When I started jogging a couple of years ago, I quickly felt the positive impact on my mental clarity and overall energy. But I also felt the negative impact: often, after 25 minutes of running, I would feel a stabbing pain on the outside of my left knee every time I extended my leg. My doctor said the trouble was in my iliotibial (IT) band. He recommended stretching, but it didn’t seem to help. So I just kept running, hoping that as I got stronger, the pain would go away.
But the pain stayed, and I began to fear that my IT band was never going to let me consistently run for more than 25 minutes without serious pain.
Fortunately, help arrived.
I read the national bestseller Born to Run (2009), in which author Christopher McDougal cites scientists, ultra-runners, and Mexico’s “hidden” Tarahumara tribe (whose highly reclusive members are renowned for their extraordinary distance running, thin-soled running sandals, and low incidence of injury) to point to a problem with the dominant modern running form. McDougal argues that the design of most modern running shoes causes runners to strike the ground with their feet in a way that humans didn’t evolve to do. He writes that heavy cushioning, which first appeared in the 1970s, has encouraged a “heel first” foot strike that has caused a staggering number painful leg injuries.
As a remedy, McDougal and the minimalist running crowd in general recommend that runners strike the ground farther forward on the foot (and use a relatively short stride). This, they say, is how humans ran throughout almost all of human history—and how remarkable runners like the Tarahumara still do.
Intrigued, and hoping to find a solution to my IT band problem, I picked up some lightweight New Balances and tried to run with a forefoot (ball of foot) strike instead of a heel strike. (Important note: I didn’t go straight for the thinnest of soles. This, along with jumping right into long stretches of running with a mid-foot or forefoot strike, can be dangerous. You have to build up the necessary strength bit by bit.)
On my first time out, I lasted only five minutes before the soreness in my calves was overwhelming and I had to switch back to my old style. But as I slowly built up calf strength, I increased the time I spent forefoot striking during each run. After a couple of weeks, I found myself in limbo: neither the new style nor the old style felt normal. But I kept increasing my use of the new approach, and eventually it was the only way that felt right.
And it felt very right: the IT band pain largely went away (later, after some fine-tuning of my form, it completely went away), and running felt great. I felt light and comfortable instead of plodding and pained.
There is an ongoing debate among runners over what kind of foot strike is best: heel, mid-foot, or forefoot. I won’t say that just one of these approaches is right for everyone. But from my own experience, I know that moving away from heel striking can make the difference between pain and comfort.
But the pain stayed, and I began to fear that my IT band was never going to let me consistently run for more than 25 minutes without serious pain.
Fortunately, help arrived.
I read the national bestseller Born to Run (2009), in which author Christopher McDougal cites scientists, ultra-runners, and Mexico’s “hidden” Tarahumara tribe (whose highly reclusive members are renowned for their extraordinary distance running, thin-soled running sandals, and low incidence of injury) to point to a problem with the dominant modern running form. McDougal argues that the design of most modern running shoes causes runners to strike the ground with their feet in a way that humans didn’t evolve to do. He writes that heavy cushioning, which first appeared in the 1970s, has encouraged a “heel first” foot strike that has caused a staggering number painful leg injuries.
As a remedy, McDougal and the minimalist running crowd in general recommend that runners strike the ground farther forward on the foot (and use a relatively short stride). This, they say, is how humans ran throughout almost all of human history—and how remarkable runners like the Tarahumara still do.
Intrigued, and hoping to find a solution to my IT band problem, I picked up some lightweight New Balances and tried to run with a forefoot (ball of foot) strike instead of a heel strike. (Important note: I didn’t go straight for the thinnest of soles. This, along with jumping right into long stretches of running with a mid-foot or forefoot strike, can be dangerous. You have to build up the necessary strength bit by bit.)
On my first time out, I lasted only five minutes before the soreness in my calves was overwhelming and I had to switch back to my old style. But as I slowly built up calf strength, I increased the time I spent forefoot striking during each run. After a couple of weeks, I found myself in limbo: neither the new style nor the old style felt normal. But I kept increasing my use of the new approach, and eventually it was the only way that felt right.
And it felt very right: the IT band pain largely went away (later, after some fine-tuning of my form, it completely went away), and running felt great. I felt light and comfortable instead of plodding and pained.
There is an ongoing debate among runners over what kind of foot strike is best: heel, mid-foot, or forefoot. I won’t say that just one of these approaches is right for everyone. But from my own experience, I know that moving away from heel striking can make the difference between pain and comfort.