Are Orthotics a Runner’s Worst Nightmare?
Just Say "NO" to Orthotics!
A simple answer to this question is: "yes." Orthotics are an all-too easy crutch for runners. And Zero Drop uses the C word in more ways than one. In most cases, orthotics don't strengthen or protect the foot. They make it atrophy. Muscles, tendons, and ligaments get weaker. So why is the Big O such an obsession for countless injury-prone runners? The slightest plantar fascia twinge, and Mr. Fretful Runner has his podiatrist on speed dial, demanding an appointment that same day so a customized orthotic can be made. The foot never gets to properly heal. Yet making orthotics the default for runners is not all their fault. Shoe and insert companies have a huge financial stake here, as do a majority of podiatrists. They have a big barking dog in this fight. HMO's cover the cost of most orthotics. Yet nature, if given a chance, is a much more effective healer. With that said, Zero Drop and Sock Doc have put together a top ten list of why you should avoid orthotics if you really care about your feet. Caveat: some extreme foot deformities or injuries do require the assistance of orthotics. But c'mon, for millions of runners and walkers? There's nothing natural about these artificial accoutrements. For more on the subject, go to this post on Sock Doc's website. You will be surprised by what you will read.
Your HMO covers the cost of orthotics despite their inability to ever allow you to run pain-free. How can you pass up these savings?
Along with stretching, you have read that the best way to stay injury-free is to have a running shoe with additional internal support so that your feet are well-protected.
You stand on a concrete or wood floor all day long and some unenlightened foot doctor or television infomercial convinced you that hard flat surfaces will wreck your feet and lead to leg and back pain.
You're interested in dampening or desensitizing your nervous system and if the orthotics prove so successful, you hope to speed this non-kinesthetic progress by wearing oven mitts when you are at the computer.
If you are on the short side, your vanity won't allow you to wear elevator lifts, so you settle for the several millimeters advantage from orthotics.
You read online somewhere that the new carbon graphite orthotics are lighter and more aerodynamic than those "old wooden models."
You're almost sure you saw a cheetah wearing a set of tree-bark orthotics on some Animal Planet show and since they're the fastest animal in the world...
Orthotics were found in the fossil record 5,000,000 years ago.
(For triathletes) Would you show up for a bike ride with kiddie training wheels?
Your back aches so you spend all day in a back brace; so why not wear a foot brace when you have foot pain?
The “Vertical Assault Weapon” Shoe
It's the first time Zero Drop has ever heard of a shoe being described by its manufacturer as a "vertical assault weapon." Made by Danner, the DFA shoe is SWAT-friendly, which means it's what you want to be wearing when kicking down a drug-dealer's barricaded front door, or rappeling down from a helicopter. With its formidable hexagonal low lug outsole, propioception is greatly diminished though with crashing to the ground from a roped-in descent, a gentle and natural footstrike is always an iffy proposition. As for being a vertical assault weapon, the shoe is ideal if you run out of ammo; just remove the shoe, take aim, and throw the sucker at your assailant Watch one of the most bizarre footwear videos...
New Nike “Foamposite” Sneakers Cause Store Riot
It's gotten to be old news. Nike introduces or re-introduces a much-in-demand high-top sneaker. Word gets out. Footwear fans flock to the Foot Locker at the local mall. Demand exceeds supply. Fights break out. Cops are called in. Story makes the evening news. Well, it happened again at a Baltimore area mall last weekend when Nike’s new Foam tennis shoe caused a near-riot inside the mall. In the past, it's been the Air Jordans that caused fights to occur. But now it's a tennis shoe made with a substance called "foamposite" and that goes for $200 (but online, at least double that amount). The Footlocker at the Valley Mall in Hagerstown, Maryland, only had 90 pairs in stock; they were snapped up in minutes. Some of the empty-handed, unhappy customers yanked out their knives. About a dozen cops were required to keep the peace. Just Do It almost became Just Loot It.
Sh*t Barefoot Runners Say
The World’s Most Expensive Sneakers…Christian Louboutin
Christian Louboutin Louis Python Crystal Sneakers cost $1,495.
