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Barefoot guru touts new steps to perfect running form

Posted by Tom Held on Nov. 17, 2011

minimalist running

Author Christopher McDougall found his stride among the minimalist runners of the Tarahumara Indians in the Copper Canyons of Mexico, and shared their secrets in his best-seller “Born to Run.”

The book helped fuel the minimalist running movement, which now, according to McDougall, accounts for about $1.7 billion in sales for the sporting industry.

In a marathon piece published earlier this month in the New York Times Magazine, McDougall reveals another obscure source for the “one best way” to run. It’s the 100-Up training method he found in a 100-year-old book on running.

The simple exercises, knee lifts designed to improve balance and flexibility, were described in the book by a chemist’s apprentice, W.S. George. While McDougall traces the proper running style to the dawn of man, the 100-Up method dates back to 1874.

For a more modern view of the minimalist approach, touted to prevent injuries and improve performance, check out the clinic at the Pettit International Ice Center on Friday evening.

Kyle Robers, the owner of the Revolution Running & Walking Center, is hosting the seminar and features a half-dozen experts in physiology and biomechanics. The clinic is free, and opens at 7 p.m.

The local Performance Running Outfitters also offer training programs to promote barefoot running.

The 100-Up exercises and the tips available at the clinics focus on the basics sometimes lost amid training plans, orthotics and promotions for minimalist shoes. It comes from Mark Cucuzella, a barefoot acolyte based in West Virginia: "The key to injury-free running is balance, elasticity, stability in midstance and cadence."

Get there any way you can.