Running Shoes – Are they good for you?

I learned to run in February of this year. No, I’m not a toddler with an uncanny ability to type and publish to the internet. I’m a fully grown (physically at least) 41 year old man who, after years of taking on fitness based activities for a month or two, only to give up before getting to the enjoyment stage. It’s the same for the majority of people, most of us never succeed in our chosen quests and justify our failings by saying, “It’s just too hard” or “I don’t have the time”.

With running, most people say they hate running or it’s bad for the knees as a way to justify not doing it. Strange that, considering that the human body is designed to be an endurance type athlete, able to travel long distances in pursuit of game, hunting down animals for hours or days. I wonder how many of them said, “I won’t bother catching food for my tribe, it’s just too hard on my knees?”

One thing I did do at the beginning of my metamorphosis from reasonable active bloke to 10 km plus runner was spend $160 on a pair of running shoes, believing that my body, designed to run barefoot, had somehow evolved to the point that I was unable to run safely without special shoes and support.

Well, I started my running, a gently progressive walk/run program over 9 weeks. From week 2 until week 6 I suffered the most awful calf cramps, resulting in days of no activity. Perhaps this running business was actually bad for me and I, as the rest of the world, had evolved into a creature that could only walk or drive a car to get from A to B.

I stumbled upon a book by Christopher MacDougall called ‘Born to Run’, detailing a tribe of ‘super-athletes- in Mexico who ran races against other villages and could run 100 miles in a day injury free and with nothing more than sandals on their feet. The book went into a lot of depth about the reality of the modern running shoe, and the truth about human evolution and body design. It became very clear to me that I was designed to run and just needed to relearn the natural abilities that children have. They run with a particular style and can run for what appears like hours. And truthfully, we don’t usually hear them complaining about shin splints or knee problems.

I discarded the running shoes and moved into a pair of $2 plimsolls. The pain stopped almost immediately and I felt in contact with the ground I ran on, instead of perched on top of it on a bed of foam, restricting the natural movement and suspension in my feet, Running became a pleasure, I encountered a deep connection with the ground I ran on, and felt as if this was what I was designed to do.

8 months later, I’m still running, 30 km a week or so, still injury free, still loving it, still positive that returning to a more natural method of running is the way to proceed.

I’m not telling you to go barefoot straight away, just take a look into it, read the book I mentioned and consider the evidence. We are becoming more and more displaced from our roots and real nature. It’s hardly surprising that illness, obesity and general ill health are the norm now and not the exception.