Are your heels too high?

The human body’s basic design has remained unchanged for a few thousand years. It seems we’ve reached a point where further evolution/development of the model was unecessary. Things are working fine.

Most of the problems with health. Obesity, diabetes, heart disease etc can be resolved by going back to a diet similar to what our ancestors survived on.

The human body was designed, or developed to walk and run with bare feet. As our ancestors ventured into prickle country, the sandal was developed. This simple foot protection device, didn’t have a steel toe cap. People were responsible for their own toes and avoided dropping things on them.

The sandal didn’t have an arch support. The human foot supported its own arch. In fact the arch (for those with any building/engineering knowledge) should not be supported under the middle, it only needs supporting at each end. The arches in the colliseum have been standing for two thousand years supported at the ends only.

The arch of the human foot is a shock absorbing mechanism. Fallen arches (flat feet) are a symptom of the human body not being used in the way it was designed. It’s interesting to research the incidence of fallen arches in primitive tribes where if you need to go somewhere, you walk. If you’re in a hurry, you run. In fact a lot of modern, city dwellers problems don’t exist in many primitive cultures.

Another feature of modern shoes which the early sandal didn’t feature was the heel. The sandal was the same thickness piece of hide through it’s whole length. In fact it was just a thicker sole for the tribesman’s foot. These primitive people never needed orthotics, in fact my father did his trade as a bootmaker. The bootmaker catered for any “special needs” in footware. Back in those days there were no podiatrists, nobody I ever met in my first twenty years ever had orthotics.

If an athlete has a foot problem which is deemed to need orthotics, isn’t it evidence that something needs strengthening? Or does it mean the athlete is doing something wrong in his/her movement which needs correcting?   I’m amazed how few people do any run drill type work. I’m amazed how little attention is given to “how to run, and walk correctly”.

Shoe manufacturers are selling the idea that the sandal made from animal skin with no cushioning or arch support is no longer safe for humans to run in. This is after 40,000 years of use. I wonder if acheological studies have found stress fractures in the legs of primative skeletons? It is interesting to dig up the old video of the movie “Chariots of Fire” and check out the footwear used at that time. Old photos of John Landy or Roger Bannister show them running in shoes with no more cushioning than an animal hide sandal. 

Running in a sandal, or bare foot, encourages he runner to hit the ground gently. Like a leopard or a jaguar. Also running barefoot encourages a runner to land on his/her forefoot, allowing the heel to come down to contact the ground before pushing forward with the forefoot. Through this whole process, the shock of impacting the ground is controlled by the natural movement of the foot and ankle.

Another interesting feature of running bare foot or in a thin soled shoe is, the runner contacts the ground right below his/her hips and simply pushes the ground back. The runner just does not strike the ground in front of his body with a heel first strike, it’s too painful. Now isn’t pain a sign that something is “wrong”?

Now if we put the same runner in a pair of very well cushioned running shoes sold by a shop assistant who chants the same spiel to the customer that the shoe manufacturer fed him. The runner now is more inclined to land heel first, striking the ground in front of his/her body. This has a braking effect on forward movement, then as the forefoot comes down and impacts the ground a slapping sound indicates a much greater impact than is necessary.

There is another interesting psychological angle here. When a runner is going well, he’s leaning into the wind. A boxer fighting well is on his forefoot and moving forward. Both positive mental states, indicated by body language. When a boxer is copping a hiding, retreating from his opponent, he’s on his heels and leaning back. When a runner hits the wall, his body language instantly changes. He no longer leans into the wind, he drops back onto his heels. His whole posture changes from tall and slightly forward to slumped and leaning slightly back.

A runner in an Ironman triathlon who walks as part of his game plan, runs to an aid station, walks his scheduled number of steps, then runs on, does not change his posture. It’s part of the plan and it’s all positive. On the other hand a runner in the same race gives into the pain and starts to walk as a survival strategy, his body language changes immediately. He leans back, his height drops and he’s walking on his heels.

Body lauguage is an indicator of mental state. Mental state is influenced by body movement. It’s easier to think positively when we have more pressure on our fore foot, than it is when we have more pressure on our heels.

It will pay athletes interested in competing well in long distance triathlon to learn good run technique. It will pay the same athletes to run in shoes with less heel height. It will pay these same athletes to do some running bare foot.

Start out running on the beach or a grassy park, short distances, punctuated by walks. Don’t change the posture as you change from running to walking.  Stay tall and relaxed, leading each stride with the knees, pushing the ground back with the feet. This is simply a run technique development strategy, not a long distance training plan.