By Douglas Bertram, MTCM, L.Ac.

Many people are surprised when I tell them that running can and should be a fairly passive activity. When running with good balance and relaxation a runner has access to a limitless resource: gravity. Most people would assume that a runner must fight gravity to get their feet off of the ground. In truth, if a runner’s form is correct, gravity becomes the primary propulsive force, especially when we engage the core. Running with good posture, a high cadence and a foot strike under the center of mass sets a runner up to use this elusive force known as gravity.

Optimal Running Cadence

By Douglas Bertram, MTCM, L.Ac.. Director of Field Marketing at Newton Running

When out for your next run, experiment with trying to find your “Groove,” or optimal cadence (foot strike rate). Running can and should be largely a passive act. With good posture and a slight forward lean, all that is needed is relaxing into an efficient cadence.

Surprisingly, optimal cadence is about the same for all runners. Speed does not matter. It may be counter intuitive, but an efficient runner running 10 minutes per mile pace has the same cadence as an efficient runner running a 5 minute per mile pace.

Using Elasticity in the Lower Leg

By Douglas Bertram, MTCM, L.Ac.. Director of Field Marketing at Newton Running  

The next time you select a running shoe, consider several factors to help you utilize the natural elasticity in your lower legs.

 First, the right fit and model can optimize your comfort and running efficiency. Look for shoes that are designed to offer the same benefits as the bare foot. Running shoes that are designed to compliment the natural motion of the foot, rather than control motion, will help strengthen the muscles of the foot and allow you to take advantage of stored energy in the stretched tendons of the leg. This process of storing and releasing energy is called elastic recoil. If the foot is unable to spread, the arch unable to lengthen, or the hind-foot unable to pronate, there will not be appropriate loading of the elastic-spring-mechanism.

Transitioning to Natural Running Form and Shoes

By Danny Abshire, co-founder, Newton Running

No matter your body type, fitness level or experience as a runner, the biggest factors in increasing your running performance and reducing common overuse injuries is learning how to run naturally, and wearing shoes with nearly level profiles.

For the past 30 years running shoes have been designed with thickly cushioned, built-up heels. This type of shoe forces the body to balance itself in an unnatural, backward-leaning position. Your toes are pointing downward, your weight is shifted rearward, and your back is arched back slightly. Basically, you’re body is trying to maintain balance while compensating for the lifted heel.

The importance of the mind-body connection

By Danny Abshire, co-founder, Newton Running

Learning to run with natural, efficient form isn't just a physical endeavor. It is a whole body movement, coordinated by an instinctive mind-body connection. The many motions your body makes when running are choreographed and orchestrated by the brain as it continually tries to rebalance your body with gravity.

When running naturally, two major factors allow us to default to the healthiest, most efficient running posture. The first is maintaining a posture that is neutral or balanced with gravity. Stand up barefoot and notice if your feet and pelvis are level, and if you are lined up vertically from the head through your shoulders, hip and knee through the center of the foot.

Second is the sensory input derived from your feet, specifically the forefoot. The brain is a proficient computer that instantaneously responds to input from the foot by making the micro adjustments needed to keep your legs, arms, torso, shoulders and head positioned to be balanced with gravity. And thanks to the harmonious mind-body connection we have, it can all happen without us thinking about it.

Improve Your Technique

By Danny Abshire, co-founder, Newton Running

No one has perfect running form, but everyone can improve their running mechanics. Doing so can make you a more efficient runner, which means you’ll use less energy in every stride and boost your running economy (the ability to process oxygen efficiently while running). Ultimately, improved form can make you faster and less prone to overuse injuries.

One of the primary ways to improve your running technique is through form drills. Form drills are easy to do and don’t take a lot of time, but they’re often overlooked, forgotten or ignored when a workout is completed. Taking an extra 5 to 15 minutes to do form drills a several times per week can make you more fluid, more efficient and even faster for both short and long distances.