Ready to shell out $1,495 for a pair of zero-drop sneakers? Known for its signature red-lacquered soles and stilettos, French footwear icon Christian Loubertain is a favorite among Hollywood actresses. Loubertain-mania is now being experienced by men. Their obscenely overpriced sneakers are always selling out at places like Barneys and Nordstroms. There's even a wait list for these sneakers for suckers. Some of these men-only Loubertrains go for $2,500. Do you wear them only indoors, at fashion events, or the local triathlon to totally psyche out our age-group foes? "Hey, dude, my running shoes cost more than your carbon-fiber bike!" This spring, Loubertain plans to open its first men's store in New York City. What recession?
“Hey Runners, Don’t Stretch!: Sock Doc Gives 10 Reasons Why
Join The Sock Doc Campaign Against Stretching! This handsome T-shirt costs only $20 and is available on Sock Doc's website. Be the first at your gym to wear it!
Sock Doc is anti-stretching. In the following list, he gives his reasons why. Zero Drop tends to agree with him. A number of recent sports medicine studies have called into question the efficacy of stretching for runners, especially before going for a run; in fact, it can lead to injuries since the body's muscles and tissues aren't sufficiently warmed up. A runner would much better benefit from a 10-15 minute pre-workout walk. Dr. Phil Maffetone has an excellent essay here on why runners shouldn't stretch. Nonetheless, old habits die hard; runners love to stretch because it's what their junior high gym teacher had them do at the beginning of each class.--ZD
10 Reasons Why Runners Should Not Stretch
* Stretching is exercise for the muscles like sea water is hydration for the body. When you're desperate for relief, it feels so right but only makes things worse.
* All athletes, especially runners, are so passionate about stretching. They defend it like their political association, religion, or family. I think many of them may have pictures of their kids in their wallets doing all types of cool stretches that they show their coworkers every day at the water cooler.
*Runners will follow any trend they think will make them run faster. Whether it's a new supplement, pair of socks, pair or shoes, custom orthotics, or stretching. They're the first in line for the Kool-Aid.
*Stretching is a conditioned behavior, not one we are innately born with. I see my kids run, jump, climb, throw things, and carry objects of all sizes. They move well, and efficiently. I've never seen them stretch. Their developing nervous systems know better.
*The day I see my dog holding a stretch is the day I'll start stretching too.
*Flexibility is a reflection of overall health and fitness. Stretching does absolutely nothing for health or fitness. It's not exercise. It's not a warm-up or a cool-down. And it definitely doesn't substitute for restful sleep or a wholesome diet.
*Yoga is not stretching. Stretching is not yoga. Enough of that claim.
*Make sure you stretch if you want to weaken muscles, promote injuries, decrease performance, delay tissue healing, and have absolutely way too much free time.
*Stretching reduces injuries and improves endurance performance just like certain shoes will make you run or jump faster. Neither claim is true.
*I enjoy watching runners stretch. They must stretch because they think they will run faster. I bet they believe in Sasquatch too.
Non-Running Related: Mitt Romney’s Dog Seamus
Illustration by Colleen Clapp for the "Chris Matthews Show"
During the former Massachusetts governor’s first presidential primary bid in 2007, the Boston Globe reported that on "a 12-hour family road trip to Canada, Mitt Romney strapped the family Irish setter Seamus’s crate to the roof, inducing doggie diarrhea that soiled the back windshield and sent the Romney boys into hysterics. Compromising his anal-retentive itinerary, Mr. Romney 'coolly pulled off the highway and into a service station,' the Globe wrote. 'There, he borrowed a hose, washed down Seamus and the car, then hopped back onto the highway.'"
The true story obviously has legs, because it's still going strong in the press and blogosphere some five years later. For up-to-date news, check out this new website: Seamus2012.com
There are two main reasons for the continued interest in Mitt and his mutt: 1.) Romney is a frontrunner in the 2012 GOP presidential primary; 2.) New York Times columnist Gail Collins' sheer doggedness. In nearly two-dozen columns, she has mentioned the Romney family road trip with Seamus strapped to roof of their station wagon.
