Trail running is fun. But it’s probably not the surface but the technique change, that gets rid of the pain. I’m currently going through the process of shifting my running technique to where I push rather than pull myself forward and it’s a revelation. When your foot lands in front of your center of gravity, it necessarily brakes your forward movement. All that momentum has to go somewhere, eg get absorbed by your joints. Changing this makes you more efficient as well as reducing strain on the soft tissue.

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usrme 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

This sounds interesting. Would you be able to share more information about this style of running? I'm having a hard time imagining how this plays out in real life.

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cesnja 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

Running barefoot forces you to improve your technique in line with this description. [0] There's also a sizeable market of "barefoot shoes" that's between being barefoot and the regular running shoes, with the manufacturers trying to convince us buying such shoes is the solution. The gait issue become more obvious (and painful) in barefoot shoes, but you can adjust your technique in mass-market running shoes as well.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSIDRHUWlVo

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myvoiceismypass 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

I first found out about this back when Chris McDougall's "Born to Run" book came out. For anyone that does not know, he follows an Indian tribe in Mexico known for their running prowess, using non-traditional sandles to run in instead of the heavily padded sneakers most of us wear.

I switched briefly around that time to running in vibram five fingers, which trained me how to change my stride and stop heel striking. I no longer wear VFFs but do tend to favor lightweight, minimal heel-drop sneakers, and I still don't heel strike.

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wooger 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

I'm not sure you can run with appropriate gait (stop heel striking) in modern mass market running shoes. The heels on many running shoes are 2 inches+ and make it just impossible to avoid heel striking without wasting a lot of motion picking your knees up.

Also, the chances of twisting your ankle when your heels are elevated that much from the road is far higher as well.

	▲	cesnja 20 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Best marathon runners can do it in "conventional" running shoes [0], but I agree it's easier to find the better technique barefoot or in barefoot shoes. [0] https://marathonhandbook.com/kipchoge-running-form/

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snowwrestler 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

I made this change as well. Specifically, I switched from heel strike to forefoot strike, AKA “landing on the ball of my foot.” I changed shoes to zero-drop (Altras) which makes this easier to do.

This sort of automatically limits how far in front of your hips you can land your foot. But then the next step is to change posture and “lean forward” so that it feels like you’re just barely catching yourself with each foot before falling on your face.

The goal is to have your foot land directly under you, then use your quads and glutes to push your foot backward, to create or maintain your forward momentum.

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ca_tech 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

This is why I think trail running is so valuable. You must be aware of your changing environment and how to adjust your body's movement to accommodate. You are exercising your mind to calculate your current momentum, intended placement of your next step, and it's potential impact to the rest of your body. You are running your own mental physics simulation as you work the trail, nothing like running on regular roads.

	▲	doubled112 a day ago \| parent [-]
		This sounds a lot like why I find BMX racing less interesting than I thought I would. It’s also why I make the kids ride elsewhere. Snow provides good physics lessons on traction and centre of gravity.