<p class="quote" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: #993366;">“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed…Every morning a lion wakes up, it knows it must outrun than the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter if you are a lion or a gazelle… When the sun comes up you’d better be running”</span></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/TJXLDlAkIQw" height="315" width="420" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>

<h2><span style="color: #993366;"><strong>My method has three defined stages;</strong></span></h2>
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[button text="1. The Free Falling Running Method" link="/phase1/"]
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	<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">3 unique sessions</span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Running form analysis</span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Education for improved running economy</span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Re-program your technique</span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Practice with drills &amp; skills</span></li>
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[button text="<strong>2. Intensity</strong>" link="/phase2/"]
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	<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Assess current conditioning</span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Calculate efficient training intensity</span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Education on Zone training</span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Define goals</span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Test progress regularly</span></li>
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<div>

[button text="<strong>3. Personally Designed Plan</strong>" link="/phase3/"]
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	<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Consider lifestyle, history &amp; interests</span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Armed with objective test results</span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Periodised monthly programs</span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Defined order of development</span></li>
	<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Training mind &amp; body</span></li>
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<div class="phasespics">
<div><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1194" alt="stage1img" src="http://balancehealthprograms.com.au/wp-content/uploads/stage1img.png" width="220" height="258" /></div>
<div><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1195" alt="stage2img" src="http://balancehealthprograms.com.au/wp-content/uploads/stage2img.png" width="220" height="258" /></div>
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&nbsp;
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<h1><b>PAMPY’S POST </b><b>28.14 </b><b>– YOUR IDEAL RUNNING SHOE</b></h1>
Morning Team,

Today’s post is offering my opinion on what I believe is your best footwear option; to run on concrete and bitumen.  But before I go there, I want to quickly recap what an efficient runner is, including my observations of efficient runners and not necessarily just ‘elite runners’.
<ul>
	<li>Effortless</li>
	<li>Light</li>
	<li>Smooth</li>
	<li>Without muscle tension</li>
	<li>Quick leg turnover</li>
	<li>Short support time</li>
	<li>Almost silent landing</li>
	<li>Lands close to the vertical line; going through the CENTRE OF MASS</li>
	<li>Small vertical oscillation of the body</li>
	<li>Only small upper body movement, but rhythmically in sync with legs</li>
	<li>Head sits directly over hips</li>
	<li>Slight forward lean from the hips</li>
</ul>
The road running boom hit in the 70’s and really gained momentum in the 80’s.  Community events like our own City to Surf and big city marathons became a hit.  And as the only real cost for the sport is appropriate footwear, the big shoe company’s like Nike and Adidas, went to war.

To cut a long story short, what started out as shoes that offered about the same support as a Dunlop Volley, over a short time morphed into - gel, air, springs, super –rubber, recoil, etc etc.  Basically the more sh#t in the shoe, the greater marketing scope and of course justification for a bigger price tag.

Now, the problem with more sh#t in the shoe (resulting in a jacked up heel pad), means we can’t feel the earth underneath us.  Less feel means less feedback to the brain on how to react and therefore cushion the cost of impact.  Feedback like : what part of the foot to land on, how and when to relax and release the ankle joint, how to engage the hinge joint of the knee, where best to position and balance your posture – this was all lost due to minimal neural feedback from the foot.

Over time, many people (without really noticing) changed their running technique.  We became reliant and comfortable utilising the “super extra cushioning” in the heel of the shoe which was now available to us.  As a result, not only did we load our weight through our heel, we thrust our heel into the earth’s surface.  This was usually done at a distance ahead of our hips (our centre of mass), thus braking our forward momentum and delivering a longer period stabilising on support.  The shocking result of this braking force was a greater re-verb back through the body.  Our heels and ankles were fairly safe, but our shins (usually medial of the tibia), our knees (usually the area just under the knee cap), our quads (the 4 major muscles which extend the knee) and our lower back were now under duress.

Before we knew it the rate of injuries from running increased exponentially – and as you can imagine, sadly many people lost interest in the activity of running.

15 years later we finally realised that perhaps it was our shoes that were contributing to these mounting injuries. So we stripped back to basics and reviewed the laws of nature.  Unfortunately, like so many things, we went too far the other way.  Enter minimalistic running shoes!

On the back of the highly successful book “Born to Run” it made sense to strip things back and get back to how we ran 100 years go – with next to no support under your feet.  I certainly agree with most of the theory in this book to improve running bio-mechanics. BUT, there was one major problem….

Footwear manufacturers started producing and promoting shoes with very little support, seemingly overnight.  The most aggressive change came from a footwear company called Vibram.  They produced a shoe called “five fingers” which are those glove-like shoes where the toes are separated with only a thin protective layer between the sole of your foot and the ground surface.  These shoes were promoted and sold to cure all running related injuries and improve your running performance!  So where’s the problem??  Well - unfit, overweight, technically unsound runners were buying them and hitting the pavement with renewed excitement.  As we all know pavement and bitumen is where we tend to run these days – not grass or more forgiving bush tracks.

