Top Highlights

• This is a time-consuming process, and perfecting the musculoskeletal interactions necessary to become metabolically efficient can take up to a decade to master.
• that people would choose an intermediate gait referred to as “pendular running.” In this gait pattern, which I like to call “hybrid running,” the stride length is shortened, the airborne phase is reduced, and the lower limbs are stiff for brief periods during stance phase
• When the foot first hits the ground, the entire limb must be supple in order to absorb shock and accommodate discrepancies in terrain, while shortly thereafter, these same structures become rigid so they can tolerate the accelerative forces associated with propelling the body forward.
• Shock absorption is particularly important in marathon running, since the feet of long-distance runners contact the ground an average of 10,000 times per hour, absorbing between two and seven times their body weight with each strike.
• In the course of a marathon, this translates into a force of over 12 million pounds that must be dissipated by the body. Obviously, even a minor glitch in our shock absorption system will result in injury.