And since we are on the topic of Mitt, here's a 30-second campaign ad from 2008 showing him running!
Drunk Walking is Much Riskier than Drunk Driving
We all know that driving drunk or text-messaging behind the wheel is a very bad idea, leading to an increase in traffic accidents and fatalities. But did you know that walking drunk is even more dangerous than driving drunk? In a recent Freakonomics radio podcast, Steve Levitt disclosed that "for every mile walked drunk, turns out to be eight times more dangerous than the mile driven drunk. To put it simply, if you need to walk a mile from a party to your home, you’re eight times more likely to die doing that than if you jump behind the wheel and drive your car that same mile."
This doesn't mean you should tool around town in your car if you feel like W.C. Fields. Levitt looked at data from 2009. He found that "about 34,000 people died in traffic accidents. Roughly half of them were drivers — 41 percent of whom were drunk. There were more than 4,000 pedestrians killed — and 35 percent of them were drunk. Of course, a drunk walker can’t hurt or kill someone else the way a drunk driver can, and people drive drunk much farther distances than they’d walk drunk."
And no surprise here with a new report by the journal Injury Prevention that found that January 1 is the deadliest day for pedestrians.
Running and Hollywood: Favorite Movie and TV Scenes
A six-minute compilation of clips of running scenes from some of your favorite movies and television shows. Produced by Zero-Drop.com
New Shoeseum Wants Your Old Shoes
The Nike waffle trainer first came of age nearly 40 years ago. To put this in perspective, the average age of a marathoner is also 40. Shoe in photo is the waffle racer that debuted in 1976.
Dr. Mark Cucuzzella and Two Rivers Treads want your old, and they mean really old, running shoes for their new "Shoeseum" that will originally be housed in the Shepherdstown, West Virginia store. Vintage sneakers from the 60s and 70s are especially wanted (flat-sole, thin treads, lightweight, little cushioning). This makes one think how running has come full-circle, at least for the minimalist and barefoot-lifestyle set. Look through your closets, attics, basements. Perhaps you have old running shoes lurking there, forgotten and unused all this time. The Shoeseum is also interested in getting their hands on running footwear from the 80s and 90s, when shoe design evolved into an annual contest of "bigger is better" and the birth of new space-age materials, monster heel crash pads, rigid footbeds, and gargantuan cushiony treads.
Here's where to send your shoes-- and where they will be happy in their new home: Two Rivers Treads PO Box 1661 107 W. German St. Shepherdstown WV 25443 phone: 304-876-1100
Holiday Classic — “Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe”
In 1979, Berkeley filmmaker Les Blank took on a new project: making a documentary of acclaimed German filmmaker Werner Herzog eating his shoe. The film came about because of a bet Herzog had once made to Errol Morris that he (Herzog) would eat his shoe if Morris ever actually made his own film. Provoked into action, Morris soon directed "Gates of Heaven," (the first of many of his visually arresting movies), and Herzog, who kept his word, returned to Berkeley to consume one of his desert boots at the U.C. Theater. Here's a short clip. Bon appetit.
From “The Dictator” –100 Meter Race Scene
Move over Borat. Sacha Baron Cohen's new Summer 2012 movie, "The Dictator," is based on a ruthless, hedonistic tyrant from a fictional Middle Eastern country (Republic of Wadiya) who visits America. An avid sportsman, the Dictator enters a track meet. Of course, he wins the 100-meter dash! Watch the short video clip from the trailer.
A Sea of Santas….
Christmas comes early for runners in Liverpool, England who came out for the annual 5K Santa Dash. Photo: Paul Ellis, AFP
Sneak(er) Attack Over a Pair of Nikes
A one-sided fight over a pair of Nikes similar to the one pictured here.
A recent beat-down over a pair of high-priced Nikes was captured on video. The incident took place at Dean College, a small school just outside Boston. The school expelled the attacker, along with eight others who witnessed the daylight assault. According to Boston.com, "The fight began when a group of male students confronted another male student over a pair of sneakers, said Franklin Deputy Police Chief Stephen Semerjian. 'It began with a sucker punch so the victim really had no idea,' Semerjian said." Adding insult to injury, the assailant also hit the victim with his own Nikes, then walked off with them.
