Running injuries have plagued the Army since the 80’s when Jogging (silent “J” of course) became a fad, old ladies hit the roads in their new Nike’s, and the pinnacle of physical fitness in the Army became your ability to run a 32 minute 5-mile. Many of these injuries are caused by overuse, but even more are caused by poor running form due to excessive “heel striking.”

Everyone knows you shouldn’t do deadlift, snatches, or backsquat with crappy form because you will injure yourself, but for some reason they don’t think this concept applies to running. Proper running form is called the “Pose Method”; it requires the runner to land on the “forefoot” as opposed to the heel thus allowing your foot’s natural padding to absorb the shock.

In this article, I will guide you through a step-by-step process to changing your running form and teach you how to pick out proper running shoes to support this transition.

Amplifying Information

In 2010, I was your typical hard-charging 25-year-old First Lieutenant in the 82nd Airborne who knew everything about anything… except apparently how to run correctly. I was constantly battling shin splints, plantar fasciitis, heel spurs, you name it… running had officially become PAINFUL. Multiple years of non-stop running, ignoring recovery, and most importantly super shitty running form had finally caught up to me.

I embarked on a vision quest of sorts to fix the problem. I tried everything: “stability” shoes with “pronation control”, gel inserts, custom molded inserts from a podiatrist… NOTHING worked. So I turned to the ultimate problem solver… Google!

However, all the so-called “expert” knowledge on mainstream running forums was useless and just more of the same BS. It wasn’t until I discovered a little thing called the “The Pose Method®” during one of my feverish google searches that I finally had my “ah-ah” moment. I learned that it wasn’t necessarily what I was running in that was causing the problem, but how I was running.

So I decided to change how I ran. It was a long and slow process, but it worked. I did not become the fastest runner by any stretch of the imagination, but I haven’t suffered a running injury in almost 8 years.

I hope this information will help you.

STOP!

Before you read any further, I want you to do a quick 30 second experiment for me.

Step 1: Take off your shoes.

Step 2: Jump in the air as high as you can.

Step 3: Land on your heels instead of the balls of your feet.

Step 4: Wince at how painful and jarring that was.

Step 5: Now envision the damage that repeated jarring impact can cause to your body over the millions of impacts that occur during repeated 5 mile runs over an entire military career.

I can think of no better way to practically demonstrate how awful heel striking is for you than that quick 30 second experiment you just conducted.

When you heel strike you are literally applying a braking force to every stride, which creates jarring impacts to your body from the lower back to your plantar fascia. Conversely, when you strike with your fore-foot slightly behind your center of mass, it significantly reduces the impact and prevents this braking from happening.

However, if you still don’t believe me, go film yourself running on a treadmill with shoe’s on and shoe’s off. Take it a step further and go run barefoot through the grass. You will see that in each circumstance your running form will automatically change from landing on your heel to landing on your forefoot. That is because your body naturally knows that landing on your heel is TERRIBLE for you.

“The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art.” ~Leonardo da Vinci

Go watch your kids running around the neighborhood playing. Chances are that they are all landing on their forefoot as opposed to their heels, once again demonstrating how our bodies are naturally meant to move… it’s fascinating.

Now you must be asking yourself: If our body naturally wants to land on it’s forefoot and our kids know how to run correctly without being taught, then why is heel striking so common? The answer is simple, it’s the way our shoes are made!

Let’s Go Jogging!

The 80’s were an amazing time of big hair, shoulder padded suit jackets, and most importantly; GI JOE. Coincidentally, it was also the time where cardio-respiratory endurance dominated the health and fitness discussion in the civilian world. Running became something that everyone did to stay healthy, not just athletes.

People everywhere hopped up off the couch and hit the ground running, only it was called “jogging”, and there was one big problem… they had forgotten how to run.

 

People think that running is something you can just “do” without putting any thought or practice into it. I assure you, it is not.

Watch the difference between an elite level athlete running and the random Specialist running next to you in your Basic Leader Course class. One has spent countless hours developing his form and efficient movement mechanics while the other just hopes he doesn’t end up in the fall-out group. You know what right looks like when you see it, it almost looks effortless.

There is Usain Bolt…

via GIPHY

and then there is Carl…

 

There are some fascinating studies about this “jogging fad” time period, but to make a long story short, when these former couch potatoes turned noobie joggers started putting in the miles, they started getting injured… a lot!

Insert Bill Bowerman, the creator of Nike and the “inventor” of the modern-day running shoe to the rescue!

