In running, McDougall says runners need to change their technique, and they can do that wearing anything they want.
BESTSELLING American writer Christopher McDougall’s hit book ‘Born to Run’ — published in some 15 languages and soon to be adapted into a film — has inspired a generation of runners to shed their US$150 running shoes and go barefoot.
Here, he shares why he thinks barefoot running research gets it wrong, what ultra-runners are really doing out there in woods, and why you don’t need to be shoeless to be a better runner.
I’m sure you’ve read about the recent studies citing that barefoot running causes injuries. Even last week, a study came out about how Vibram FiveFingers running shoes can lead to bone injuries. What do you think?
McDougall: My frustration toward this barrage of research is that it keeps missing the point. You need to change your technique, and you can do that wearing anything you want. Changing footwear changes nothing. The problem we’ve gotten into in the past 30 years with shoe manufacturers, with motion control and EVA cushion, all this stuff that you’re supposed to buy to fix what’s wrong with your foot — it doesn’t work, and following that approach even with the Vibrams does the same thing all over again. I want to see a study where they actually change the subjects’ running form.
How can you change your form though? Reading about it is one thing, doing it is another.
McDougall: Yeah, movement doesn’t translate very well to language. Tell people what they should do but the words come out differently in people’s bodies. But the 100 Up training technique is my advice. Essentially, it’s just jogging in place. If you jog in place, you can’t jog wrong. You can’t land on your heels, you can’t wobble, and you can’t lengthen your stride. After a while you just relax and your body takes over and internalizes what you should do.
But isn’t jogging in place boring?
McDougall: It’s totally boring, but a lot of people resist, or initially resist, learning proper form. But I find that learning form can be utterly engrossing, utterly fascinating, and I think about it all the time. And when you start to feel progress — and you’ll feel it quickly — that becomes really satisfying. If painting were easy for Picasso, he’d have done something else. He’d be a juggler. But because painting was difficult for him, he kept at it. So as far the 100 Up is concerned, do it for a little bit, get the feel, and go for a run.
What do you think about ultrarunning and its recent surge in popularity?
McDougall: My initial take was that it wasn’t the healthiest thing in the world, spending 30 hours running through the woods. But I think there is so much performance anxiety and judgement in traditional road racing. Tell someone you ran a marathon and their first question would be “What was your time?”
Watch a 5,000km race and you have 10,000 pretty unimpressive specimens racing like it’s the Olympics.
Who cares?
But what you’re finding with ultra-running is fun and anonymity out in the woods. No one is cheering for you, no one is judging you — no one is even around you. And because every trail is different, finishing times are irrelevant, even among top racers. For these people, it’s playtime.
In ‘Born to Run’, you mention how during an economic crisis, people start running. Why do you think that is?
McDougall: Every time there is a sociopolitical crisis, running goes through the roof, and I don’t think it’s because it’s a cheap form of entertainment. I think it’s because it triggers something very innate. When we feel threatened, we run. That is two million years of genetics that tell us this is a way to make ourselves feel safe again. When you track it (in the US) — the 1920s, 1970s, after the World Trade Centre — all huge running booms.
We run when we’re afraid and we run for pleasure. — AFP/Relaxnews
The book has inspired a generation of runners to shed their US$150 running shoes and go barefoot.
McDougall thinks that if one jogs in place, one cannot jog wrong. — Photos from www.chrismcdougall.com