Trail Running

I have found my new hobby when I cannot play lacrosse.

That is Trail Running.

It all started back in New York when I got some New Balance Minimus shoes. These shoes are made to give you the least amount of support possible. So it's basically running barefoot, but the bottom of your feet are protected. Two reasons I was sold on the whole "Barefoot running" 1) If you buy shoes that have a lot of support and comfort, in a sense you are making your feet and your legs do less, thus wearing away the muscles. For example, if your arm is in a sling, the muscles get weak and useless. But once you take it out, you can use them to their full potential. Same goes for your feet. There has been rumors that once you start barefoot running, your feet shrink a size or so because you are using muscles that you have never used before.

Interesting.

2) The sales lady (who is a hard core runner) said "God did not create us with shoes, He created us with feet" but also "When we were created there wasn't asphalt and concrete to run on." so there is definitely a limit where you need some protection when running on roads and such. But you think about it, why are the people who live in Africa natural runners who are so much faster than most others outside of Africa? They don't have really comfortable shoes, they have their feet.

So I decided that these were going to be my new running shoes. They came with a warning on them.

Pretty Intense

I started doing some more research on the matter and found a bundle of studies showing that running barefoot causes less strain on your feet and legs than running with traditional running shoes does. Obviously this is after you slowly build up to running barefoot. I found this cycle in one study. Pretend the ---- lines are arrows :)

Wicked Cycle of Shoes: We buy shoes with cushioning and support --- Muscle atrophy (The wearing away of muscles from lack of exercise)----Loss of Nerve Senseitiviy----Increased likelihood of injury----We buy shoes with cushioning and support----Muscle atrophy-----Loss of Nerve Senseitiviy----Increased likelihood of injury----and back to the beginning. Makes sense right? It's like a vicious cycle downward that cripples ourselves.

Anyways, that was longer than I was planning. I have found some wicked sweet trails to run on thus far. Unfortunately I did not bring my camera on them, but I will in the future. I have been up behind Red Butte Garden.

I ran along here, but unfortunately these people were not there.

Also when we were staying the night in St. George, I went and ran on Owen's Loop. It is on a very large plateau on the edge of the city. The trail runs along the edge of the plateau which was so sweet.

It is up along the top of this plateau.

(Apparently this was a really large picture)

Ness will explain why we were in St. George for the night in the next post ;)

-The Gap