Christopher McDougal, the author of Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Super Athletes and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen, wrote another piece about barefoot running in the New York Times yesterday. There is a lot of background about barefoot running in the article, but the meat of the article is McDougals discovery of the 100-Up exercise, which helps get you into the proper barefoot running form.
Interestingly, this is the first time I have heard about the 100-Up, but through my casual barefoot running demonstrations (usually sparked by my “weird” Vibram FiveFinger shoes), I ended up discovering that running in place forces you to footstrike in a manner closer to the barefoot running form. So, I have been providing it as a tip to those who are interested in getting into barefoot running. The 100-Up refines what I’ve discovered on my own and I’ll be referring to it from here on out!
“It makes so much physiological and anatomical sense,” he said. “The key to injury-free running is balance, elasticity, stability in midstance and cadence. You’ve got all four right there.”