“Look Ma, No Hands, No Feet!”
So often in life we see something over and over again, and not even realize what it is we are really taking in. Recently Zero Drop came across a traffic sign informing motorists to slow down because of the likelihood of children playing. All good. Then upon looking at the sign more carefully, Zero Drop wondered why doesn't this genderless child have any hands or feet? How can he or she play catch, jump rope, or even go for a short run? These are puzzling questions that highway sign makers in the future should strongly consider. Until then, drive safely and slowly whenever you see these oddly truncated signs.
On Your Mark, Get Set, Shop!
Black Friday is thankfully past. At this Sears store in Mentor, Ohio (just northeast of Cleveland), bargain-hunting shoppers make a crazy-mad dash inside. This explains their choice of footwear...running shoes!
Gaits of Hell
Zero Drop came across this parody video of common awkward running styles two months ago, and was almost tempted to repost it; but for whatever reason, it got backburnered. Upon a recent second viewing, however, it made the grade. It musta been the Journey soundtrack.
Just View It!
This Nike commercial came out last winter, but if you are in need of any "holidaze" motivation to go out and run, then you must watch. And then watch again. It's that good and goes by all too quickly.
Treadmill Running Rule #1: First Know How To Use the Emergency Stop Button
Action picks up around the 1:10 mark.
Footwear Comparison in Afghanistan
In the Wardik province of Afghanistan, a U.S soldier takes position near a young local girl. Photo by Umit Bekl, Reuters.
Altra Instinct Is a Zero-Drop Winner for Natural Running
Zero Drop just turned one-year old today. So now is a perfect time as any to review Altra Running’s zero-drop Instinct. It’s a great, affordable, game-changing minimalist shoe --blessed with traditional cushiony support in the tread, natural foot-shape design, and zero drop -- but first a few things. Many are still unclear what zero drop actually means.
Zero drop refers to the height differential between the shoe heel and toe area. Most conventional running shoes have an average drop of 12 mm, which places too much impact and stress on the heel region-- and we know what happens next and it's not good for runners. The runner's cushioned heel strikes the ground first instead of the shoe landing on the more biomechanically efficient midfoot or forefoot. Excessive heel-striking marks an open-invitation for potential knee and leg injuries. But minimalist and barefoot running shoes have a much less drop. Which means you are now landing on the midfoot or forefoot-- the way nature originally intended us to run. Approaching zero drop with your footwear will get you as close as possible to natural or barefoot running. Zero drop has become the ultimate goal for running shoe companies and runners alike.
But the majority of runners, who are used to running in shoes with huge built-up heels, aren't ready to suddenly go all the way to zero drop (which can also cause foot and leg injury if done too hastily because the joints, tendons, and muscles need sufficient time and training to make the new adjustment); hence footwear companies are busy developing intermediate or transitional shoes of varying heel-to-toebox height differences. These transition-style shoes like the popular Nike Frees are ideal for runners looking to safely, and without injury, gradually make the change to a healthier and more natural style of running.
The tres-trendy Vibram's FiveFingers is a zero-drop barefoot running shoe. The makers of the Instinct, Altra Running, which is a young company in Utah and co-founded by serious runners, originally coined the term “zero drop.” (Their lawyers never contacted me when I called my blog Zero Drop; I just thought it was a nifty and memorable name, and so I shamelessly borrowed it. In the beginning, I had toyed with naming the blog Minimalist Shoe, but the “m” word is not the easiest one to spell or type in the correct url.)
Now the review: I love the Instinct. While it’s not flashy or adorned with screaming bright colors, it’s a humble-looking shoe that works. The toebox is wide and ample for my Fred Flintstone feet; because there’s no elevated heel, I can land on the midfoot; and there’s enough cushioning on the outer sole that my feet don’t feel the rocks when I use the Instinct for trail running. Minimalist purists might object that the tread is too thick and inflexible, which diminishes proprioception or body-ground sense; but for the average reborn-to-run runner who wants a more natural gait, this objection seems less of an issue. The shoe is so damn comfortable to run in.
