Expensive shoes or proper running form?!

Ever since I started running, I experienced varying severities of foot pain. At first, I though that the answer was to find the perfect running shoe. There was much hype in the fore-foot running shoe market, but it didn’t seem anything more than just hype. I got myself a pair or Vibram Five Fingers, played around with the Newtons, tried various other brands found in your local sporting good stores. Unfortunately nothing helped me get rid of the pain. Running shouldn’t be this hard and painful, our bodies are naturally designed to run.
I’ve come to the realization that no matter how expensive your shoe is, if your form is not correct, you will continue to experience foot pain. Simply relying on expensive running shoes, while running blindly is not the way to go!
This is what I found works best for me:

  1. Land on your fore-foot instead of your heal to activate your body’s natural shock absorbent mechanism.
  2. As you strike be conscious of the landing to ensure that the bottom of your foot touches the ground in parallel and does not pronoate or supinate (roll slightly to the right or left).
  3. Lean slightly forward.
  4. As you move your arms from side to side keep the movement to a minimum; avoid having your hands pass the center of your torso. This helps prevent shoulder strain and leaves you with more energy for where it’s actually needed — your legs.

During this morning’s run, for the first time, I put conscious thought into every single stride with focus on the above 4 tips. The run felt comfortable and painless. I even felt like running more than my usual distance! As I have already mentioned,  this is what I found worked well for me. You have to do some research and experiment with various techniques to see what helps for you.
The key point to take home is that by buying into the whole shoe market idealogy we have neglected to learn the proper running form. We must regain control of our bodies, and help it do what it does best, naturally.
I would love to hear about your tips that helped you during your runs!