With the London marathon almost upon us there was a report on BBC breakfast that caught my eye offering good advice to those taking part. It is from the sports presenter Mike Bushell who will be running the marathon this year. Although it is primarily about the London marathon the advice is relevant to any event. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12608592
I have just read a very interesting article on the BBC website under the science and environment link that reports on a study that has been carried out on the effects of barefoot running versus the very cushioned shoes that we all wear. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8483401.stm Not sure personally that I would go running barefoot myself, far too many sharp things on the roads and tracks around here on my soft feet . However it certainly builds on the debate about the perceived benefit of this type of running. One of the alternatives to sore and cut feet could be the five toed running socks I wrote about in an earlier post. http://www.rangeofmotion.co.uk/archives/425
There is certainly much more to be gained from mid foot and forefoot striking rather than the energy sapping heel strike. The mechanics of the foot with the distribution of the bones, joints and muscles certainly indicate that we get much more power in each stride by a mid foot strike. A few words of caution though; you cannot just change styles overnight after years of heel strike running. Your body will have to learn to adapt to the change. I have worked with some clients using preventative massage treatments and a programme of stretches to facilitate an injury free transition. This has seen them take minutes of PBs and be less susceptible to impact injuries.
Just a quick note of congratulations to Stephen and Paula [I do have to declare a very close personal interest in Paula - we are married!] who I have worked with and continue to do so through a programme of regular maintenance and injury prevention. They both successfully completed the Leith Hill Half Marathon http://www.trionium.com/ and achieved personal best times for the off-road, hilly event. Although for Stephen that was a little easy – he had never run it before!
I can directly vouch for how well they both ran as Paula had persuaded me to join them. It is an excellent event, very tough.
Both Stephen and Paula have a number of targets for the forthcoming year: for Paula the London Marathon in April and the Atlantic Coast Challenge (3 marathons in 3 days) http://www.votwo.co.uk/votwo2007/events-and-adventure/race_view.php?i=73 at the end of September 2009.
Stephen is building for the Swiss Ironman http://ironman.com/events/ironman/switzerland event in July and we have put together a specific package for him that compliments his training programme.
