Not only is heel planting unsustainable for long distances, it is also extremely uncomfortable when running any distance. If you're planting poorly in forgiving, modern running shoes, you can get away with it. Switch to Five Fingers however, and you're immediately aware of a bad foot strike position. For me, this kind of feedback was exactly what I needed to improve my stride.
For the mountain bikers out there - think of a full suspension bike versus a hardtail. The full suspension is undeniably a smoother ride, but it's universally agreed that a hardtail forces you improve your technical riding, since you don't have all that squish to eat up your mistakes.
I really want to start running in this barefoot style but I am having trouble knowing if I am using a proper technique. I know it is mostly about landing on your ball or just below it but that is about the extent of my understanding. Could you provide any resources?
to grannyg00se (author of dead sibling of this comment): you appear to have been put on some sort of HN shit-list where your posts are being autokilled. You should email pg and ask him to remove the ban.
I just started last week and can I ever reiterate the calf-screaming bit.
I think that's fascinating though. Until just recently I never even touched on how weak my calves must be. Now I'm hoping to learn the depths of it.
I've been wearing Vibram Five Fingers and running on the fore- and mid-foot for about two years.
Running barefoot and landing on your heel jars your entire body (knees in particular) and isn't sustainable for long distances. Cavemen certainly didn't run this way, and we haven't evolved fast enough for our optimal mechanism to be any different.
There's plenty of evidence that humans have evolved to be better long-distance runners than any other animal. The amount of impact energy returned by our tendons is highest, and human ultrarunners can go over 50 miles in one sitting.
For a couple weeks, my calves screamed and my feet were sore as they strengthened. Then after a month I started to get used to running on the balls of my feet. After two months, I felt totally comfortable with the new style.
Also, my trouble with Illiotibial Band Syndrome disappeared within two weeks of starting to run barefoot.