Archive for July 2010

Seaton Smith was the guy I was most looking forward to at TEDx, and by the end, he owned the joint. Way more interesting than some guy who thinks he knows all the answers is someone who’s hot on the scent and getting close. You’re not forced to sit back and be lectured; you’re invited…

Jenn Shelton took questions live online yesterday at Portland’s Mail Tribune. No surprise, the conversation went directions others rarely do. Jenn criticizes the sub-title of the book and what she feels is a romanticized portrait of the Tarahumara, but if she wasn’t insightful and out-spoken, I wouldn’t have recognized her. Archived video is at bottom.…

If two of America’s greatest runners can get healthy by getting off their heels, why shouldn’t you? Three years ago, Alan Webb was one of the world’s best milers. In 2007, he ran the fastest time in the world in both the mile and 1500 meters. Then he began to get injured and sank into…

The key to light, easy running is rhythm, and that’s a secret that combat forces have known for thousands of years. Roman centurions used to cover 50 miles in a single night, running with one hand holding their weapons and the other on the shoulder of the soldier ahead of them. That kind of close-quarters…

I’ve been lucky enough to learn from a lot of excellent barefoot runners and natural-running coaches. Dr. Mark Cuccuzella in West Virginia and Ryan Miller in Boston are top-notch; they teach Danny Dreyer’s ChiRunning and are masters of making the technique easy to learn and remember. Ken Mierke, the Annapolis-based coach who developed Evolution Running…

ULTRA RUNNER from Cedar Wright on Vimeo.

Or in the exact words of a study co-authored by Gordon Valiant, Nike’s head of biomechanical research: “Our current approach of prescribing in-shoe pronation control systems on the basis of foot type is overly simplistic and potentially injurious.” This is mindboggling and explosive stuff, and no one explains it better than Peter Larson. Essentially, the…

U.S. military researchers finally stepped in to settle the dust and resolve the running shoe debate. Their question: do running shoes cause the injuries they’re supposed to prevent? Their answer: Hoo-wah! Or as they actually put it: Researchers found almost no correlation at all between wearing the proper running shoes and avoiding injury. Injury rates were…

I got home, took the KSO’s off, and had some blisters, but my PF pain was gone. I was amazed and bewildered. Next time you come across one of those befuddled news stories which ponder whether minimalist running is a fad, consider the case of Sean Fillner. Like many runners, he turned to natural foot…