There Is A Right Way To Run

When it comes to sports and activities, there is generally a right way to do things. There is a right way to swing a golf club, a right way to throw a football, a right way to surf, a right way to swing a baseball bat, and a right way to consistently bowl a strike.

Wrong (left guy) vs Right (right gal)

Why then do a lot of people say "well, that is just how I run?" Now, there are different kinds of running of course. I am not talking about doing hurdles, sprinting or other track-and-field activities. I am talking about the kind of running most runners engage in, which is relatively leisurely running for distance, health or both.

Jason over at Barefoot Running University has thrown down a challenge to anyone to make an assertion that it is more efficient and safer to run the way most shoe companies would have you believe, namely:

• by having a long stride
• landing on your heel with your foot in front of you
• have a slow cadence, somewhere well south of 180 strides per minute, getting your speed instead by kicking out and leaping forward with each stride.

Note that no one is saying there is one way to run. You can run with a quick cadence, landing mid-foot under your hips and still modify your lean angle, how far you kick between strides, the angle of your elbows, etc. Some may be more efficient than others depending on your desired speed, the grade the hill you may be going up or down on is, and even the terrain. Note too that methods like Chi Running (my favorite) or the POSE method advocate slight differences, but fundamentally, they are the same, which is a fast cadence (180+ strides per minute) and landing with your foot under you, never in front.

Do you agree, or disagree?