No One Perfect Way to Run

The latest article to sweep the running world is Christopher McDougall's New York Times article and video on how to run. The article is harmless enough...obviously it's skewed towards McDougall's way of thinking, and like any opinion piece, it only shows one side of the argument, but it doesn't present anything that actually stuck out to me as factually wrong (unlike his book, which has some incorrect details like the assertion that Nike invented the raised heel, when there were actually running shoes with raised heels on the market before Nike was even founded). The video is...odd. McDougall comes off a bit like a car salesman, telling people that there is only one way to run and 85% of people are running "wrong," and then showing people how to do the same barefoot sprint drills that the rest of us have been doing for years, calling it a foolproof method to running the "correct" way. Only lots of people who are running "wrong" are pretty fast...and if someone has gotten themselves to the elite level running "wrong," are they really wrong?

Pronation and Midfoot Striking, Forefoot Striking, and Heelstriking

Every so often I hear someone say that they know they have a neutral gait because they are a midfoot or forefoot striker, and overpronation is the domain of heelstrikers. They claim that because they don't heelstrike, it's impossible for them to overpronate and they don't need a shoe with any stability (though the idea that neutral shoes have no stability is also a myth). Similarly, I sometimes hear of someone well-meaning but ill-informed trying to push a minimal shoe on someone just because they midfoot or forefoot strike, without actually doing a gait analysis. While a midfoot or forefoot striker may or may not actually have a neutral gait, the idea that every midfoot and forefoot striker is a neutral pronator is absolutely false.

Neutral Pronation vs. Overpronation vs. Supination Explained

In a previous post on running shoe selection, I briefly went over foot mechanics. However, it's come to my attention that a number of people don't truly understand the concept, and it's no wonder given the wealth of bad and/or oversimplified information out there (Runner's World, I'm looking at you). People aren't stupid. They don't want the watered down version that says to do a wet footprint test and buy your shoes based on that, because 90% of the time, the oversimplified version doesn't even work. They want to be able to make an informed decision and buy the right shoes. For example, high arches and a lateral wear pattern (wear on the outside of the shoe) doesn't necessarily equate to supination. High arches can contribute to supination, but they are not the only factor. And lateral wear pattern can be caused by supination...or it can be caused by forcing yourself to run unnaturally on the outside of your feet to minimize pain caused by wearing the wrong shoes (a forced and unnatural gait that will almost certainly result in injury).

How to Choose the Right Running Shoe

NOTE: I will leave this post up for completeness's sake, but there is some outdated material in here (It's from January 2011!). Fair warning. ;)

When you walk into a running store, you're surrounded by walls of shoes. However, not every shoe on that wall is going to work for you and keep you healthy. What shoe you require is dictated by your biomechanics, with the primary determinant being how much you pronate, or how much your foot rolls inward when it is in contact with the ground. Pronation isn't inherently evil, as it's your foot's natural cushioning mechanism. However, overpronation, or excessive inward roll, can cause injury problems if left uncorrected. Many runners display some degree of overpronation, though the degree varies by runner. On the other side of the spectrum is supination, also called under-pronation, which is when the foot doesn't roll enough and is unable to adequately cushion itself, which can stress the foot. Actual supination is fairly uncommon, and only around 10% of runners supinate.

Running shoes fall into three main categories: neutral, stability, and motion control. Neutral shoes are named as such because they have little to no stability features, though they do have good midsole cushioning. Neutral shoes are sometimes just called "cushioned shoes," though this name is misleading, since all three types of shoes provide cushioning. They are best suited for neutral pronators, who pronate ideally and need no stability features built into the shoe to control their foot motion, and for supinators, whose feet do not pronate enough to properly cushion their footstrike and require cushioning without stability features. Stability shoes usually have some type of medial post to provide stability, as well as good midsole cushioning. They are best suited for low to moderate overpronators, who could use some support to keep their foot from rolling inward too soon. The majority of runners do best in a stability shoe. Motion control shoes offer the greatest stability features, with higher density midsoles, extra medial support, and maximum heel counter control, and are often built on straight lasts with wide outsoles. They are best suited for severe overpronators or heavier moderate pronators. Other types of shoes (lightweight trainers, racing flats, etc) exist, but for the purposes of this post, only training shoes will be discussed (and flats and lightweight trainers fall into other categories anyway, e.g. Brooks T6 is a neutral flat while the Brooks Racer ST is a stability flat, and the Asics Speedstar is a neutral performance trainer while the Asics DS Trainer is a stability performance trainer).