Working in a pedorthic clinic which deals with quite a few runners, we are definitely getting quite a few questions about ‘minimalist’  running these days.  Although this is certainly a topic that could fill a book (and has filled many books!), I’d like to answer a few questions here that we’ve recieved lately. 

(1) Is ‘minimalist/barefoot’ running all about the shoes? 

 No.  It seems that all the current research is pointing towards heavily cushioned running shoes as being the cause of many of our running woes.  Because our bodies have so many inherent tools to to be able to absorb shock, we definitely have lost some of those properties by putting a high, soft barrier between our foot and the ground.  We can see this often immediately with most people when we have them remove their shoes and run a few seconds barefoot.  In most cases, within a few seconds the body will adjust naturally by leaning forward, taking more steps (increasing cadence) and landing more on the midfoot because it hurts to land on our heels when we don’t have shoes on.  So, there seems to be little doubt at this point that running without shoes allows our bodies to absorb shock in a much more efficient manner (the way that it was supposed to).  With that being said though, most of us don’t have the flexibity, strength or technique to carry this style of running for for very long before getting injured.  Even though it’s a good change, it’s still quite a change.   And this is where we find people run into problems.   

The ’minimalist’ shoe push is much more than just a shoe change.  It’s about learning to run better and more efficiently.  Whether someone just does some running drills (which often includes barefoot or ‘racing flat’ drills/running), works on increasing their cadence, works more on flexibility or works on strengthening, they will likely have decreased their risk of injury and also likely become a faster runner.  As someone slowly transitions to better running technique (which involves all the above principles),  they will naturally be able to cover more distance with a lower heeled shoe.

A couple questions I’ll look at next time are, “How slowly is it recommended to transition to barefoot/minimalist shoes?” and “What are running drills and how do I do them?”. 

Ryan

Probably one of the most obvious differences between trail shoes and regular running shoes is their more rugged structure.  Trail shoes often have re-enforced upper materials in order to protect your feet from poking sticks and rocks.  In addition, trail shoes often have a much higher density mid-sole material in order to alleviate bruising from below from rocks and roots.  I would debate that these features don’t necessarily reduce the risk of ankle sprains however these are definitely valuable features to have if you have more sensitive feet that feel bruised after a run on the trails, or if you are looking for something more durable.  

The main downside that I see to trail shoes is their lack of specific support with respect to the various foot types.  Because the majority of trail shoes are neutral, certain foot types may run into problems due to their lack of specific motion control.  In addition, because trail shoes are often heavier and stiffer, they don’t always work so well running on harder surfaces.

My general suggestion to most people asking whether or not to make the switch to trail shoes is to stick with their regular running shoes.  This way you have a familiar, comfortable fit that should work well on the majority of trails.  That being said, for those looking for extra durability or a little more protection from the elements, trail shoes can certainly offer that extra level of protection.

Happy trails!

As a pedorthist (aka  a guy who deals with feet), one question that I certainly get asked alot is how to fit running shoes. What’s the proper fit?  Can they be too big?  Too small?  What are the consequences of wearing shoes too big or too small?  Hopefully I can provide a little insight into what to look for when fitting your running shoes.

First of all, here are a few basic tips when going out to buy your running shoes:

• Try shoes on closer to the end of the day or after a run/walk when your feet are likely to be a little more swollen.
• Always stand when checking the size.
• Don’t be alarmed if your shoe size various significantly from brand to brand (even different models within the same brand can have different sizing).  I often see people caught up with being a certain size which can certainly lead to a lot of grief.  This is also one of the concerns with buying shoes online.  Unless it’s exactly the same model from the same year, be careful as sizing is often different!
• Bring your regular run socks with you when you go in to try on shoes.  Thickness of sock can definitely change shoe size!

That being said, let’s look at what constitutes a ‘proper’ fit.  Ideally, when standing there is approximately 1/4 – 1/2  a thumbnails space from the end of your longest toe to the end of the shoe.  For width, you want to be filling out the sides of the shoe without hanging over the midsole.  For width, it often helps to look at the laces when you have the shoes laced up.  The eyelets (the holes that the laces go through) should be about an inch apart and pretty consistant throughout.  If the gap between eyelets is quite large the shoe is likely too narrow.  If the eyelets of the shoes are being pulled together, you might want to look for something a little narrower (many of the brands have width sizing).

This being the ideal, there is certainly quite a bit of room to vary here for personal preference.  Some certainly like their shoes to fit a bit snugger while others prefer to have a little more space.  This is often figured out through trial and error (some expensive experiments!).  Problem with shoes being too small is a heightened risk of black toenails and blisters due to the foot rubbing up against the material of the shoe.  Problem with shoes being too small is that the shoe may bend in the wrong spot.  If you look at the bottom of your shoes, you’ll notice some little grooves cut into the outsole of the shoe near where the toes bend (called flex grooves).  If the shoes are too big, this groove is in the wrong spot and can potentially cause trauma to the forefoot.  Shoes that are too big can also lead to blistering due to excessive movement in the shoe.

