New Running style = new shoes?

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Nov 2012
9:46am, 23 Nov 2012
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Arjin
Hi you lot :),

I've been running for a few years now and have spent most of 2012 trying to recover from a plantar fascia injury. Finally been to see a physio and he has adjusted my running style a bit (I had gone from heel striking to almost running on my toes!) and I'm now getting to grips with midfoot/forefoot strike although I'm still recovering from my injury with lots and lots and lots of stretching and 10 min slow runs every 2-3 days.

At the moment I run in Asics 2160 or Mizuno Wave Ascend 6, but have been looking at something more suited to this style of running.

What I'm really interested in is do people think I should look at something like Newtons / Innov 8 (road shoes - I have 295's for the muddy stuff) / NB Minimus etc. or stay with a chunky heel?

Any advice or info / your experience's would be great.

Cheers guys.
Nov 2012
9:52am, 23 Nov 2012
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eL Bee!
Two schools of thought on this:

1) Transition slowly to shoes with a small or no difference in the height of the heel and forefoot, allowing yourself to adapt to the altered geometry each time before moving on

2) just jump in with both feet with minimal flexible shoes and build up your strength and adaptation sensibly.

Either way it's not a quick process, and you have to be patient.
Nov 2012
9:56am, 23 Nov 2012
18,162 posts
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eL Bee!
As a side note - running on the ball of your foot or "almost running on your toes" is NOT the primary goal in running efficiently. A compact running form where your interaction with the ground is brief and as near to 'under you' as possible *is*
And forefoot/midfoot running comes about as a result of that.

If you are getting calf of achilles issues, you are forcing that landing on the front part of the foot and overworking the lower leg. This is a mistake
Nov 2012
10:03am, 23 Nov 2012
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Arjin
Yeah, I made the mistake of reading a few articles and trying to teach myself to change my running style without getting someone to teach me, then ran a half in Feb. Result was 8 months of pain in my foot. I'm now working on keeping a relaxed lower leg, increased cadence etc. but just not sure what to go for. I think I might pop down to Alexandra Sports this arvo and see what they recommend.

Something with a few mill of heel raise is what I'm thinking, although I tried the Nike free in their shop in Glasgow a year or so ago and they felt great.
Nov 2012
11:04am, 26 Nov 2012
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Arjin
bumping this back up. After visiting the local running shop at the weekend and chatting to my physio this morning, I'm heading towards getting a pair of Hi-Tec Silver Shadows. They are cheap and have a small amount of padding on the forefoot with not too much difference to the heel. Reviews on Amazon - people swear by them and have worn them for years. Any opinions?

amazon.co.uk

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Maintained by Arjin
Hi you lot :),

I've been running for a few years now and have spent most of 2012 trying to reco...

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