Shoes and Injury

One question that keeps coming up is "aren't you afraid of getting injured from running so much?"
People also ask advise on what to do about hip, knee, foot, and shin pain when they first start running. I usually direct them to take a look at their running shoes. What shoes are they wearing?

What I have found is most people are running in shoes that are way overbuilt and are controlling how their foot moves. I think we have become conditioned to think that the more cushioning the better. The problem is, most of these highly cushioned shoes have a very high heel and force you to run unnaturally. Now, I'm no expert at running mechanics, but have logged a number of miles in cushioned shoes and a number of miles in minimal cushioned shoes and feel a big difference. I have always been a forefoot/mid foot runner. In other words, when my foot strikes the ground on each stride, my forefoot/mid foot strikes first. If you were to look at the bottom of my worn out running shoes, you would find that there is little to no wear on the heels.

Take a look at this video. I'm no barefoot runner, but the video shows you the mechanics of the foot and running. And while I do not agree that we evolved over 2 million years into runners, I believe we were created that way from the beginning. Our feet are amazing in how much weight they can support and how much energy they disperse with each step. Nonetheless, a video worth viewing.

The second question I ask is "how old are your shoes and do you wear them besides running?"

Most people wear their shoes for running, going to the gym, working in the yard, and around town. What happens is that your shoes will develop a wear pattern from walking. The heel will wear at an odd angle and the forefoot will as well. When you go out and run, this wear will "force" your feet to follow that pattern. Running is very different from walking. Therefore, it is best to have a pair of shoes for running only.

Again, I am no expert on running mechanics and certainly not a doctor. I recommend you do some research though before buying your next pair of shoes. Also, go to a running specialty store and get advise. Unfortunately, your local sporting goods store typically does not employ running experts.