I have been running in the Instincts for about two months-- short runs, the occasional hour-plus runs, on roads, on trails, uphills, downhills--and I really don’t have any complaints. A good shoe should be like that. You aren't aware of any faults or minor annoyances. A bad shoe is when you are constantly aware of something not quite right-- for example, “my toes feel squashed.”
When Pete Larson aka Runblogger first reviewed the Instincts a while back, he said something very prescient and telling: “It's odd to think that a foot-shaped shoe might be considered an innovation, but Altra has done something unique with this shoe.”
The Instinct is priced at $99 (the company sent me a free pair for review), but if I were to go out tomorrow and needed to buy only one minimalist running shoe, I would choose the Instinct. It’s a versatile, all-purpose shoe that is stealthily winning over natural running converts nationwide. If runners ultimately vote with their feet, then the Altra Instinct has all the makings of a winner.
Under Armour Takes on Natural Running with Launch of New Shoe
Zero Drop regularly checks Minimalist Running Shoe's website to see what's new in the footwear world. Founder and creator Nick Pang always has his ear to the ground and feet in a new pair of running shoes that require his rigorous testing. He's also one of the first to write about new "coming soon" shoes that tend to get runners salivating of what to expect to see in stores months from now. This week, he wrote about Under Armour's new foray into natural running with its UA Charge RC. Most of us are already familiar with Under Armour as a manufacturer of sweat-wicking tops; it's now branching into footwear while adopting some of its expertise from the apparel world and applying it to running shoes. According to UA product literature, "a two-piece upper encourages your foot to flex like it does naturally. Snug, UA compression wraps your forefoot muscles in a squeeze that maximizes their strength and slows fatigue. UA HeatGear fabric wicks away sweat to keep your feet dry, cool, and ultra-comfortable." Sounds intriguing.
Barefoot Oprah is a Far Cry from Marathon Oprah
Now vs. then. Always a cruel mistress. Here's two photos of Oprah. One taken recently, as she "braves" hot coals under the watchful eye of motivational kingpin Tony Robbins. Flip the calendar pages back to 1994 when a much slimmer and fitter Oprah clocked a respectable 4:29.20 at the Marines Corps Marathon. She was one of the first celebrities to run a marathon. But as the daytime television-watching world knows, Oprah has experienced a wild roller-coaster ride with her weight. Despite having her own personal trainer and chef, the pounds have kept accumulating. What will it take for Oprah to regain her lost fitness and diet mojo? Walking barefoot on coals doesn't really seem like a step in the right direction.
Check the Footwear in Sex-Fueled Political Ad for Putin’s Political Party in Russia
Going to vote in Russia is one thing. Thinking that you are participating in democratic rule is altogether another thing in a nation where freedom of the press and speech are constantly being put to the test. And not in a good way; dissidents and political opponents are thrown in jail on made-up charges; nosy journalists are savagely beaten up or killed. Nonetheless, Putin's political party is strongly behind its strong man who wants to become president again. This new ad is directed to the youth of Russia to vote. As if. The sexual innuendo clearly trumps the political message. Politics might make strange bedfellows; but voting in Russia gets you laid. See video below of the 50-second ad:
Skora Running Shoes Aim to Score Big
Persistence has certainly paid off for Portland, Oregon-based entrepreneur and formerly injured runner David Sypiewski, who has quietly toiled for several years to make the perfect shoe for injury-free natural running. Soon, all runners will be able to step inside David's dream when Skora running shoes go on sale this February. Well-funded with $1 million in capital from a private investor, Skora just might have a fighting chance in the suddenly crowded minimalist marketplace. "Our shoes are designed to encourage running performance that is as bio-mechanically correct as possible,” Sypniewski told one sports retailer industry newsletter. “Our footwear lets people run naturally. Running form is the most important aspect to injury-free running. Adapting to a zero-drop shoe with minimal padding should be a gradual process and cannot be rushed. The shoes you use need to enable you to run with great mid-foot/whole-foot form and give you the proper feedback with every stride. SKORA shoes do this.”