Evolution of the Modern Day Running Shoe

“How one runs probably is more important than what is on one’s feet, but what is on one’s feet may affect how one runs.” ~Dr. Daniel Lieberman; professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard

If you look at pictures and videos from the early 1900’s all the way until the early 1970’s, you notice a common trend… all the running shoes are extremely no frills, with minimal cushioning, and most importantly no heel-to-toe drop. There most certainly were no “stability” shoes with built in “pronation control.”

 

Back in the Day Running Shoes

Modern Day Running Shoes

 

So just how the hell did we end up with shoes weighing 10oz or more and with heels over an inch high!?

It happened as a knee jerk response to the large amounts of people injuring themselves from running incorrectly. Instead of teaching them how to run properly, Nike decided it would simply wrap their heels in massive amounts of foam in order act as a shock absorber.

Before “jogging,” only the strong ran, and they ran fast. But ole Bill Bowerman gave “jogging” to America and the slower movement put people on their heels. It is extremely hard to “run” slow without landing on your heels; you will feel weird and bouncy if you try landing any other way. When people started running on their heels in these old school shoes they complained about the shoes and their feet/shins hurting. And for good reason, there was no cushion!

Enter Nike with the solution. At the time, Nike, had just invented this really cool “air-pocket” in their basketball shoes for shock absorption when players were jumping on the court. They figured, hey it should work in the running shoes too right? The idea—as well as the branding strategy—hinged upon the assumption that running on air would provide superior cushioning.

From 1979 to 2013, this “air-pocket” concept absolutely exploded, morphing way beyond its original intentions with zero science to back its claims. Suddenly, sneakers felt a little bit less like slabs of foam and rubber that you strapped to your feet and more like a gadget that made you a better athlete.

Read more about the The Brilliant but Absurd History of Nike Air Technology if you are curious.

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Ultimately, this engineering led to more cushioned soles from all major shoe companies, and marketing managers persuaded runners that cushioning and stability were crucial to injury free running. With heavy cushioning, it was no longer essential to land in a way that absorbed the energy of impact with the arch of the foot, and eventually heel striking became accepted as the norm.

If Nike’s commitment to leveraging technology to empower champion athletes were legitimate, we should’ve seen Olympians standing on the podium waving to the crowd while floating on a layer of Air Max gadgetry. But that never happened.

In fact, the opposite proved to be true.

If you compare pictures and videos from Olympians competing from the 1930’s all the way to present day you will see another common trend… their shoes remain virtually unchanged. You’ll also see that the vast majority of these elite athletes over the last 80 years all run the same way… fore-foot first. At this point, I really shouldn’t have to drive home why that is.

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The Pose Method

I briefly touched on The Pose Method® in my General Advice for Baby Pipehitters article, but I will cover it more in-depth here. The Pose Method is “a system for teaching human movement and sport specific techniques” developed by a 2-time Olympic Coach Dr. Nicholas S. Romanov in 1977. The name of the method comes from the phrase “body pose”.

Due to the growing popularity of running and the paradoxically increasing number of runners getting injured annually, the Pose Method® of Running technique became the most popular “pose” among all Pose Method techniques. Check out this video to see how it works in running.

In running, there is only one pose, which is called the Running Pose (S-stance).

The Running Pose involves the whole body, not just the feet and legs. The runner vertically aligns his shoulders, hips and ankles with the support leg, while standing on the ball of the foot. The fore-foot strikes the ground first, slightly behind the runner’s center of gravity. This creates an S-like shape of the body. The Pose Method of Running technique consists of three elements: Pose – Fall – Pull and it accepts gravity as the primary force for forward movement instead of muscular effort.

This creates forward movement, with the least cost (energy use), and the least effort. The end result is faster race times, freer running and drastically reduced injuries!

This simple sequence of movements: the fall and the pull, while staying in the pose, is the essence of running technique.

 

How To Change Your Running Form

The big secret to fore-foot running and the Pose Method is to lean slightly forward, shorten your stride, and deliberately run with a higher cadence (180 footfalls per minute). This allows the fore-foot to land without the excessive bounce. The worst thing you can do is lean back and “stride it out” as lengthening your stride causes you to reach with your heel. Do not tense up your body and do not vigorously swing your arms back and forth. When done correctly your running should feel smooth and almost silent rather than plodding and loud.

In this video below, I demonstrate how to mechanically transition from heel-striking to fore-foot striking.

 

The best way to “feel” how to run correctly is to incorporate running SHORT distances on the treadmill barefoot or with socks on. Run the first 400-800 meters with shoes off and then complete the remainder of your run with your shoes on.

