Maybe forefoot running is more complicated than it seems?

Sid

Barefooters
Jan 1, 2011
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I was looking through some of the videos from The Gait Guys, Dr. Ivo Waerlop and Dr. Shawn Allen. It seems that there's more to forefoot running than meets the eye. This might explain why it requires some degree of patience and persistence for successful transitioning.

The Naked Foot: Thoughts for the Shoe Minimalist by The Gait Guys
Stepping backwards in time a little, in the caveman days things were different. ... The foot simply worked different, it worked better, it worked more like the engineering marvel that it truly is. ...
However, as time went on, man decided to mess with a good thing. He took a foot that was highly sensitive, a virtual sensory organ with a significant sensory and motor representation in the brain (only the hands and face have more brain representation as represented by the sensory and motor homunculus of the brain) and he not only covered it up with a slab of leather or rubber but he then flattened and then paved not only his world, but also his home, with black hard top, cement, wood or tile thus completing the total sensory information deprivation of the entire foot. …
We now affix a shoe to the child’s foot even before he can walk and then when he does, all propriosensory information necessary for the development of critical spinal and central nervous system reflexes is ensured to be virtually absent. Is it any wonder why there are so many people in chronic pain from postural disorders related to central core weakness and inhibition? Is it any wonder why so many people seem to have flat incompetent feet and arches?
Man has done it to himself, but thankfully man has proven that what he can do, he can undo. ...
The Naked Foot: Just the Facts about the Barefoot & Minimalist Movement.

Thread with more information on Forefoot vs. Midfoot Strike from The Gait Guys.
http://www.thebarefootrunners.org/index.php?posts/150370


Post with more information on Top Of Foot Pain.
http://www.thebarefootrunners.org/index.php?posts/153437


Thread with more information on calluses.
http://www.thebarefootrunners.org/index.php?posts/153039


Post with more information on the Foot Arches from The Gait Guys.
http://www.thebarefootrunners.org/index.php?posts/150368


Post with more information on the Foot Tripod from The Gait Guys.
http://www.thebarefootrunners.org/index.php?posts/151877


Post with more information on Toe Exercises from The Gait Guys.
http://www.thebarefootrunners.org/index.php?posts/151882


Thread with more information on Foot Types from The Gait Guys
http://www.thebarefootrunners.org/index.php?posts/150369


Thread with more information on Forefoot varus from The Gait Guys
http://www.thebarefootrunners.org/index.php?posts/150367


Thread with more information on Morton's Toe from The Gait Guys
http://www.thebarefootrunners.org/index.php?posts/150373


Thread with more information on Bunions from The Gait Guys
http://www.thebarefootrunners.org/index.php?posts/150377


OTHER TOPICS
The Gait Guys talk about: Pronation and Supination

The "Top-End" Peroneal Walk Foot Skill: Another Restoration Foot Trick by The Gait Guys

Driving strength in the anterior compartment to achieve length in the posterior compartment.

The Gait Guys Talk about Tight and Weak Muscles

EDITED: Original post split into multiple threads.
 
Thanks for compiling all this, Sid. I have stickied the thread.
 
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I was looking through some of the videos from The Gait Guys, Dr. Ivo Waerlop and Dr. Shawn Allen. It seems that there's more to forefoot running than meets the eye.
I wonder if everyone is referring to the same thing with the terms "forefoot landing" and "midfoot landing." At an easy pace, I come close to a true midfoot landing, or flat-footed landing, with the forefoot landing just slightly before the rest of the foot. This has always been the natural landing for my right foot, but it took a little conscious adjustment for my left foot to land the same way. Of course, when sprinting, the forefoot landing is much more pronounced. Then I would say it's more of a true forefoot landing.

When I took up barefoot running again in 2010-11, I read somewhere that the forefoot landing is key, and exaggerated it when running easy pace. I'm pretty sure this exacerbated my top-of-the-foot-pain. (I don't think it necessarily caused it however, since I can still get tofp if I don't massage my lower leg regularly.)

So I wonder how many midfoot landings are really slightly forefoot landings, and how many forefoot landings are exaggerated versions of this. In any case, everything feels pretty good to me now. I know the Gait Guys wouldn't like this, but for the time being I've adopted a "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" stance, and just run by feel these days. Still, it's great that Sid has mined this rich vein of information. A great resource!
 
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I wonder if everyone is referring to the same thing...
At an easy pace, I come close to a true midfoot landing...
when sprinting, the forefoot landing is much more pronounced...
https://m.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=212252775481072&id=169366033103080
The Gait Guys said:
horse: walk, trot, canter, gallop
man: walk, jog, run, sprint....very similar
Yes, it seems that there are several terms being tossed around. I'm guessing that a lot of slower joggers may never fully engage the muscles that The Gait Guys talk about.

Hey, I managed to limp along a 1000 miles, before regaining some mobility and strength in the left big toe. Until more recently, that left foot was far more slappy than springy, leading me to prefer soft trails over hard surfaces. Hopefully, now I'll be able to make further progress.
 
Apparently, Dr. Mark uses midfoot.
http://www.runnersworld.com/injury-treatment/run-softly-naturally?page=single

I'd say on the trail, I'm midfoot. Running fast on hard surfaces, forefoot.
Though, lately on routine runs, I've been experimenting with medial forefoot after reading about Lee Saxby.

Update: I think that with my feet, slightly lateral is going to be the way to go, due to the bunion on my left foot.
 
Apparently, Dr. Mark uses midfoot.
http://www.runnersworld.com/injury-treatment/run-softly-naturally?page=single

I'd say on the trail, I'm midfoot. Running fast on hard surfaces, forefoot.
Though, lately on routine runs, I've been experimenting with medial forefoot after reading about Lee Saxby.
Nice summary of the whole concept of 'natural' running.

I checked out my gait on this morning's run-commute. It was cool to feel the supination and then stiffening on push-off that Allen describes in one his videos. And I'm pretty sure I would be considered a midfoot striker. The forefoot landing is very subtle, and might be a product of my imagination. The foot lands close to parallel.

"horse: walk, trot, canter, gallop
man: walk, jog, run, sprint....very similar"

I think in one of Lieberman's papers he says the horse has three gaits, and humans two; jogging, running, and sprinting are really the same gait with different ranges of motion.
 
Thanks! This gait stuff is pretty interesting.

I found this from Vivobarefoot/Lee Saxby.
http://trainingclinic.vivobarefoot....oception-Making_Sense_of_Barefoot_Running.pdf
They seem to differentiate between running and sprinting on page 8. I don't know enough to say whether or not landing more forefoot vs. midfoot, lateral vs. medial, heel touch vs. no heel touch, involvement of the big toe constitutes an entirely separate gait. I can say that for me, walking, running, sprinting and varying the landing seems to exercise different areas. So, I'm going to focus on having more variability when walking/running.

I found this website on horse gaits, and it has some nifty animations.
"The gallop is a variation of the canter" http://www.horseclub.co.uk/paces.

Thanks again! Very interesting reading.
 
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