A great article appeared in the April issue of Running Times entitled Much Ado About Minimalism. The author did a great job of capturing the goal of minimalist running. A goal that I wish many of the zealots would keep in mind.
“Away from the hype and the extremes, the minimalist movement is rightly correcting decades of drifting in the other direction when it comes to running shoe design. At its core, minimalism asks the runner to look for the least amount of shoe he or she can safely wear now, and to work toward reducing the amount of shoe necessary through strengthening the foot and improving one’s stride. It assumes that running is a natural movement of the body, rather than an unnatural act that requires pads and braces to perform safely. Putting it plainly, the movement embraces the notion that the beefier the shoe, the more a runner’s natural stride is inhibited.”
It’s not about running “barefoot” or running without “normal” shoes, it’s about running well, safely and with an eye towards supporting the long-term, healthy, proper functioning of the body.
Appearing in the same issue is Transitioning to Minimalism, which offers up some quick advice on how best to ease into a minimalist practice.
“By nature, minimalist shoes offer little to no support and no stability control, based on the belief that the foot in an efficient gait can naturally off set much of the rolling (pronation/supination) that would occur after a heavy heel-strike gait. Essentially, minimalist shoes offer just enough protection from the pavement while letting the foot move naturally through a stride cycle.”
Featured at the end of the article is a selection of minimalist shoe options, including the Nike Free, Newton, Skora, Terra Plana Vivo Barefoot, and of course, Vibram FiveFingers.
Overall, great coverage of the subject with some great advice.
Thanks to @skoraRunning on Twitter for providing links, both earlier in the month and today.
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[...] A great article appeared in the April issue of Running Times entitled Much Ado About Minimalism. The author did a great job of capturing the goal of minimalist running. A goal that I wish many of the zealots would keep in mind. Away from the hype and the extremes, the minimalist movement is rightly correcting decades of drifting in the other direction when it comes to running shoe design. At its core, minimalism asks the runner to look for the least amount of shoe he or she can safely wear now, and to work toward reducing the amount of shoe necessary through strengthening the foot and improving one’s stride. It assumes that running is a natural movement of the body, rather than an unnatural act that requires pads and braces to perform safely. Putting it plainly (…) Continue reading on thebarefootexperiment.com [...]