Overstriding overstriders..

This video shows some people overstriding. You can see their quad flex as their knee locks completely out then they heelstrike. Looks very damaging.

"While living I want to live well." - Geronimo

Great comparison videos

I found these very interesting. Seeing how badly the majority of the people in the videos are toe-pointed-at-the-sky-heel-striking I see why 80% of runners have injuries. The smooth stride of the barefooted runner and the runner in VFF's just look so less jarring and painful.

"Video of a series of runners filmed at 300 frames/sec near the ~17.5 mile mark of the 2010 Boston Marathon (on Washington St. near the intersection with Commonwealth Ave.). All were on a sub-3:00 marathon pace at this point in the race. Note the barefoot runner near the middle of the clip. Courtesy ofhttp://www.runblogger.com".

"Video of a runner in Vibram Fivefingers filmed at 300 frames/sec near the ~17.5 mile mark of the 2010 Boston Marathon (on Washington St. near the intersection with Commonwealth Ave.). Runner was on a sub-3:00 marathon pace at this point in the race. Courtesy of http://www.runblogger.com "

           

"Video of a series of runners filmed at 300 frames/sec near the ~3 mile mark ofa local level 5K. All were middle of the pack runners. Courtesy ofhttp://www.runblogger.com."

"While living I want to live well." - Geronimo

Great information regarding overstriding and how pawback can help ...and what pawback is.....

I found these articles to be very informative for overall picture of not only form.... but the entire idea of self correcting your own running form.

http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=23217&PageNum=1

http://www.elitefts.com/documents/do_you_pawback.htm

This site is an amazing source of information outside of just this article.

http://www.scienceofrunning.com/2011/04/most-important-information-you-will.html

One from a female perspective.

http://www.girlinmotion.com/pawback-a-lightbulb-moment

                      "While living I want to live well." - Geronimo

Trail Running Uphill With Scott Jurek

Advice from a legend:

"While living I want to live well." - Geronimo

I find these types of visual comparisons to be very helpful. Especially being able to associate how well each runner is doing in the race with how high their stride is and how relaxed and efficient they run.

"While living I want to live well." - Geronimo

Sage - Abreast - Guru

Professor of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University - Daniel Lieberman

"But ultimately, the debate isn't about Bare Soles vs. Shoes. It's  about learning to run gently. Master that, and you can wear — or not wear — anything you please."  - Christopher MacDougall ("Born to Run") 

"While living I want to live well." - Geronimo

"While living I want to live well." - Geronimo

Caveat- Dictum - Heed

Here is a segment from a Running Times article on minimalism. 

"But this running revolution is about much more than just shoes. Coinciding with new shoe designs is a growing movement from shoe brands, retailers, coaches, bloggers and technique gurus preaching the tenets of more efficient, natural running form. It's about continually developing core strength, being relentless about form drills and the notion that being a committed runner isn't merely about running miles and stretching.

Running in these new shoes requires stronger foot, ankle, lower leg and core muscle groups than traditionally cushioned trainers, and it takes time and effort to make the transition. Such a changeover will vary for every runner, but, even if you've been running and racing for years, if you don't conscientiously work on form and strength with minimal running, you could wind up with sore calf muscles, strained Achilles tendons, aching feet or more serious injuries, says Washington, D.C., podiatrist Stephen Pribut.

"The transition is very important, and it may take up to a few months to do that," says Pribut, who warns that numerous other factors, including a runner's weight, body composition, past injury patterns, level of fitness and running goals should be considered before making a drastic change in footwear styles."

Here is the link to this entire article. http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=22276

Here is another good article on making the transition: http://runnatural.org/running-shoes/transitioning-to-barefoot-style-running/

"While I live I want to live well." - Geronimo

9 year old from below...at 10 years old, from a year ago...

His mother is a great coach and it shows in his efficient light fast foot turnover and minimal bouncing. If you watch his nose in relation to the horizontal fence railing on the slow motion portion you can see how little he is bouncing vertically.

"While living I want to live well." - Geronimo

Embodiment

Paul Tergat and  Haile Gebrselassie have probably the most proven near-perfect running forms on Earth. This is a nice way to view what I think we should visualize to mimic when we run. Great form.  

