Essential Guide to Barefoot and Minimalist Running

Download our FREE Essential Guide to Barefoot and Minimalist Running!

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Feel free to use the comments section below to ask any questions or leave your own thoughts on barefoot and minimalist running…

About The Author James Dunne

James has an academic background in Sport Rehabilitation and a special interest in Applied Biomechanics. He currently coaches a large number of Runners and Triathletes across all levels of ability and performance. He's grown a strong reputation for enabling athletes to improve their running performance and overcome running injuries through improving their Running Technique and developing Running Specific Strength.

2 Comments

• 
  Jane December 12, 2012 at 2:11 pm

  Thank you for providing a fairly sensible summary of barefoot running…

  However was disappointed by your analysis of the footstrike looking at heel vs. midfoot when I feel the more important factor in braking force is the impact point in relation to the knee. For example the control of variables between figures 1-3 is limited so does not compare a forefoot strike with overstride and a heel-stike under the knee. Figure 3 shows a correct stride length with the impact point below the knee. I have encountered a number of athletes who have got “fore-foot” strike into their heads but still overstride and thus cause breaking forces, not just in their knee but in the foot. I have conversely encountered athletes who heel-strike but do not overstride and therefore have an efficient gait.

  Also could you provide a link to the citations used?

  Reply
  • 
    James Dunne December 12, 2012 at 3:42 pm

    Hi Jane,

    Thanks for your insightful comments.

    Firstly, let me say that this free download is not intended to be a complete and exhaustive overview of this huge topic – rather a starting point, to get people thinking and talking.

    Your points are brilliant The images in Figures 1-3 are taken from Prof. Daniel Lieberman’s website which is an interesting, if a bit blinkered, resource. The footage and force graphs serve a purpose in terms of discussing general concepts. But as you allude to, there are a number of variables which are not taken into account. Not least the fact that al this data is collected in treadmill based tests, and that stride length (relative to CoM) isn’t discussed.

    I too regularly see the “ideal heel-striker” (glancing heel-strike directly under a flexing knee), and equally, the massively over-striding midfoot/forefoot runner. Many of the factors influencing stride length are in my experience related to posture, swing leg mechanics, cadence, and posterior chain activity.

    From a coaching perspective, I tend to coach the position of landing foot (relative to CoM), mainly top-down through working on the points listed above, before even getting the runner to consider the foot strike pattern (heel-strike, midfoot or forefoot).

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