'African running'???

[lunar]

A few years ago I heard about a style of running used by some African tribes whereby you only round on the ball on toes of your feet, giving you much more spring and speed.  Has anybody tried it for a significant period of time? If so how did you find it? I've been doing it for a few weeks now and find it puts much less pressure on my knees.

Lunar

[tyrone]

less pressure on the knees is much appreciated !!
could you tell us more about this african running method maybe??

[Chris]

Do some google searches; 'pose running', 'chi running', 'running technique' etc and you'll find stacks of info.

This is idea behind the whole minimal and barefoot running movement. The shoes vs barefoot argument is going the wrong direction. It's much more about running with a forefoot or a rearfoot strike.

Also, searh and read Dr Dan Leiberman's stuff - 'The Barefoot Professor' is the guru of this stuff.

And...read born to run by Christopher McDougall

Most importantly though - when you go through the transition be patient! It should feel weird awkward and strangeand you'll speand the first few months with very sore calfs. Took me about 9-10months before i got the hang of it and had built up the calf strength. Cheers