Excerpted with permission from Runner's World
Your Best Stride (Rodale 2017).
B
oth the traditional running
s h o e m o d e l a n d t h e
minimalist model failed
by encouraging the myth of
magic shoes. For years, we
were told that if we found
the right shoe—one that
supported our weaknesses and matched our
mechanics—we would stride better, avoid
injury, and run faster. Minimalism pointed
out the errors of these claims, but it fell for
a different brand of magic. The minimalists
claimed that simply switching our overbuilt
shoes for minimal models would automatically
make us change our strides to a better, more
natural style, thus helping us to avoid injury
and run faster.
"Footwear is this mystical beast that has
been given far more credit than it deserves,"
says Simon Bartold, podiatrist, biomechanics
researcher, and consultant for Salomon. "The
problem with running has got nothing to do
with footwear." Runners get injured, Bartold
says, because of repetitive stress. Training
overwhelmingly accounts for both injury and
running improvement.
That said, everyone agrees that shoes do have
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The Myth of
MAGIC SHOES
BY JONATHAN BEVERLY
BEWARE THE MYSTICAL BEAST