I generally consider myself a fairly quiet runner. I find it almost disruptive when someone's footsteps hit the trails with the same thunk thunk. With quiet feet, the pattern is varied and changes from inaudible pat-pat-pats to the soft crunch of leaves under my shoe. And I think it's cool when you can be in the forest undetected if you so choose...like a hobbit! :)
I remember reading Hunger Games -I think it was the first one- and I can still remember Katniss' annoyance at Peeta's clumsiness in the woods. After that when Sarah and I went up in our woods or ran somewhere trail-y I tried to Katni-fy my steps. It was kind of fun.
Running lightly makes you feel like a spy or a hobbit or... like you know all parts of the trail with your eyes closed.
I remember reading Hunger Games -I think it was the first one- and I can still remember Katniss' annoyance at Peeta's clumsiness in the woods. After that when Sarah and I went up in our woods or ran somewhere trail-y I tried to Katni-fy my steps. It was kind of fun.
Running lightly makes you feel like a spy or a hobbit or... like you know all parts of the trail with your eyes closed.
If you try forefoot or midfoot striking (as opposed to the normal heel striking form) I think it's a lot quieter (though it is a big transition that uses a lot of different muscles and will leave your calves pretty worn out at first....). I've been running in toe shoes, where you pretty much have to run with a forefoot strike, and I think that that has definitely made me think more about running more lightly and quietly. It's certainly possible to be light while heel striking, but it's pretty much impossible to NOT be light while forefoot striking, or at least it encourages you to be lighter. Tip-toeing and all that.
ReplyDeleteAnd if you land heavily on crush in toe shoes your feet are not happy with you, so there's that aspect of it for me.
Yes! I've noticed that too! It makes running more fun. :)
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