APPROACHING NATURAL RUNNING

Marathon Sports Newsletter

For the past several years the running world has been filled with news about "minimalist running", "natural running", and "barefoot running".  Much of the interest in moving towards footwear that allow the foot to work without restriction and support was fueled by the publication last year of Chris McDougal's book, Born to Run, which had the Terra Humara tribe as its subject, but was really about the joy of running.  Many of our customers have ventured into the world of "less is more" footwear, but others have been cautious, especially if they have suffered one or more of a multitude of possible ailments which seem to afflict runners.

The Nike Free Run and Nike Free 3.0 are two shoes which have enabled thousands of runners to make the transition from conventional shoes to shoes that give the runner more freedom to run naturally, reducing the effects of initial impact, increasing cadence, and allowing faster recovery.  Nike Frees are very lightweight, but also well-cushioned, extremely flexible, and durable.  This shoe will give many of the benefits of barefoot training along with the cushioning, traction and protection of a shoe. 

Other shoes that will allow you to ease into more minimal shoes are lightweight trainers, such as the Newton Gravity, Newton Motion, Saucony Kinvara, Brooks Launch, and racing flats, including Brooks Green Silence, Brooks T6 Racer, Saucony Type A4,  Mizuno Ronin, Nike Streak, and Adidas Rocket. The Vibram FiveFingers and the Terra Plana EVO are just a step above being barefoot and designed to allow natural running.