If you’ve been running for years, you likely already know what works best for you.  For those newer into the sport or for those experiencing problems with shoe fit, it can certainly help to find someone knowledgeable at one of your local specialty shoe stores to help you out.

Happy running!

Ryan

The problem is that we often know the benefits of being in our running shoes (they just feel better!), but can’t imagine being in them all the time (for either heat, style or convenience reasons).  So what do we do?  I often recommend a bit of a comprimise here and it depends alot on listening to your body.  Number one priority (especially if you’re injured) should be finding a footwear system that allows you to be comfortable and pain free.  This is generally going to be a running shoe.  Once we have a good system from which to compare to, we can start to find which of our other shoes cause problems.  For example, I definitely wear less than ideal sandals in the summer but I don’t wear them when my feet are sore.  If I’ve done a particularily difficult workout and my feet/knees/legs are sore, I try to wear my running shoes more and avoid my sandals until the pain disappears.  Sounds very simple (which it is) but our bodies are really very good at telling us when we need to do things – we’re just not very good at listening!   If the sandals/dress shoes/casual shoes etc are not causing any problems, then they’re proabably okay for limited wear.  If you really want/need to be wearing sandals or dress shoes and they’re causing problems compared to your running shoes then some changes need to be made.  Finding better sandals/dress shoes, wearing them less or adding inserts (either over the counter or custom made arch supports) are all ways to make a less than optimal system better.

Runners tend to be a grumpy bunch when they’re not able to do the activity they love due to injury (I’m certainly a part of this group)!  Wearing that flip flop for a long walk is often not worth the risk of injury and can easily be avoided by wearing your running shoes.  That being said, there’s often nothing wrong with wearing sandals or dress shoes for casual wear provided there’s no pain. 

Good Luck to everyone in their Spring races!

How long should I keep my shoes?  All kinds of guidelines out there, but it is generally recommended to change shoes every 600 – 800km or 6-8 months.  I find that this is generally pretty accurate, but an even better guide is often how your knees, shins and feet are feeling.  If it’s been around 6-8 months or 600-800km and you’re a little more sore than normal, probably a good time to change shoes (a good little tip to keep track of the age of your shoes is to write the purchase date in permanent marker on the midsole of the shoe).  If in doubt, go try a new pair on.  Amazing how worn out your old shoes can feel when compared to something new.

How far in advance of the race should I change my shoes?  Rule number one (for many things -not just shoes) is ‘nothing new on race day’!  If you are switching into the exact same shoe, two weeks prior to the race should give you at least 3-6 runs to adapt to the new pair.  If switching into something different (even if it’s a newer version of the same shoe), try to give yourself about a month in the new shoes prior to the race.  This way, you’ll have one or two long runs in the new shoes to make sure that there will be no surprises on race day (blisters etc.).  As tempting as it can be to switch into a fancy new shoe from the race expo the day before the race (especially if they are a great deal!), it is rarely worth the risk.   I would also say the same for clothing – nothing worse than finding out that new shirt that you’ve been saving for race day has a nice logo that causes 42km of chafing!

Should I wear racing flats for the race?  Same as above in that you definitely don’t want to be trying anything new on race day.  If you’ve been using racing flats for training and are confident that they can get you through your race distance, than they certainly can save a few seconds.  That being said, saving a few seconds is certainly not worth losing minutes due to injury! 

Good luck at your races!

Ryan

For this blog, I’d like to talk a bit about the confusion surrounding picking running shoes when you have orthotics.  I could probably write a book about this topic alone but I’ll try to keep it short so you can all get out for your runs!

I really feel that everyone needs to have the proper level of support with their running shoes as a starter.  For some, this will mean a motion control shoe with the proper level of posting and for others it will mean a minimilist neutral shoe (or no shoes!).  We should be able to get most runners and walkers lined up straight with the proper level of support in the running shoes.  Once that foundation is established, there are certainly cases where arch supports may be necessary.  Congenital issues (thanks Mom and Dad!), soft tissue issues and other biomechanical problems can often require the use of orthotics (either custom or over the counter).  Because most orthotics these days are made based on positioning your foot in a neutral position, there is often very little concern of over correction with the shoe.  

Where much of the confusion comes in with fitting shoes with orthtotics is that it’s commonly assumed that if you have an orthotic, you go with a neutral shoe.  This rarely works unless you are neutral to begin with.  When running, we come down on our feet with up to 2-3 times our body weight.  If you have a runner who over-pronates (rolls inwards with the feet) excessively, it would be very difficult to control this with an orthotic.  The shoe, however, should be able to control this.  Once we have that over-pronation controlled with the proper shoe, we have a perfect foundation to place an orthotic on top of if necessary. 