When the 10,000<sup>th</sup> runner was once again back at the physio with threaded Achilles tendons and calf muscles, a class action lawsuit was filed in the US.  Vibram lost and has had to shell out just under $4million in claims!! <i>(For your interest I have included an article below outlining the lawsuit)  </i>

So in my opinion – elite 60kg runners aside – a middle of the range shoe is best.  Yes, avoid ridiculous chunks of gel and springs on the heel, but equally be certain to have enough support to counter the demands of the harder surfaces we now spend most of our running time on.

Improving your running technique will always outweigh your footwear choices!

Brad Pamp

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<i>Vibram USA, the company that makes FiveFingers running shoes, has agreed to settle a lawsuit that alleged the company made false and unsubstantiated claims about the health benefits of its glove-like footwear. According to the court filings, Vibram settled to put the matter to rest and avoid any additional legal expenses. “Vibram expressly denied and continues to deny any wrongdoing alleged in the Actions, and neither admits nor concedes any actual or potential fault, wrongdoing or liability,” read the court brief.</i>

<i>Valerie Bezdek brought the class action suit against Vibram in March 2012.  She filed her complaint in Massachusetts, the state where Vibram’s U.S. headquarters are located. Bezdek alleged that Vibram deceived consumers by advertising that the footwear could reduce foot injuries and strengthen foot muscles, without basing those assertions on any scientific merit. “The gist of her claim is that Vibram illegally obtained an economic windfall from her because it was only by making false health claims that Vibram induced consumers to buy FiveFingers shoes, and to pay more for them than they would have otherwise,” </i><a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/elite-runners/vibram-lawsuit-explained"><i>Harvard Law School professor, John C. P. Goldberg, told </i></a><a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/elite-runners/vibram-lawsuit-explained"><em>Runner’s World</em></a><a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/elite-runners/vibram-lawsuit-explained"><i> at the time of the original filing</i></a><i>. Subsequent class action suits were filed against Vibram in California and Illinois, and those were absorbed into Bezdek’s case.</i>

<i>The settlement consists of two kinds of relief. The first is refunds to class members who submit valid and completed claim forms. Vibram will deposit $3.75 million into an escrow account and those funds will be distributed to those valid class members who purchased a pair of Vibram FiveFingers between March 21, 2009 and the date of the first dissemination of summary settlement notice or class notice, whichever is earlier. FiveFingers will award up to a maximum of $94 per pair, though the agreement acknowledges that based on similar settlements it is reasonable for class members to expect to receive between $20 and $50 per pair.</i>

<i>Class members can submit a claim for up to two pairs of shoes without any kind of receipt or proof of purchase. (However, FiveFingers can request a verification of purchase should they decide to do so in an effort to prevent against possible fraud.) Anyone who seeks to recover payment on more than two pairs of footwear must submit both a valid claim form and proof of purchase.</i>

<i>If any portion of the $3.75 million remains after the claim payments have been distributed and all administrative and legal costs have been paid, the balance will be donated to the American Heart Association for research on the health benefits of running.</i>

<i>For the second part of the settlement, Vibram has agreed to discontinue to make any claims that FiveFingers footwear is effective in strengthening muscles or reducing injury in its marketing and advertising campaigns, unless the company discovers new scientific evidence that proves it.   </i>

<i>Vibam is required to establish a website, </i><a href="http://www.fivefingerssettlement.com/"><i>www.fivefingerssettlement.com</i></a><i>, to inform class members of the terms of the agreement. The company is also required to post banner ads with the settlement information on a number of websites, including runnersworld.com and Facebook.com, in order to deliver approximately 300,000,000 impressions.</i>

<i>Per the court agreement, the attorneys for the class members can receive up to 25% of the $3.75 million settlement, or $937,500. Vibram must pay up to an additional $70,000 of reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the plaintiff’s counsel in relation to this case.</i>

<i>It was never disclosed if Bezdek, who filed her suit roughly one year after purchasing her pair of Vibram Bikilas, tried to first seek a refund for her FiveFingers prior to initiating the lawsuit.</i>

<i>Was suing a logical or over-the-top reaction for a product that didn’t perform as advertised? Will the suit help to better police a corporation or does it leave consumers not responsible for applying common sense to a marketing boast that sounded too good to be true? Janine Pollack, the lead attorney for the plantiffs, did not respond to questions about Bezdek’s motivation to bring the lawsuit. Christopher Morrison, the lead attorney for the defendant, declined to comment. Vibram USA did not respond to multiple requests for comment.</i>
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