Natural running technique

[neoplasme]

Hi, I just read one of the post that was writen by Jonp382 I think and he talks about Natural running technique. What is that exactly? I read somewhere that running like everything else must be learned, so what is a good way to run then?

Thanks
Neo

[jonp382]

Natural running is known as pose method, chi running, and the like. You can check out barefootrunning.com, which gets really hardcore about natural running and makes you go barefoot. Running barefoot isn't a necessity, and it teaches good technique.

http://www.runningbarefoot.org/?name=Beginning
http://www.runningbarefoot.org/?name=How

[Moonduck]

I recently tried chirunning. Neat idea. When I got the form right, running was surprisingly easy. Then I got tired, and my form went all to hell, and I injured myself. Try it, just don't overdo it, like I did.

[Gavin]

Running barefoot is the best, imho. I've been doing it for years. Basically you run like normal, only instead of slamming your heel into the ground, you land on the ball of your foot. If your heel ever touches the ground, it should be lightly. Basically what this does is toughens up the callouses on the balls of your feet (you'll blister a lot at first, so try a light jog to start off and work your way up) and strengthens the arch of your foot (which is very important for good posture and avoiding a lot of back and knee problems). You'll also be a lot faster; your calf muscle will actually act like a "spring" and propel you along. After doing this for a long enough time you'll be able to run down gravel roads at full speed... though I don't even recommend walking down a gravel road barefoot until you've conditioned your feet some more.

Start slow. Take baby steps. No pun intended. :P

[jonp382]

Actually, you don't land on the balls of your foot, you land on the whole foot. Focusing on the front of your foot is just asking for injury. You should never focus on landing on the balls of your feet and the heel should -always- come down with the balls. And the speed of your running is more reliant on your leg speed, not the leg/calf strength.

And NEVER jog. EVER. RUN. It says that in every book and website about natural running technique. Anyone who runs barefoot should at all times remember this.

Gravel roads aren't that bad to walk down or even run down(imo running down is far more dangerous), what should bother you is when you're running on a surface with lots of broken glass or bits and peices of metal/hard trash/big rocks.

[Moonduck]

And NEVER jog. EVER. RUN. It says that in every book and website about natural running technique. Anyone who runs barefoot should at all times remember this.

That's probably what trashed me. when I was actually running, it went great, it wqas when I slowed down that everything went pear-shaped.

[koltz]

Don't run SPRINT :>

[kawana]

whats wrong with running as apposed to sprinting? Back on topic, I had arch problems all my life and strangely enough i almost always walk around more on the balls of my feet, when walking up stairs my heels never touch the ground lol :S

[Sepanto]

Running barefoot is hardcore.... just tried it in my school...

[jonp382]

Well sprinting is better than running cause it takes less time and gives more results, generally

Running up stairs on the balls of your feet is pretty normal

[elai]

Ugh, running on the balls of your feet will cause major shin & calf cramps after a while. When running, you want to land, as a previous poster said using the whole feet starting from the heel.

[Shinobi]

Actually, you don't land on the balls of your foot, you land on the whole foot. Focusing on the front of your foot is just asking for injury. You should never focus on landing on the balls of your feet and the heel should -always- come down with the balls. And the speed of your running is more reliant on your leg speed, not the leg/calf strength.


As our foot lands, it should be moving back (in relation to our body), and matching the speed of the ground beneath us. Technically the foot will move forward above the ground. Then before it touches the ground, it should slow to match the speed of the ground beneath the runner. The foot should be directly beneat the runner as it lands. This is only possible to do comfortably if we land on the balls of the foot. Coincidently, this is the widest part of our foot! , The foot will accellerate out in front of our body, but does not land until after it has slowed down and the body has moved over the foot.

http://runningbarefoot.org/?name=How

Edit: On a side note, cats and dogs can run much faster and jump much higher than us, and they both run on the balls of their feet with their heels raised from birth, which is how they are genetically engineered to move. Landing on the ball of the foot also causes the heel to act as a spring to dampen the shock of impact, so if you land on the balls of your feet, even while jogging, the impact is greatly reduced and much better for your joints, especially in the long run. Just something I've picked up from observation.

[Sepanto]

what's chirunning and how you do it?