Paul Kibii Tergat (born June 17, 1969) is a Kenyan professional long distance runner. He held the world record in the marathon from 2003 to 2007, with a time of 2:04:55, and is regarded as one of the most accomplished long-distance runners of all time.

"While living I want to live well." - Geronimo

I like his explanation of why you shouldn't stride past your hips!

"While living I want to live well." - Geronimo

These are great examples of proper mid foot/forefoot striking. 

 Notice even though he strides out in front of his body he doesn't weight his leading foot until it is almost directly underneath his body. 

He is also probably sprinting here so the stride may look a little exaggerated. 

I found this one helpful for myself due to seeing how neutral his foot lands here. The BOF (ball of foot) lands just a hair before the rest of his foot. Same as with the Kenyan runner.

They are forefoot/mid foot striking but you don't see the ,"pointing my toes like a bobsledder" that you see in many people trying to get away from heel striking. Make sure not to trade heel striking for black and blue toe nails of running too much on your toes.

Notice also that they are not gripping with their toes as they contact the ground. The toes naturally peel up off the ground as the foot rolls forward, but they aren't doing the "picking up a sock with your toes" scrunching of the toes at all.  This is something I've had to personally work to stop myself from doing because I was getting blisters on my toe pads.

Kick off your shoes and try and apply. It's hard to feel these little critiques when your foot is wrapped in a block of foam.

"While living I want to live well." - Geronimo

Excellent drills and prior run warm up exercises!

"While living I want to live well." - Geronimo

Unclad Paw

I think this video is a great overall explanation of proper form, self help drills, and cautionary advice for beginners.

Learn to Run Barefoot with Lee Saxby and Terra Plana from GTB Goodtruebeautiful GmbH on Vimeo.

"While living I want to live well." - Geronimo

Bipedal absconding admonition

First off I highly recommend Christopher Mcdougall's book "Born to Run". The video below is a NY Times interview with the author.

"The Roving Runner strides along Central Park barefoot with Christopher McDougall, author of the bestselling book "Born to Run."

"Shoes block pain, not impact!

Pain teaches us to run comfortably!

From the moment you start going barefoot, you will change the way you run. "

-excerpt from Christopher Mcdougall's book "Born to Run". Page 157

Here is some of the videos I've come across that I feel explain the biomechanics of running in very informative ways. Applying this information can help us all reduce injury, run faster, longer, and more efficiently:

"Born To Run Coach, Eric Orton, discusses and demonstrates run form and technique."

"Video illustrating a progression for teaching correct running technique - in particular, good initial footplant with the ball of the foot. Companion video to an article on the PE Digest website"

"All three athletes perform on national (the Netherlands) top level in their age group.

Karlijn (14) runs a 3,06.32 on 1000m, a 2,27 on 800m and a 5,16.4 on 1500m.

Corinde (12) does a 1,47.17 on 600m and a 3,09.07 on 1000m.

Diane (10), most eager one, runs a 3,20.27 on 1000m. She has a very nice pull and her running shows minor vertical oscillation.

The eldest two run the 5K well within 20 minutes."

Watching kids run, like other things, I believe, is a small window into what we ,as adults, should strive for. From the joy on their faces to the absolute vigor with which they run, but especially their running form which hasn't yet been ruined through years of shoe-caused muscle atrophy.  

"Overall very nice running, definitely a natural talent. Nevertheless there are issues to work on. Jurriaan (light as a feather) is landing lateral on BOF due to foot positioning and active landing. On the left almost crossing over the midline, the right foot lands about on the midline. To keep balance he has to shift his trunk to the lateral side excessively (lateroflexion). His "errors" show more when he runs at slow pace, then there's some active push-off as well. Also arm movement can be improved."

There is a message in the video poster's (Thjeko) defense. Less cushioning = less impact. You have to land softly with less cushioning... otherwise it hurts.  
Here is the link to which he refers regarding heel strike.

Here is a link to a nice explanation of some benefits and how to use a foam roller and tennis ball to give yourself a decent deep tissue massage after every run aiding in injury reduction and shortening recovery time. Foam Rolling for A**holes 

"While living I want to live well." - Geronimo