Experienced Barefoot Runner, Forefoot Strike Running - Slow Motion

[snorman1911]

Good landing, looks like the foot "pushes off" a bit though as you can see it sliding rearward on takeoff.

[jmhanson02]

Seriously people?!?! Don't any of you feel like technology (fancy running shoes) is held on too high a pedestal? You weren't born with $150 running shoes on your feet because that is not how your foot is supposed to operate. Yes, I agree that in this day and age you need protection but that's where stuff like Vibram's come in. Shoes change your bodies natural posture. Stop screwing with your bodies Grand Design.

[eamster11]

@jmhanson02 i have flat feet though

[LiquidTyler]

@jmhanson02 The body also designed a brain that, in concert with the rest of the body, is able to manipulate the environment for faster advantages than evolutionary adaptations can provide. There are literally thousands of examples of this. If you think technology is on too high of a pedestal because of a pair of running shoes, then your powers of observation are in the shitter.

[Gr1Fy]

@LiquidTyler God, that was so well said.

Also..

NonY hwaitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!­

[ggfaceslaps]

@LiquidTyler I'd let you do gay things to me if you'd ask. No homo though

[jmhanson02]

@LiquidTyler Allow me to make a shitter observation. You didn't give a shred of evidence that your statement is true. Your brain does not manipulate environments. There is always give and take in all things altered and in the case of shoes, you take extra protection against a sometimes harsh environment, but you give balance and small muscle function of the feet. Fact: ever since I stopped wearing shoes most of the time, my toes have spread out more and increased my balance tremendously.

[volimvolim1]

Only idiots (like I see some running wanna be Africans) would run barefoot or in so-called sock sneakers;;hehe a 40 year old slapping his feet on concrete is hilarious, injury waiting to happen any moment..running from childhood on dirt roads (eg Africans who cannot afford sneakers) leads to bones/tendons etc adapting over many years to this, but a New Yorker in his 30s or 40s slapping on concrete thinking his cool haha welcome to ITB, bursitis, and dozens of other problems

[llandudnoboy]

@silentboyfilms

You probably did that on a athletics track which thankfully is free of glasssharp stones etc.

Those Kenyans who train in Africa do not wear shoes for the simple reason is that they cannot afford them.

It is a very rare sight to see an athlete run barefoot.

10.38 for 3000m is a good time but i bet you did it on a track where there was little chance of picking up an injury.

[llandudnoboy]

One fool ran this years Snowdon Marathon barefoot.

What if he had encountered broken glass or other sharp object along the way.

All it proves is that he is foolish to even attempt it.

Running shoes are made for a particular purpose to protect our skin and feet from goodness knows what that fools discard along the byways and highways.

[snorman1911]

@llandudnoboy If that were true, all we would need is a thin layer of protection (like a pair of Vibrams). Instead shoes have evolved into mamoth "shock absorbers" that absorb shock in the exact wrong way we were meant to run. If you watch elite racers they wear very thin soled shoes and do not land on their heels like Nike wants us to.

Broken glass is always brought up, but I've never stepped on it.  Why are people so insanely afraid of broken glass?

[llandudnoboy]

@snorman1911

You forget that not everyone has a neutral running style like the majority of elite runners.

Runners who run barefoot who have motion control problems ( Over & Under Pronation as it,s called) would easily pick up an injury without foot support.

As for foreign objects in our path, it's inevitable that some careless person will discard a sharp object that you often cannot avoid.

Wearing of shoes is designed to protect the modern person from stepping on modern rubbish

[snorman1911]

@llandudnoboy I have had traditionally extremely "flat" feet. I wore supportive shoes all my life and was told to never run without orthotics. I've found that that advice is a load of rubbish. In fact, wearing a shoe is more likely to cause injury because the big heel gives a better lever for twisting your ankle, plus your feet get weaker in shoes.

Stepping on something sharp just about never happens, just look where you're going (I run right over sticks and rocks anyway).

[AZZAflipnote]

i run like this in shoes!!!! i like not having to flex my foot up so much... its nice

[1jentoni1]

I've Always Run Like This, But I've Never Ran Without Shoes.... Why?

[crashmoderately]

I can't get it down. It's driving me mad.

[KeleLouvre]

OK, so there seems to be some confusion as to the meaning of my earlier comments. My point was not that fore / mid foot striking is bad (it is indeed the proper form, and the way I run) but more that bickering about form on youtube is not the way to get fast.(the irony of this all is not lost on me) No matter how perfect your form, you still need to go run. In my experience, the form usually works itself out if you run enough.

Hope everyone had a good, fast run today. I sure did.

[WeAreN1nja]

@KeleLouvre Absolute truth. Your form will work itself out if you run enough.

[csacomedy]

@WeAreN1nja absolutely not true. If you play golf wrong for 40 years you will not have a perfect form. If you never learn to swim and try everyday you will look different and do it worse than people who learned. You have to be taught running like most things, so many things have to be taken into account. It's natural, but it's not completely instinctual

[WeAreN1nja]

@csacomedy Not "perfect" form per se, but your body has sense of self-preservation and can correct some issues on it's own. When I first began running a year and a half ago, I ran as I had been taught; heel striking like I hated my skeletal system. By the end of the first week, I couldn't figure out why I couldn't run comfortably without leaning forward or coming down on my mid/forefoot or why my feet (not my knees) hurt. And this was long before I knew anything about proper form or footstrike.

[sicapitan]

Why show the feet when you don't show the back...

[olie353]

It's simply makes sense. It looks so smooth. Great video

[KaizyDPower]

yay feet!

[Lovebeecharmer]

beautiful

[seanofafrica]

Seb Coe was (is) a forefoot striker.

[KeleLouvre]

Go run 10 miles, then see if you feel the need to bicker about form. I'm out, I'll see any of you who compete on the track in May / June.

[vichuit]

@KeleLouvre Most of the elite runners who run those sort of distances everyday use this form. It's the natural way that humans run.

[AwesomeRants]

@KeleLouvre Go run 100. The tarahumara do, with this exact technique.

[KeleLouvre]

Just don't overstride you freakin' nit picking idiots. Any significant contact in front of the midline is in effect braking. I have avoided straying into the comments section of youtube / flotrack / runnersworld just to avoid comment strings like this for some time, and I will likely continue to do so. There is no secret. Just run as many miles as you can, and then run more. I'm quite confident that I am faster than all of you.

[jimbo9203]

@KeleLouvre trolololol

[Jouwl]

His arch is rather low, isn't it?

[fuzzydeer]

@Jouwl No its the lighting, its hard to distinguish depth.

[toby099]

Btw, this is Chris McDougall (author of Born to Run) in this video.

[Evanamd]

@searchforre4kmando Are you under the impression that forefoot running is the same as running on your toes?

[MartinFTW]

@searchforre4kmando I'm sorry for straying slightly off-topic, but must ask you to think through your messages before you post. I'm not saying that you're not an ultrarunner (even though I doubt it). First of all, You do not know what my knowledge is in this field, nor can you unless I tell you. Second, please format and think through your message. Sitting and running at the same time is impossible and there's no need for insults. I think his strike looks fine, but I'm no expert.

[toby099]

@MartinFTW

Dude that guy is not a ultrarunner, his profile says he is 15 and his grammar virtually confirms it

[MartinFTW]

@searchforre4kmando Actually, you can clearly see that he lands with a forefoot strike on the fourth and fifth metatarsal. Proper form.