TrailStompers.com: San Francisco Bay Area Trail Running

While poking around Runner's World today I came across this exhaustive list of info, articles, videos, and websites that discuss Barefoot/Minimalist Running.  It's a great way to kill off several hours/days of your free time at work...

Click here for the complete list.

Given all the current interest in running form, including foot strike, Runners World did an interview with running form expert Jay Dicharry. Dicharry is director of the SPEED Clinic at the Center for Endurance Sport, University of Virginia.  He has a bachelor's degree in exercise physiology, and a masters in physical therapy. The SPEED clinic works with athletes and coaches across the country to improve their understanding of proper running form.  He discusses such topics as proper running form, common mistakes runners make, and barefoot running.

Read the entire article here.

Christopher McDougall, author of the influential book Born to Run, discusses the motivation for his book and his interest in barefoot running.  Watch the video here.

Harvard professor Daniel Lieberman has ditched his trainers and started running barefoot. His research shows that barefoot runners, who tend to land on their fore-foot, generate less impact shock than runners in sports shoes who land heel first. This makes barefoot running comfortable and could minimize running-related injuries.

Watch the exciting full video here.

It's finally happened.  The barefoot running trend has made it to the pages of Time Magazine!  The article mentions Born to Run, Vibram Five-Fingers, and some studies done on barefoot running.

Read the full article and watch the video here!

Have you started barefoot running yet?  Have you read Born To Run?  Then this story is for you...

A study done at the University of Virginia showed that running shoes can actually increase the stress in certain joints as compared to running barefoot.  Dr. D. Casey Kerrigan, who conducted the study, said that they saw a 38 percent increase in torque in areas of the knee where osteoarthritis develops. Such a large increase was surprising, she said, because it was greater than the increase in knee torque she had observed for women wearing high heels, which was only 20 percent to 26 percent.

However, "I'm concerned, I don't think this study should promote running barefoot," she said. "I think people should run in what they feel most comfortable running in ... and whether that's in a pair of running shoes or in a minimum kind of running shoe, that's just fine."

So, the argument continues...

Read the entire story here.

In a follow-up to the Dawn Dish Detergent post, this post concerns something every trail runner on the west coast should know about - poison oak.  This plant exists in most parks in the Bay Area, and can caused delayed and severe skin rashes.  The most important things to know about poison oak are: (1) how to identify it, (2) how to prevent the rash once exposed, and (3) how to deal with the consequences if you do get a rash.  This article is an excellent resource that covers all three topics:

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/ww0802.htm

"Leaves of three, let them be!"

-c