiopia — 8 Olympic Gold Medals, 10 World Records
Runners from tiny Bekoji in the Ethiopian highlands have won eight Olympic Gold medals, broken 10 world records and won 32 world championships. These numbers are other-worldly. Now there’s a newly released documentary about this amazing mecca of endurance athletes called “Town of Runners” by UK filmmaker Jerry Rothwell. As one of the coaches…
Boston Marathon Finisher Brian Boyle Continues to Have an Iron Heart
Three years ago, I had the privilege of working with Brian Boyle on his memoir,“Iron Heart: The True Story of How I Came Back from the Dead.” On the way home from swim practice, Brian’s future changed in an instant when a dump truck plowed into his Camaro. He was airlifted to a shock-trauma hospital. He…
Health Risks of Drinking Too Much Water Before or During a Race: Beware of Intoxication and Hyponatremia
by Dr. Phil Maffetone. Drinking fluids during training and racing will soon be reaching a boiling point of controversy and not for reasons most runners might suspect. Dehydration, and how to keep it under control, is nothing new. What’s been bubbling up in the media for the past few years is hyperhydration—drinking too much and…
Boston Marathon 2012 — Meet the Heat
With the hot temperatures putting a distinctive stamp on the 2012 Boston Marathon, I wisely played it safe. I finished 10 minutes slower than last year’s time (2:37), yet came away with fourth in my age group (45-49). More importantly, I avoided the medical tent by following good racing practices. I wasn’t here to see…
Aerobic Activity is the Foundation to Your Health and Fitness (Part 1)
Aerobic is one of those fitness terms that doesn’t get much respect these days. An analogy is the late Rodney Dangerfield in a sweaty T-shirt on the treadmill at the gym. (No, that gross-out movie was never made, but a working title might have been called “Humping Iron.”) The fitness term du jour is “cardio,”…
Chris McDougall and the Search for Caballo Blanco
It’s been only two weeks since the body of ultrarunner Micah True, aka Caballo Blanco, was found in the Gila National Forest in New Mexico. As with any unexpected tragedy, there’s still a lingering mix of shock and disbelief. In a riveting piece for Outside Online, Christopher McDougall describes the weeklong search for his friend who had…
Video: Runners, Are You Ready to Go Minimal?
The April 2012 issue of Running Times, in part, was an homage to a bygone era…the late 70’s when shoes were flat, thin-soled, and non-bulky. Moreover, the cover recreated the iconic image and cover pose of Jim Fixx’s “The Complete Book of Running,” which came out in 1977 and eventually sold over one million copies….
M-Factor: Trends and News in Minimalist Running
Welcome to the inaugural edition of the M-Factor, a regular feature of the Natural Running Center that will provide readers with the latest trends and news in the minimalist running world. – Nick Pang and Bill Katovsky *** So where is minimalism headed? Are we still in the early adopters’ phase? Will we see many…
Does the Class-Action Lawsuit Against Vibram/FiveFingers Have Any Merit?
Last week, Berman DeValerio, one of the country’s premier class action law firms focused on business litigation, has filed a class-action lawsuit against Vibram and Vibram FiveFingers in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts. The complaint seeks a jury trial on the grounds that Vibram is making “false” health claims about its product. These “deceptive” claims…
Debunking the University of Colorado Barefoot Running Study: “UnMaking” the Case for Running Shoes
Thank you, Steven Sashen, founder of Invisible Shoes, for providing much-needed clarity on a topic that is as polarizing as health care legislation, or whether Mad Men is a better television show than Breaking Bad. Last week, New York Times health and fitness reporter Gretchen Reynolds wrote about a new barefoot vs. shod running study…
Shin Splints Explained for All Runners and Good News for Sufferers
This is Camille Herron’s second post for the Natural Running Center. Her first on how she became a world-class marathoner by adopting minimalism was exceptionally well-received by readers. Ms. Herron, who has a Masters Degree in Exercise Science, is the newest member of NRC’s advisory board. We would be remiss if we didn’t mention that…
Building Speed Through Downhill Workouts
by Dr. Phil Maffetone. When all the training ingredients are in place, and your diet and stress are under control,your aerobic base. And as your workout pace increases, you develop more aerobic speed. This means you’ll be able to run at a faster pace with the same effort or heart rate. And, you’re successfully developing…
The Sprinter
The following quotes about sprinting come from the soon-to-be published book, “1,001 Pearls of Runners’ Wisdom: Advice and Inspiration for the Open Road,” and edited by Bill Katovsky. The quotes themselves come from the fertile brain of Steven Sashen, 50, an All-American masters sprinter and founder of Invisible Shoes.— NRC Sprinters are born, not made….
Running a Marathon, 100 Meters at a Time
Kevin Lyons, an Austin-based runner, journalist, and blogger at 5Ksandcabernets.com, posted an interesting take on how speed is indeed relative when compared to distance covered. Kenya’s Patrick Makau set the world record time for a marathon by running the Berlin Marathon in 2 hours, 3 minutes, 38 seconds (2:03:38). Makau’s minute-per-mile pace was a blistering…
Barefoot Running: Reviewing the Medical Literature
Peer-reviewed literature has indirectly supported barefoot running for the past 20 years. In this video, podiatrist and surgeon Dr. Nicholas A. Campitelli discuss why it is safe to run barefoot and explain how we see a reduction in injury by running the way we were designed to run.
Use Your Head: Quick Tip to Smooth Out Your Running Form
In this brief video by Danny Abshire of Newton Running, he focuses on the need to balance the head while running. This keeps the body balanced along with it.
Coming to the Midwest: “New Trends in the Prevention of Running Injuries”
———— My good friend Blaise Dubois is a physiotherapist who teaches at the Faculty of Medicine at Laval University. Blaise has developed the Running Clinic Canada and has taught over 50 conferences around the world. Two of those conferences named “New Trends in the Prevention of Running Injuries”were held in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The inaugural…
Gait Analysis of Lead Pack at 2011 New York City Marathon
The Natural Running Center asked us — The Gait Guys — to comment on this striking photo of the lead male pack that was taken at the recent NYC Marathon (with the beautiful Manhattan skyline in the background). We, as always, were glad to oblige. Please keep in mind, we were sent a still photograph…