Perfect running form: Does it exist?
For years, little attention was paid to how runners run. After all, running is little more than putting one foot in front of the other, something most of us have been doing since we were toddlers.
But in the past few years, there has been a lot more discussion about the perfect stride, in particular the importance of which part of your foot makes contact with the ground first.
Harvard’s Daniel Lieberman in 2010 published the first scientific article proposing that the mechanics associated with barefoot running was a more natural way to run.
Yet several studies of marathons, half-marathons and 10K runs found the overwhelming majority of the pack, including those at the front, are heel strikers.
Adding to the debate is the publishing of several new studies that have found adopting a barefoot running style isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Biomechanics experts Benno Nigg and Hendrik Enders of the Human Performance Lab at the University of Calgary took a look at the claims of the barefoot crowd and reviewed the studies to date. They report that landing on the forefoot has no better track record in terms of injuries than does landing heel first.
“The current claim that people running barefoot have fewer running-related injuries than people running in shoes is a speculation that is not supported by conclu- sive epidemiological data,” said Nigg and Enders in their 2013 article titled Barefoot Running — Some Critical Considerations.
They also suggest that the style associated with barefoot running isn’t the perfect way to run.
Bottom line is, if you feel good while running and are relatively injury free, chances are you’ve found the perfect running form. But if you’re chronically injured and running feels anything but good, a few form fixes may be in order. Start by shortening your stride, landing as close to your body as possible. Stand tall with a slight forward lean from the ankles and keep your arms low and close to your torso. Don’t worry about what part of your foot lands first.
Despite all the debate, running is still primarily an act of putting one foot in front of the other.