Additionally, I recommend purchasing a “transition” shoe. One that is much lighter and has less stack height than most running shoes, but still has sufficient cushion and a little bit of a heel. Over time, this will help naturally train your body to adopt the Pose Method with your shoes on.

Complete the following mental checklist while running:

• Lean slightly forward
• Shorten your stride
• 180 footfalls per minute or 90 beats every other step
• Minimal swinging motion with your arms
• Breathe in your nose and out your mouth

This process takes time! It took me about 6 months before I was comfortably running longer distances with a fore-foot strike. I can not stress enough the importance of gradually transitioning through this process. You are literally using muscles that you haven’t used since childhood and it will take time to build up the sufficient calf strength required to run correctly for long distances.

Do NOT be surprised if your run times get slower during the initial phases of this process. Master the correct form first, the speed will return, I promise.

DO NOT do what I did and turn your first 800 meter barefoot treadmill run into a 3-mile run because it actually felt so good. Two days later, I was so sore I could barely walk for a week. Patience!

How To Buy Proper Running Shoes

Ultimately, picking out a running shoe is relatively simple. Find a shoe that is light, comfortable, and allows you to maintain proper running form (Pose Method). Read this article for expanded information on how to pick out proper running shoes.

Look for shoes with the following qualities:

• Light (less than 10oz)
  • The heavier your shoe, the more fatigued your legs become, which will cause your running form to degrade, consequently leading to injuries.
• Proper Fit & Comfort (every foot is different)
  • Just because a shoe is amazing for one person, doesn’t mean it will be amazing for you.
• Minimal stack height (heel-to-toe drop of less than 5-6mm)
  • This means the heel cushioning of your shoe should not be drastically higher than the forefoot, which encourages heel striking.
• Have just enough cushioning
  •  Excessively thick soles and cushioning INCREASE the possibility of pronation (foot rolling inward) or supination (foot rolling outward), and exaggerate already existing conditions.
• A wide toe box that allows your toes to splay (you should be able to easily spread your toes)
  • This allows your toes to properly grip the running surface and stabilize the foot, thus DECREASING the possibility of pronation and supination.

Recommended Running Shoes

This is a touchy subject, because EVERYONE is different and opinions run strong when it comes to specific running shoes. Some people swear by Vibram FiveFingers while others would marry their Hoka One Ones if they could. But the bottom line is this:

If your running form sucks, no shoe will prevent you from injuring yourself, but proper shoes can certainly help assist you in training proper form.

I’m not here to debate whether “X” running shoe is THE BEST SHOE EVER *drool. I doubt you can maintain proper running form in some Nike Shox, but if you can; good for you! That being said, I will give you my personal recommendations on shoes that have worked for me and fit the shoe criteria I mentioned above.

Personally, I research shoes on www.runningwarehouse.com. They conveniently list out a shoe’s weight, stack height, toe box width, and how it fits compared to other similar shoes you may already own. I then shop around for discounts on Amazon and Joe’s New Balance Outlet (I love New Balance). I typically look for shoes whose model # begin with “RC” or “XC” because that means they are specifically designed for racing on roads or trails AKA they are meant to go fast!  I have personally used all the shoes listed below.

Road Running (Transition)

• New Balance RC 1400v6

 

• Altra Escalante

Road Running

• New Balance RC Hanzo 2

• Mizuno Wave Universe 5

 

Trail Running (Transition)

• New Balance Gobi Trail

• Altra Men’s Superior 4 Running Shoe

Trail Running

• New Balance MT10v1

• Inov-8 Men’s Trailtalon 250

Boot Running

• Oakley SI Boot

• Danner Tachyon

Bottom Line, Down Low

I sometimes want to scream when I’m conducting morning PT and I see a formation “jog” by; feet slapping the ground as their heels crash over and over into the pavement with grimaces on their face; because I hate that they don’t know what I know now.

While this may seem a little overwhelming, running correctly is absolutely critical. You CAN’T change how many Battalion / Brigade / Division formation runs you do, unless you one day become the leader of that organization. You CAN change HOW you run in order to reduce running injuries over a long career in the military.

However, don’t automatically take my word for this. Research it extensively like I did and you will encounter an increasingly overwhelming body of evidence supporting this cultural shift in the running community as people grow sick and tired of fighting running injuries.

If you found this information helpful, please share it on your social media outlet of choice, and subscribe to my email list to receive more articles like this delivered straight to your inbox. If there is something that I missed or something that didn’t make sense, please comment below and I’ll get right back to you.

You’re Welcome