So to summarize:

(1) In most cases, select the proper level of support with your running shoes first.  This is your foundation and we should be able to get most runners lined up properly in their correct support category. 

(2) Orthotics, when necessary, provide arch support and can help with other issues that may not be able to be addressed by the shoes alone.  Because in most cases we don’t have to change support categories of running shoes, it often makes the transition to the orthotic much easier.

This certainly won’t apply to everyone but I do find it works well in most situations.  Hope this helps and definitely keep the questions coming!

Ryan

 Hey everyone – this is officially my first foray into the world of blogging (ooooh, very exciting)!   And what more exciting a topic to blog about than the world of running and shoes.   Okay, well maybe not the most exciting thing to everyone but most of us do spend a large part of each day in some sort of footwear (and most of us on this website do enjoy running).   In the next couple of weeks I will write about some common footwear mistakes, how to pick the correct shoes, how to know when it’s time for a new pair and what’s new in the world of running shoes.  I would definitely welcome any questions and will do my best to get answers up quickly!

So, in the spirit of a blog about shoes, my first blog is going to be about barefoot running!   The current issue of iRun magazine (out today)  is about picking the proper footwear for you so I thought I might add a little aside about a very popular topic in running these days – barefoot running.  I wrote this for another forum a few weeks ago and have posted it here:

I don’t think many experts will disagree with the potential benefits of moving towards a more efficient running style. However, we do have to be cautious with making these changes too quickly without the proper foundation.

We base many of the barefoot, ’simplistic’ (although it is far from simple!) styles of running from tribes in South America and Africa that do run many barefoot miles each day with a significantly lower rate of injury, and typically at a much greater speed. This is certainly a model that we would all aspire to be like for our running. However,  most of us live very differently from those types of runners. For many of us, we sit all day at work which can cause certain muscles to shorten and tighten. As well, we may have certain strength imbalances and/or other genetic predispositions (fallen arches or high, rigid arches, leg length discrepancies, etc.) that may put us at greater risk of injury. Often the problem with immediately ditching our regular shoes and going out for a run barefoot or with a minimalist shoe is that we haven’t yet addressed some of these underlying problems.

That being said, there are many potential gains to be made from transitioning to a better running technique and getting away from overly cushioned running shoes. (It is the over cushioning that is often much more of a problem than the motion-control features of a shoe.) By improving our running efficiency, we set ourselves up to run both faster and likely with less injury. We associate swimming with technique and will spend a good portion of each workout doing drills, and yet we don’t attribute the same gains with running technique and running drills. Many runners who are able to run with minimalist shoes or barefoot either have been blessed with good genetics or more likely, have run track as a kid (or as an adult) and have done drills to ingrain proper technique.

Here are a few suggestions that I would make for those looking into improving their running technique:

(1) Find out where your weak spots are and fix them. It’s not just muscles in the foot and lower leg that cause injuries, but more likely it is the larger muscle groups in the thigh and hip. For example, if a runner is weak through the hip, especially on one side only, it can cause all kind of issues down below. Unfortunately, in most cases no amount of barefoot running will fix this. Going through a proper strength assessment with a professional and working on your weak spots is a great place to start.

(2) Flexibility, flexibility, flexibility. We do often sit a good part of the day and things get tight. We then expect our bodies to adapt to high mileage, intensity and new techniques which is often a recipe for injury. Improving flexibility through better stretching, yoga, and deep tissue work (i.e. sports massage, ART, etc.) means that our bodies will be so much more accommodating to change. Once strength imbalances are taken care of and flexibility is improved, we already have dramatically increased the odds of being successful with any kind of change in technique.

(3) Find a good running coach or go to see a professional who can help with proper technique.  One of the keys to proper technique is doing it properly. This sounds straight-forward but many people will read theory and incorporate it improperly which can cause even more problems. Adding insult to injury, if strength imbalances and flexibility issues aren’t first taken care of, many runners won’t be able to perform the technique properly anyway. Video analysis can be very beneficial for this so that you can actually see what you are doing and track changes over time.

For those willing to put the proper amount of background work in, a gradual change towards better running technique can be very rewarding for both reducing injuries and for gaining speed. For the lucky some (generally those with the right genes and the appropriate lifestyle) it may require very little background work. For the others, it can take years, if ever, to be able to run barefoot or in minimalist shoes. Regardless of whether we are able to run barefoot or with minimalist shoes or not, by improving flexibility, strengthening, and technique, we’re still much better off in the long run (no pun intended!).

Thanks for reading!

Ryan