Every time I tell someone that I’m struggling to find a blog topic, I’m always told I should write about running. For those of you who didn’t know, I’m running the London Marathon on 17th April. I thought I knew enough about running to perform at my best, and was happy with how my training was going. Then I found this video and realised that I [and most other people] actually know very little about the best way to run to peak ability and avoid injury. Christopher McDougall has some very interesting advice about running, as well as innovative ideas with regards to humanity's history and how we used running on a daily basis.
Having watched this video, I decided to do a little research of my own. First I looked up the Tarahumara and found that they run on the balls of their feet - a technique known as 'toe-striking'. Then I looked up the current marathon world record holder, Haile Gebrselassie [don’t worry, I can’t pronounce it either]. I decided to watch videos of him on a treadmill to see if Mr McDougall was right in his theory of toe-striking rather than heel-striking, and he was. You can tell the difference by how little he tilts his foot back. It’s hard to get this video to pause just before his foot hits the floor so I’ve taken a screen shot as well to show you.t
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| An example of heel-striking |
Since stumbling upon these revelations, I’ve run twice utilising this new information and have found that toe-striking actually helps maintian a consistant speed and stops your legs hurting as much, especially on inclines. As such, I would strongly suggest at least trying toe-striking next time you go for a jog and just see if it works for you.
Until next time, take care and be excellent to each other.
Fred out.
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