Will Run Riot

This is heel-striking, which is what most runners do. The modern running shoe is designed for this. You can see that there is a very high-impact blast that travels up my leg on heel impact.

The team was able to measure the force of these impacts as I ran, and you can see a very pronounced (only slightly less pronounced when I wore sneakers) impact that is rapid. This blip is equivalent to two times my body weight—it’s like someone taking a huge hammer and pounding me on the heel repeatedly.

When the study is completed, they’ll have a lot more conclusive data comparing heel/forefoot striking and shod/barefoot running. It seems clear for now, however, that a toe strike keeps you from generating those very high, very fast forces that your muscles and joints can’t absorb. Running barefoot, you tend to adjust away from this kind of impact because it hurts, but if you insist on wearing expensive, un-scientifically proven shoes, at least act like you’re not wearing them and land on your forefoot.

Spent this morning in Dan Lieberman’s lab as a guinea pig in a study he and his team are doing on barefoot running. I have always wanted to run on a treadmill with electrodes all over me, so now I can check that off the bucket list.

Here is my barefoot stride (though wearing Vibram Five Fingers here), in all its glory. I’m striking the ground with my forefoot, which allows for the arch to compress, absorbing some shock. You can also see how the calves compress more fully and then unload (as compared to the next video where I’m heel-striking).