Forget About Your Form and Just Wear the Right Shoe: Biomechanist Dr. Iain Hunter - 09-30-2020

Forget About Your Form and Just Wear the Right Shoe:
Biomechanist Dr. Iain Hunter

 


Every runner dreams of running faster with less effort, with
minimal chance of injury.  To do that, we often think we
need to “fix” our running form to become more efficient. Dr. Iain
Hunter, a running biomechanics researcher, thinks you just might
be wasting your time trying to run like someone you are not and
tells us what to do instead.


 


Iain shares his expertise with Coach Claire on topics that
include if running mechanics can be improved, footstrikes, how to
build strength outside of running, how different types of
footwear affect performance, how to know which shoes to choose,
and how we can run faster.


Iain, a biomechanics professor at Brigham Young University, is
also part of a research team that helped determine just how much
the controversial Nike VaporFly 4%s really helps you run faster.
He shares the results of the study and the actual range of
performance improvement attributable to the shoes (Hint: It's not
always 4%).  His test subject for the study was none other
than Jared Ward, the American Olympic Marathoner headed to London
on October 4.


Iain has a mathematics education degree with a coaching minor
from BYU, followed by a  Master of Education in coaching.
During this time, his interest in biomechanics grew, which led
him to pursue a PhD in Health and Human Performance at Oregon
State University. Iain teaches Biomechanics of Sport and Exercise
and conducts research related to the biomechanics of distance
running related to performance and injury. He also works with USA
Track and Field,  applying his research to elite distance
runners. He has been a member of the American Society of
Biomechanics since 2003.


Iain’s honors and awards include the USA Track and Field: USA
Track and Field Sports Medicine and Science and the College of
Health and Human Performance: College Teaching Excellence. For a
list of his many publications and presentations, please refer to
his bio at
https://lifesciences.byu.edu/directory/iain-hunter. 


 
Questions Iain is asked:

        


4:32 You research and teach about sports biomechanics at Brigham
Young University.  Can you first define what exactly that
means and how you became interested in it?


 


5:45 Would you say that athletes that understand their particular
biomechanics well will be able to perform their best?


 


6:23 Let's talk about running mechanics.  There seems to be
no such thing as "perfect form" because top level athletes seem
to run very differently and still succeed.  But can you
improve on your running mechanics to run more efficiently and
therefore perform better?  How?


 


7:44 Let’s talk about footstrike. Everybody asks, “Is there a
proper way to hit the ground?” and “Heel striking is bad”, and
“Forefoot striking is good.” Can you talk a little bit about
that?


 


9:49 Runners come in all shapes and sizes. Taller runners are
going to have a different cadence than shorter runners. Is that
correct?


 


10:25 What about an athlete that continues to be injured and you
look at something about their form. How do you make changes in a
form because they really are getting injured from their preferred
way of running?


 


12:55 I would think that if runners practice through their
injury, changing their footstrike, that they would eventually
learn to prefer that footstrike, but you don’t see that
happening?


 


14:01 You kind of get used to running a certain way that’s right
for your own body, and that’s hard to fix, right? So should we as
coaches even both trying to change people’s form?


 


15:09 The most common reasons we think about changing our form is
first of all, injury prevention, and second of all, speed and
efficiency. We want to become faster runners over longer
distances. So you say that it’s just more about practicing
running that’ll become a better runner rather than changing our
form?


 


16:11 What about outside of running? Surely you recommend
strength training, and physical therapy, and all of that sort of
thing. What sort of things should we runners be doing outside of
the run?


 


18:30 Any tips for the knees?


 


20:04 Along with Olympian Jared Ward, you and a team of
researchers set out to determine how much Nike's VaporFly 4%
improved performance.  How was this study done and what were
the results?


 


22:10 What were the differences in the people who were at each
end of the Nike VaporFly performance bell curve?


 


23:20 The results from your study have obviously been used to
help other companies compete with Nike. Is that correct?


 


25:53 It’s more than just the carbon fiber plate; it’s the foam
that does the work or a combination that  makes this shoe
effective?


 


27:03 I know that the foam, they have made some rules on the
stack height of the shoe. Can you talk about what that is all
about? Why would a higher shoe increase performance?


 


28:12 You mentioned that you saw that there was better recovery
when wearing those shoes. Were you able to test that, like how a
racer feels after the marathon?


 


28:49 Is the difference in muscle damage related to this new
style of racing shoe simply because the foam absorbs some of the
shock, or any reason why?


 


29:35 You’ve done a lot of research on shoes from barefoot shoes,
minimalist shoes, spikes, all of that.  Can you explain how
our choice of footwear affects our performance overall?


 


32:14 Because different types of shoes serve different purposes,
you should have a quiver of shoes in your closet?


 


32:47 How often should you change your shoes? When do you know
when to toss them away or donate them? Any advice on that?


 


33:53 What are you researching now and what questions are you
looking to get answered in the future?


 


36:18 Most people know if they are good uphill runners and
downhill runners, right?


 


36:45 Do we have different mechanics on uphill and downhill, most
people?


 


39:47 Any predictions for the London marathon coming up October
4th?






Questions I ask everyone:


 


37:26  1.  If you could go back and talk to yourself
when you started running, what advice would you give?


 


39:07 2.  What is the greatest gift running has given you?


 


41:50 3. Where can listeners connect with you?


 


 
Quotes by Iain:

 


“I’d say trust the body first, but then take into account your
own thoughts and coach’s thoughts to help guide some potential
changes in your biomechanics.”


 


“With just about any human activity you can think of, the body
realizes, ‘Here’s a way that I can do this with less energy cost
to me,’ and running is included there, where if you just let it
happen, that’s the technique that will use the least energy.”


 


“I like to say, ‘Well, why are you going on this run?’ And if
they have a good answer for that, then I can suggest, ‘Here’s the
appropriate shoe for that purpose.’”


 


Take a Listen on Your Next Run


 


Want more awesome interviews and advice? Subscribe to our iTunes
channel
Mentioned in this podcast: 

Biomechanics.byu.edu


PodiumRunner article on Jared Ward and Iain Hunter helping
Saucony develop faster racing shoes


Runners Connect Winner's Circle Facebook Community


RunnersConnect Facebook page


claire@runnersconnect.net






Follow Iain on:


 


Instagram


Twitter


 


We really hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of Run to the Top.


The best way you can show your support of the show is to share
this podcast with your family and friends and share it on your
Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media channel you use.


The more people who know about the podcast and download the
episodes, the more I can reach out to and get top running
influencers, to bring them on and share their advice, which
hopefully makes the show even more enjoyable for you!