Most drills take the aspects of good form — a compact arm swing, soft footstrikes with the midfoot under your center of mass, quick leg turnover, an upright posture with a slight forward lean at the ankles — and accentuate it in a repetitive motion that trains the body to be comfortable with that movement during your regular running mechanics. Some drills are aimed at building smaller muscles (such as the intrinsic group and lumbrical group in the foot), while others help your neuromuscular system fire quicker.

Natural Running in an unnatural world requires shoes

By Danny Abshire, co-founder, Newton Running

People have been experimenting with barefoot running for a long time, but in recent years the activity has gained mainstream notoriety and science-based credibility. Most coaches, elite athletes, physiologists and other medical experts agree that running barefoot in very small doses on soft surfaces can help improve your running mechanics and teach your body to land lightly at your midfoot, but they also agree that you should wear some kind of running shoes most of the time.

"Throw your shoes away for good? Sure, if you have perfect mechanics and you've been living barefoot all of your life," says Dr. Mark Cucuzzella, a West Virginia University professor and 2:25 marathoner who has studied barefoot and minimalist runners in relation to running injuries. "But that's not the majority of runners. Most runners absolutely need to wear shoes when they run."

If you're used to running in a traditional training shoe with a built-up heel, running barefoot can be a fascinating experience of freedom and can be the first step in developing natural running mechanics. Running unshod your foot naturally seeks out the ground by landing at the midfoot/forefoot, where it receives sensory interaction, or afferent feedback. This sensory input immediately tells the rest of the body how to move efficiently with light footsteps, a high leg cadence, a relaxed but consistent arm swing, an upright posture and a slight forward lean from the ankles. This same feedback can be gained while wearing some types of lightweight shoes, but traditional trainers with thick levels of foam dampen the sensory interaction and make it much harder to interpret the ground, especially with the heel-striking gait those shoes promote.

Lightweight trainers mean less impact, less fatigue and faster recovery

By Danny Abshire, co-founder, Newton Running

Wearing lightweight shoes and running with soft footsteps can be very beneficial for a runner of any ability or experience level.

If you have good form with a natural running (midfoot/forefoot) gait and you wear lightweight shoes, running can put you in a state of euphoric bliss as you effortlessly click off the miles. Everything flows together harmoniously and efficiently, no matter if you're running a minute or a marathon.

But if you have inefficient form and wear heavier, overbuilt shoes — and the two often go hand-in-hand — the simple act of running can quickly become very destructive to your body. Heavier training shoes typically weigh more because they have built-up heels, which translate to steep ramp angles of 8 to 15 percent. This encourages a heavy heel-striking gait and braking, both of which have been shown to cause a variety of overuse injuries.

Running Shoe Re-Evolution

By Danny Abshire, co-founder, Newton Running

At the start of the first American running boom in the 1970s, most people were running in fairly lightweight shoes that consisted of a rubber outsole a thin foam midsole and a lightweight nylon upper. Although simple by today's standards, some of those early shoes were pretty good at allowing the foot to move naturally without the need for excessive muscular force and allowed a runner to obtain afferent feedback from each foot's interaction with the ground.

As footwear technology advanced over the years, running shoes generally became cushier, softer, thicker, heavier and, in some respects even more comfortable. But, while some of the innovations were driven by performance, the end result in many cases was anything but performance-oriented. And that's why, 30 years later, thousands of runners run with inefficient mechanics predicated on a heel-striking gait. Not only is that form not optimal for running fast, it can also lead to numerous overuse injuries.

Develop efficient form with lightweight shoes and barefoot drills

By Danny Abshire, co-founder, Newton Running

The natural running movement is quickly becoming a revolution. Are you onboard yet?

Thanks to the advancement of lightweight high-performance running shoes plus a best-selling book and recent stories in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Denver Post, Washington Post and National Public Radio, to name a few, the natural running movement has become quite the rage in recent months.

Natural running is running the way the human body was meant to run in its purest form - namely, barefoot - across a solid surface. That means running with good mechanics and a efficient gait that focuses on landing lightly on the midfoot/forefoot (the ball of the foot, but not the toes) and quickly lifting your foot off the ground instead of pushing off with excessive muscular force. Natural running can help make you a stronger, more efficient runner who is less prone to overuse injuries.