According to Skora press material, the company will be launching its Base ($125) and Form ($195) shoes. Both models are built on a special footwear last "with a natural arch shape, zero drop from heel-to-toe, a generous ball girth and wide toe box. Total stack height in both models is 13mm with the insole, 9mm without. These features enhance a natural mid-foot/all-foot contact consistent with a ‘barefoot-style’ of running. Both models are designed to be worn comfortably with or without socks." Zero Drop can't wait to try these shoes.
New York City 2011 Marathon in Three Minutes — A Time-Lapsed Visual Delight
Nearly 50,000 runners took part in the 2011 New York City marathon. So for the other 600,000 marathon runners in this country who weren't there to experience firsthand the mass wave start and crossing of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, sit back and watch this time-lapsed video of the early part of the race. It's visual poetry in motion, a river of colorful runners high above the Hudson River.
Two Rivers Treads Launches New Online Store for Minimalist Runners
Things are happening at a furious and exciting pace in the small town of Shepherdstown, West Virginia, and more specifically the nation's first minimalist shoe store, Two Rivers Treads, which got a huge shout-out this week in the New York Times: "Two River Treads {is} a 'natural' shoe store sandwiched between Maria’s Taqueria and German Street Coffee & Candlery in Shepherdstown, W.Va., which, against all odds, {owner} Cucuzzella has turned into possibly the country’s top learning center for the reinvention of running." The article was written by Chris McDougall.
The Trail Glove is one of several Merrell barefoot-style shoes sold at Two Rivers Treads.
Two Rivers Treads now has a brand new online store that launched on Wednesday. Many of the top minimalist brands are carried here: Merrell, Newton, Inov-8, Altra, New Balance (Minimus), VivoBarefoot, Stem, and Vibram. And what's also great about the online store is the emphasis placed on footwear education, running form, and helpful videos. Three of the many favorable testimonials on the store site said it best:
My husband and I drove 650 miles this summer to see this minimalist store. I bought a pair of Terra Planas {Vivo Barefoot) which I love. I hope when people think about buying a running shoes they visit a store that hears their needs and one that gives back to the community such as Two Rivers Treads. The store has become the epicenter of healthy running. Healthy running begins with your feet and Two River Treads only carries healthy shoes.
I came into the store after just reading "Born to Run". The staff spent tons of time discussing the ins and outs of barefoot shoes and what my expectations should be. I left with New Balance Minimus Trail and I wish I never had to put another kind of shoe on my foot again. It has taken some time to get my feet/legs ready for the running, but the change is amazing. I have a faster turnover, less fatigue due to the more efficient gait and no more pain in my knee. I hope that every runner has an equally positive experience. I'm a believer.
The super-wide, zero-drop Altra Instinct is also available at Two Rivers Treads.
I'm a 45-year old runner serving in the US Armed Forces. After running a few marathons last year as I have in years past, I was ready to end my running career because I couldn't withstand the chronic knee pain any longer. I had tried every shoe, custom orthotic, every brace, every treatment short of surgery. I had just figured with age that all good things must come to an end. I was fortunate to cross paths with Two Rivers Treads and Dr. Mark Cucuzzella. Their expert staff took the time to explain body mechanics, skeletal disposition of the foot, and traditional shoe and treatment plans along with a gait analysis (all free). They introduced me to natural style running techniques and after a short transition period of re-learning to run, I have been able to run pain free while throwing away all my previous shoes, braces, etc. I'm scheduled to run a few more marathons in the coming months and for the first time in many years, I'm excited to go to the starting line injury free! Thanks Two Rivers Treads and Dr. Mark!
Zero Drop says, "Check out the store or give them a call 1-855-878-7323 (toll-free). They even offer free shipping and have a generous 30-day return policy.
“The Once and Future Way to Run” by Chris McDougall in New York Times Sunday Magazine
Chris McDougall at Dr. Mark's Cucuzzella’s free barefoot running clinic last May in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Photo by http://machenfamily.blogspot.com.
