As part of a recent trip to Florida to visit family and friends, my lady friend and I had scheduled in a Half Marathon run in Melbourne,  just south of Cape Canaveral.  Coming from winter weather in Oregon, we looked forward to a nice change from rainy skies and cool temperatures - running a Half in the sun would be a real treat.  But we had overlooked one thing  in our race strategy planning - the wind.

So, there we were, starting out at daybreak among a couple of thousand others at the second running of the Melbourne and Beaches Marathon and Half Marathon. As is my usual practice, I went through my looseners, scanned myself for tense or needy areas, thought through some of the form focuses I would be using during the run - and then I noticed the wind. People around me were discussing the likely impact of the wind on certain parts of this one loop Half Marathon course with its two long, elevated bridges where the wind would definitely come into play.  What should, and could, I do about it? (more…)

Recently there has been a lot of discussion on the concept of running barefoot. There are some purists who suggest we should all be running barefoot, period. Personally, I don’t care for the word ’should’ in any context. It implies someone else telling us what to do or be, when we all have to decide that for ourselves.

But can we just go run barefoot? To help you answer this, consider how long it has been since you ran barefoot. 20 years, 40 years, 60 years?; most of us have not been running barefoot since we first learned how to run as toddlers (*). How many years of shoes, dress shoes, high heeled shoes, perhaps periods of inactivity, or of modern running shoes do you have in you? These are just a few examples of all the stimulus the body is adapting to every minute of every day. This adaptation happens slowly and if we want to reverse the resulting changes in posture, muscle strength, flexibility, balance and confidence; then (more…)

Its week 13 of marathon training and I have managed to keep up with the marathon training plan more or less.  I’m not quite where I should be in terms of the length of my longer runs due to other demands on my time and as the long run is the most important part of marathon training, I will have to decide at some point if my April marathon is too soon.  

Running continues to get better and better.  I am running more often and for longer which gives me the opportunity to practise even more.  The habit of engaging my core and staying aligned has become deeply ingrained.  (more…)

In a previous post (Running Motion for a Midfoot Strike), the ChiRunning motion was described as a midfoot (full-foot) landing with a heel lift/knee bend. Along with this motion, it is also very important to keep the legs and feet relaxed.

Running with a relaxed midfoot (full-foot) strike allows a subtle forward lean (fall) from the ankles to propel you forward with no resistance. If the legs/feet/ankles are holding tension, then the hinge (ankle) is stiff which acts as a brake against your forward fall. Relaxation also removes a significant amount of stress from the lower legs and feet. The statistics indicate that 65-80% of all runners get injured each year in some way. And most of those injuries are at the knee and below. Could it be that we are asking a relatively small part of our body to do a very big job? If we can relax the lower legs and feet, then we can (more…)

With the start of the New Year I’ve got back into hill running. Some people love running hills; others avoid them like the plague. I’m one of those runners that normally enjoy running uphill more than downhill. Unfortunately I’ve slowed down and perhaps as a consequence my love of hills has waned a bit. A little voice has been talking to me though, with a gentle reminder that it’s time to improve my ChiRunning hill techniques. The race that I love — the Dipsea, celebrates its 100th anniversary this year and I want to be in good shape for this extremely hilly race. (more…)

It is so easy to get caught up in being focused on everything we have to do and things we want to accomplish that sometimes we don’t allow ourselves the time, or space in our brain to just have fun. Even with our running and walking programs. While I am sure that most people reading this will say “I enjoy running … therefore I have fun” I just wonder — how much more fun could you be having? (more…)

In ChiRunning, the approach is to land midfoot (full-foot) under your column and create a wheel slightly behind your column with your heels/feet. Visually, this running motion is similar to the Road Runner cartoon.

To create this wheel, the focus is to allow the knee to bend and to not consciously lift the knee. Lifting the knee can bring the leg forward; and allow the foot to move horizontally and land in front of the body. Bending the knee creates an arc with the heel and keeps the heel/foot moving vertically. See the diagram below showing this orange arc. (more…)

Like my fellow ChiRunning Instructor Bloggers, I was recently in Asheville for the ChiRunning Instructor weekend. You have probably read about the incredible running experiences we had and what a wonderful opportunity it was for us all to focus even more on our running form. It was a happy band of midfoot strike runners that’s for sure. What struck me though during the introductions was just how many people had turned to ChiRunning because they were experiencing, or were tired of dealing with running pain and injuries. As each person reflected on those times there was a different tone in their voice.

When I got home (I live just north of San Francisco) I was excited to go running with some friends, get caught up and tell them about the weekend. Then, one friend called to say he couldn’t make it. The reason? A sore Achilles Tendon was creating too much running pain. (more…)

Before you start running it is likely you strap on a pair of running shoes that contain a number of features designed to enhance your performance and help keep you injury free. Every feature that is built into a running shoe already exists in your body in varying degrees. Practicing your ChiRunning form will help maximize these features.

Lets take a look at the features of running shoes, how they exist in your body, and how ChiRunning will help you develop these features.

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Since I took up running, I have always had the desire to run a marathon. Early on in my running career, it became clear that this may not be a possibility due to constant running injuries and the words of podiatrists and physiotherapists ringing in my ears. However, like any running junkie, I wasn’t going to be put off easily. I was fortunate enough to read an article about ChiRunning in Runner’s World back in 2006 and the idea of running as a skill was opened up to me. (more…)