According to Bramble and Leibermann, we are and they did have some compelling anatomical evidence that suggests so.  Although I find the evidence extremely interesting and intriguing, I’m not completely sold on the idea (at least not yet anyway).  It’s hard to imagine that we ran everywhere we went.  I feel that more evidence is needed before any conclusive statements can be made.  But, asking this question brought up another interesting and often debated question amongst runners:  Are we naturally forefoot/mid-foot runners, or is heel striking the way to go?  As you read in Where We Born To Run, Not Walk (Part 1) of this article, I’m a strong advocate of forefoot or mid-foot running, either barefoot or with very little cushioning.  And, since so many of you commented on the last article wanting to know exactly how to forefoot run, I’ll get straight to the video demonstration before I continue on with the rest of this article:

Since an overwhelming majority of runners (approximately 75%) are heel strikers, you would think that it’s the natural way we are made to run.  But, as I mentioned last week, looking at it from a biomechanics standpoint (and good old-fashioned practicality!), it simply doesn’t make sense.  Here are a few more facts and details that may make you think twice about heel striking:

• The impact caused from your heel hitting the ground is directly transferred up into your knee and hip joints, producing excessive pressure, which can cause degenerative joint disease and other arthritic conditions.

• Heel striking causes a stop and go motion, since your “braking” the forward direction with your heel of the front leg while pushing forward with the other leg.  This makes for a very inefficient and energy consuming running technique, and makes it more strenuous on your muscles and joints.

• Heel striking causes the transfer of weight to go from your heels to the balls of your feet, which puts excessive pressure on the arch of your foot.  Repetitive pressure on your arches can cause you to lose your arch support and promote excessive pronation —straining your plantar fascia, which can lead to plantar fasciitis, heel spurs, bunions and more.

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Chris McDougall uncovered the secret behind the Tarahumara Indians‘ ability to run such long distances without shoes and without any incidences of injuries.  Their natural running gait pattern maintained from centuries of running with no shoes or with just a pair of leather sandals.  They are natural forefoot/mid-foot runners, making their running gait efficient and eliminating undue strain on their muscles and joints—enabling them to run hundreds of miles without ever sustaining injury.  And don’t forget the smile on their faces while doing it!

So the obvious question is, if we were to run like them, would we be able run just as long as they can and without injury?  If we changed our “normal” heel striking running to that of forefoot or mid-foot style of running, would it help us run more efficiently and longer without incurring any injuries?

According to the creator of Pose Running Method Dr. Romanov and creator of Chi Running Method Dan Dreyers—the answer is a resounding YES.  They may be onto something since many of their followers would say the same thing, and most of them switched in order to get over their existing running injuries.

If heel striking is so bad why do most people still do it?

Well, the answer may lie somewhere amongst the prevalence of modern thick soled running shoes and our general modern lifestyle that constantly promotes comfort and convenience, which drastically reduces our need for physical activity and has made our general population severely de-conditioned.

When you get used to running with thick cushioned soles under your feet, you become inadvertently less conscious because you don’t need to worry about landing properly.  As you become an unconscious runner, form and technique take a back seat—you start relying more on the shoes to fix things instead of fixing the way you run.  The problem occurs when bad form catches up and surpasses the temporary fix.  When the pain and discomfort prevent you from running regardless of what you have on your feet (shoes, insoles, orthotics, etc…) that’s when most people start to look deeper into what may be the source of injury.  More often than not, it comes down to bad form and technique.

So, if wearing shoes made you an unconscious runner, it would only makes sense to go shoeless to become a conscious runner.  When you go shoeless or barefoot, you naturally avoid anything that causes you pain and this enables you to walk and run naturally—the way your feet were designed to do.

As I mentioned in part one, if you’re weary of going barefoot outside (which I wouldn’t recommend, especially if you live in the city),  there are many products that allow you to mimic going barefoot, such as the Vibram Five Fingers, Vivo Barefoot Shoes, and Nike Frees.  I particularly like the Vibram Five Fingers because I think they most closely resemble being barefoot, making you more conscious when you run,  gradually allowing you to re-learn the way your feet were designed to absorb impact without causing undue pain or pressure.

When you run barefoot (or with very little protection on your soles), it’s natural that you start to walk with less pressure on you heels.  Probably much like the way we used to walk and run—long before we had shoes.  As natural as it may seem, when you’ve been heel striking for most of your life, transitioning to non-heel striking takes time and practice.  That’s when proper form and technique taught in a systematic manner make all the difference.

Four Steps To Running Without Heel-Striking

I personally like both the Pose Running Method created by Dr. Romanov and the Chi Running Method created by Dan Dreyer.  These two methods have their distinct similarities and differences (Pose is forefoot running and Chi is mid-foot running), but both agree that our natural running technique involves running without heel striking.

From reading and learning about each method, as well as analyzing my own technique, here are what I believe to be the most important factors when learning to run without heel striking:

1 - Body posture - slightly lean forward
2 - Working with gravity - Let gravity propel you forward and don’t push off
3 - Feet must land underneath body or center of mass
4 - Take shorter strides and land with knees slightly bent

With a little practice, these four points will greatly help you start your transition from heel striker to non-heel striker.  I recommend you start out with shorter distances so you can work on the technique.  Oftentimes when you change your technique, your body needs a chance to adapt.  You may experience some soreness early on, especially in your calves.  You can slowly increase your distance as you get more comfortable and conditioned for this type of running.

***If you’re on the MAX Workouts program, I highly recommend you try out these running methods if you are running (treadmill or outside, doesn’t matter) for your interval cardio workouts.‍