Natural running

Daniel Lieberman, Professor of Biological Sciences at Harvard University, studied 300 Kenyan runners from the Kalenjin Tribe since 1987.
Lieberman discovered that because we learn to make better use of our muscles when we run barefoot, it reduces the impact on the body, and therefore it improves the running economy.
His research got him into barefoot running himself, and his publication “Born to Run” in 2004 gave runners food for thought.

After years of injuries, running author and journalist Christopher McDougall started digging as well. Why couldn’t he run without pain? He discovered that the Tarahumara Tribe in Mexico can run in the jungle for days, on just some self-made sandals. He also realized that his cushioned shoes gave him discomfort.
After six months of training and running in a more natural way, without cushioned shoes, McDougall could join a race with the Tarahumara’s. He ran a whole day in the heat on hilly trails, without getting injured at all.

But despite the benefits of natural running, most of our bodies aren’t used to it anymore.
After running on (cushioned) shoes for years, changing to more minimalistic running too sudden, can lead to injuries as well.

So how to run?

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Resources
Book: Exercised: The Science of Physical Activity, Rest and Health
Research and publications by Prof Daniel Lieberman

Kenyan elite runners start their career as a kid, running barefoot, smooth and relaxed.
They gradually build up their endurance and speed, following the laws of nature.

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Anything is possible if you believe
If you speed up too fast, progress will be very temporary, and end up in injuries.
But if you’re willing to put in the hard work and patience, you will really improve.

Learning how to run slow and smooth doesn’t come as easy when we get older though.
We got a lot to think and worry about, which makes it harder to relax our mind and our muscles.
Spending our days sitting behind a desk, living busy schedules with little time to exercise, and eating processed food doesn’t help either.

To run with fun and injury-free, you need focus and relaxation at the same time, so you can move in a conscious, efficient way.
Then… speed will come naturally...

The bigger picture
There are several coaching approaches that follow the laws of nature, to let runners get the best out of themselves and out of life.

We'll have a look at some of them on the next pages.
All these coaches have their own focus, but they share the belief that we are made to run, and that there’s no need for injuries.

But they are also convinced that running, though natural, has to be learned.
Not knowing how to use the techniques will get you injured.
“Learn it wrong and you’ll never know how good it can feel”, ultrarunner and coach Eric Orton says.

The overall approach of these coaches is, that running should and can be fun.
To make that possible they don’t have a quick fix or a one fits all body power program to build strength or speed.
Their methods have a gradual build-up in common, starting with a balanced running form.
This steady foundation will give your body the strength which is needed to add some distance later.
Gradually you’ll run longer, practice your technique more and become faster, without the risk to overtrain yourself.

Like everything in nature, movement starts from the core, the strongest part, while the other parts of the body are relaxed.
Focusing on the moment will make you stop thinking, so you can relax more and be more aware of your running form, to make adjustments if necessary.
The more you relax, the more you’ll enjoy it, and the better you’ll run.

Although most Ultrarunners (running distances above 42.2K / 26.2 Miles) don’t have a coach, they all learned (sometimes the hard way) to run with nature.
There’s no way to finish a 100 miler if you train only speedy stuff.
Ultrarunners do most of their training in a slow, natural way.

Let's have a look at some natural running approaches:

ChiRunning is a low-impact running technique that teaches us how to gradually run with less effort, to reduce the risk of getting injured and to run with more pleasure.

Founder Danny Dreyer combined Chinese Tai Chi principles with his ultrarunning experience and has been running injury-free ever since.

ChiRunning is a low-impact running technique that teaches us how to gradually run with less effort and reduce the risk of getting injured.
It is a natural and efficient way of moving forward, using our gravity, while keeping our body and mind in balance.

Danny describes ChiRunning like this:

“It's learning how to listen to your body and adjust appropriately to improve your form and enhance your performance.
It's learning how to sense your body, your actions, and the results of your actions; how to learn from what you do and what you feel.
It's learning how to use running as a vehicle to discover yourself on many levels.”

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Danny still runs; at age 65 he finished a Half Marathon in 1:43.

“Pain is your body's way of telling you to change how you're moving.”
Danny Dreyer

Resources

Book: ChiRunning: A Revolutionary Approach to Effortless, Injury-Free Running - Danny Dreyer
Book: Chi Marathon: The Breakthrough Natural Running Program for a Pain-Free Half Marathon and Marathon - Danny & Katherine Dreyer

The MAF Method was introduced in the seventies by Phil Maffetone.
With this method, he offers a gradual low effort solution to build an effective base for healthy performance.
It is a holistic approach using your heart rate and other signals to determine the ideal training and eating plan for you.

“It basically says that we’re all different and unique in every one of our need. My method is simple and yet vast because that’s the nature of human beings”, Maffetone says.
“By taking this journey you also grasp the responsibility of your own destiny: the reward is that you can be healthier than you’ve ever been, fit enough to reach your athletic goals, and live a life whose quality is high.” ….
“Every animal on earth intuitively knows how to be optimally healthy, but humans have gone astray; getting back your instincts is one of the benefits of this process.”

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Phil Maffetone is expert on sport and health, nutrition and human performance.
He was coach of six-time Hawaii Ironman Champion Mark Allen and Olympic medalists, among others.
Maffetone stopped racing but still runs in his daily stressless and active life. He gets his exercise by chopping wood for his fire and he grows his own food.

“I began to realize that it wasn’t a failure of my body that was keeping me from winning; it was a failure of my mind.
I needed more than a Fit Body - I needed a Fit Soul.”
Mark Allen, after being defeated six times on a row at the Ironman.

Resources

MAF Method
MAF-180 Formula
Book: The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing - Phil Maffetone
Book: 1:59: The Sub-Two-Hour Marathon Is Within Reach—Here's How It Will Go Down, and What It Can Teach All Runners about Training and Racing - Phil Maffetone

Eric Orton, developed a training to live “The Cool Impossible” and run free.
Running and cycling helped him to get over his asthma and become a successful ultrarunner.

He studied and raced with the Tarahumara Tribe, while coaching Christopher McDougall (author of Born to Run).

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He describes his approach like this:

“We want the whole body to act and perform as a whole unit, and we develop efficiency by using the body “well” and training it to be balanced.
Developing muscle equilibrium eliminates what I call big-muscle dominance (think of your quads or chest) by fostering those small, supporting muscles (think of the muscles in your ankles, hip and spine) that often go underutilized.
Equilibrium promotes movement, stability, endurance and power.”

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Resources
Book: Born to Run - Christopher McDougall
Book: The Cool Impossible - Eric Orton