Natural Running 

What are Natural running shoes?

• Low heel to forefoot differential, many 'normal' cushioned shoes have a difference in height from the forefoot to heel of between 10 - 14mm.  A 'natural' shoe differential will be between 0 - 4mm 
• Less volume through the sole or variable geometry to allow the body to use it's natural suspension
• More flexible midsole allowing the runner to spring forward
• Less constructed upper for more freedom of movement
• Lightweight due to less bulk
• Many runners, but not all, when running barefoot run more to the forefoot, put a pair of shoes on and they become heel strikers.  With natural run shoes you should be able to keep that forefoot strike, become lighter on the foot, increase speed and gain stability.

Natural Running : the Transition

Many who wear natural running shoes will have these as a second pair, wearing them every other run to provide a welcome change to more cushioned neutral or stability shoes or make the change completely.  Either way, the changeover from 'normal' run shoes to 'natural' run shoes needs to be slower than just running in a new pair of trainers  Natural run shoes will put stresses on muscles you'd forgotten about since school, in your calves and feet but you should end up a stronger runner with a more natural stride.  Below is a suggested transition but listen to your own body, it will tell you whether you need to slow down or you can accelerate the process.

1. Begin by running with your natural run shoes at the start or end of your normal run, 10 mins or so and the remainder of the run in your usual run shoes.
2. Next run in your usual shoes
3. Repeat 1.
4. Repeat 2.
5. Gradually build up the time spent running in the natural shoes everyother run
6. Eventually you'll be running a whole run in the natrual shoes, at which point you can decide whether they will be your only type of shoe or whether to run different shoes in tandem, giving different muscles a work out.

Natural Running Gait

You may also want to focus on your running gait/form, this means practice and with short transition runs above it allows you time to concentrate on this.  Some things to experiment with

• Relax and lean slightly forward
• Focus on landing with your midfoot in a line below you hips, this will probably mean shortening your stride and increasing your cadence (a sportswatch/HRM with foot pod is a great tool to monitor this).
• Land lightly, try not to push off the toes but to lift the knee and lever of the midfoot (especially if wearing Newtons) to start the next stride.
• Buy a skipping rope, it really is a fantastic tool for forefoot running and a great workout to boot.
• Run on the spot, you'l be surprised how difficult it is to run heel first doing this

Finally enjoy yourself and your new shoes, but listen to your body if it is telling you your doing too much too soon.  

...and finally, natural running is not for everyone, if you're happy in your current shoes, injury free and getting what you want out of running, why change!

If you have any feedback on this or want to share your experiences, please either email them to info@trisportsplus.co.uk or you can twitter or facebook us using the icons on our homepage.