Athletes in every sport except running devote enormous attention to perfecting even minute details of the movements they will be required to produce in competition. Running coaches just tell their athletes to run longer and harder.
Runners, and their coaches, have basically ignored technique for years, assuming that their natural stride will give them efficiency and injury resistance. We have found that this simply is not the case.
For the past decade, African runners have dominated distance running at its highest levels. Research on what makes these runners faster consistently demonstrates normal VO2 Max and lactate threshold levels for elite runners. Their height, weight, and limb-length ratios all fall into the normal category. Clearly and consistently, what sets the great African runners apart is that they are more efficient than their competitors, running faster without expending more energy. Experts in running economy agree that running barefoot through childhood contributes significantly to the extraordinary economy of these athletes. We're not suggesting that you run barefoot. We are suggesting that you take the time and effort to learn the techniques that may be more natural running barefoot, and implement them into your shoe-running technique.
