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Since high school cross country in the 1970's, we were told the proper distance running form is rolling heal-to-toe, while for the short distance sprinters the
by kebaman 17y ago
Since high school cross country in the 1970's, we were told the proper distance running form is rolling heal-to-toe, while for the short distance sprinters the form is to land on toes or the balls of the feet. This could be one of those shockers where something I've learned turns out to be false.
Still, I'm still finding it hard to imagine running, say, ten miles by landing on the front part of the foot and not the heal first. Maybe we humans aren't naturally evolved to run ten mile distances. I give it a try, but I suspect I'll be a heal-to-toe distance runner.
- unignorant 17y agoThere is a great deal of evidence that humans not only can run long distances, but have evolved to do so. The idea is that before primitive weapons (bow and arrow or whatnot), this is how we caught food -- by simply running it down. From other sources: "Biomechanical research reveals a surprising key to the survival of our species: Humans are built to outrun nearly every other animal on the planet over long distances." http://discovermagazine.com/2006/may/tramps-like-us http://discovermagazine.com/2006/may/tramps-like-us
- karzeem 17y agoHere's David Attenborough narrating a modern-day persistence hunt. It's fascinating stuff. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUpo_mA5RP8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUpo_mA5RP8
- ekanes 17y agoWow. That was amazing, thanks for the link. Note that you can see (supposedly) how his feet land as he runs at 3:11
- sketerpot 17y agoIn other words, we are the Terminators of the animal kingdom: we just keep on coming when any reasonable animal would be collapsing of exhaustion.
- mrduncan 17y agoI really recommend that you check out the book Born to Run [1] which examines barefoot running and how we've evolved. It's been a while since I read it, but I believe it even includes a chapter about persistence hunting [2]. 1. http://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-Greatest/dp/0307266303 http://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-Greatest... 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_hunting http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persistence_hunting
- eru 17y agoStrange. I can't image running heel-to-tow on any distance. While I usually walk heel-to-tow -- running this way just feels painful. By landing on the front part my muscles act like a spring upon impact. I find mid-foot strikes barely acceptable. Edit: Re-read the article. I guess I just ran in cheap "minimal footwear" all my life. Now is this a good or a bad thing?
- shrughes 17y agoUntil middle school I ran toe-first and also walked toe-first, or at least definitely not heel-first -- that changed when I joined the marching band.
- xiaoma 17y agoOf all the primates, only humans have giant Achilles tendons and glutes, both of which are distance running adaptations. Ditto for our highly efficient sweat-cooling system.
- toplakm 17y agoYou can get used to landing on your toes. It took me quite a while to get used to, but I managed to run a half-marathon six months after I started doing it.