The timing is perfect. And intentional. The New York City marathon is taking place this weekend. And in the New York Times Sunday magazine, Chris McDougall has written a wonderful article on natural, injury-free running with this rather emphatic headline: “The Once and Future Way to Run.” It’s available online here. It begins with an anecdote about Peter Larson aka Runblogger:
When you’re stalking barefoot runners, camouflage helps. “Some of them get kind of prancy when they notice you filming,” Peter Larson says. “They put on this notion of what they think barefoot running should be. It looks weird.” Larson, an evolutionary biologist at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire who has been on the barefoot beat for two years now, is also a stickler about his timing. “You don’t want to catch them too early in a run, when they’re cold, or too late, when they’re tired.”
If everything comes together just right, you’ll be exactly where Larson was one Sunday morning in September: peeking out from behind a tree on Governors Island in New York Harbor, his digital video camera nearly invisible on an ankle-high tripod, as the Second Annual New York City Barefoot Run got under way about a quarter-mile up the road. Hundreds of runners — men and women, young and old, athletic and not so much so, natives from 11 different countries — came pattering down the asphalt straight toward his viewfinder.
About half of them were actually barefoot. The rest wore Vibram FiveFingers — a rubber foot glove with no heel cushion or arch support — or Spartacus-style sandals, or other superlight “minimalist” running shoes. Larson surreptitiously recorded them all, wondering how many (if any) had what he was looking for: the lost secret of perfect running.
McDougall then goes onto explain how humans went from being “the greatest endurance runners” to limping, injury-prone weekend warriors. Somehow we lost the ability to use our legs as natural springs or shock absorbers; instead we pampered our feet and legs in thickly cushioned running shoes that only ended up injuring that we felt needed protecting. Of course, this phenomenon is of recent vintage, created in large part by the running boom of the early 1980s, when footwear companies began to engage in an escalating battle of who could make the biggest, baddest shoe. It was the footwear version of the arms race. Instead of ICBMs, it was monster-heel crash pads.
But all that is changing. And the catalyst was McDougall himself who learned how to run in Mexico’s Copper Canyon. “After getting rid of my cushioned shoes and adopting the Tarahumaras’ whisper-soft stride, I was able to join them for a 50-mile race through the canyons. I haven’t lost a day of running to injury since.”
He then writes that while “barefoot-style” shoes are now a $1.7 billion industry,”it’s not always the footwear that makes a profound impact on whether a runner gets injured.”It’s about form. Learn to run gently, and you can wear anything. Fail to do so, and no shoe — or lack of shoe — will make a difference.”
Later in the article, McDougall brings up the name Mark Cucuzzella, who as readers of this website know is the Natural Running Center’s co-founder and executive director. Mark also owns a shoe store, and not just any run-of-the-mill running store. McDougall writes, “Two Rivers Treads {is} a “natural” shoe store sandwiched between Maria’s Taqueria and German Street Coffee & Candlery in Shepherdstown, W.Va., which, against all odds, Cucuzzella has turned into possibly the country’s top learning center for the reinvention of running.”
McDougall visited Mark and the store twice and the article explains what he found out about barefoot running in this small town. I won’t spoil the fun and tell you here because the New York Times piece is worth reading in its entirety. But I will end matters with this quote by Pete Larson from the article: “{Mark} has turned a small town in an obese state into a running-crazed bastion of health.{His} effort in transforming Shepherdstown is a testament to what a single person can accomplish.”
Final note: The new online Two Rivers Treads store launched today. Go here. Brands they carry include Altra, VivocBarefoot, New Balance, Merrell, Newton, Saucony, Vibram FiveFingers, and others. Timing is everything!
The Amazing Walking Robot That Can Go 15 Kilometers
This amazingly minimalist robot uses its own self-created power to maintain a steady walking gait for up to 15 kilometers. It just needs a push in the beginning to get going, and then it's all on its own and won't require any water and energy bar breaks.
Running in the Bronx on a Snowy Saturday in October
Hey, climate-change skeptics, Mother Nature knows all about tricks or treats! Photo: Librado Romero/The New York Times
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- “Hey Runners, Don’t Stretch!: Sock Doc Gives 10 Reasons Why
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