Have you wanted to improve your running technique? If so, you’re not alone. Approximately 90% of marathon runners who wear shoes get injured at least once every calendar year. I believe that barefoot running can help solve a lot of these problems. What do I mean by barefoot running? Barefoot running doesn’t mean literally wearing no shoes. I wouldn’t recommend this in places like Phnom Penh as you
never know what surprises are lurking. It generally means wearing minimalist shoes that allow you to run landing on the correct part of your foot. I’m a qualified physiotherapist from Australia, with over 6 years of work experience. I’ve transformed myself from someone who couldn’t run more than 15 minutes, and had chronic ankle injuries, to being able to complete a trail marathon (42km offroad, with 1200m of incline) in New Zealand in a time just under 5 hours. I’ve been running barefoot for 18 months now, and have been injury free. More importantly, I’ve grown to love running and don’t see it as a chore, something that I would never have thought possible before. This is a feeling that I’d love other people to enjoy. What do I personally wear? I wear Vibram Five Fingers, specifically Speed (http://www.vibramfivefingers.it/product_details.aspx?model=SPEED). I highly recommend them because of their laces and sole. Do you need to wear ridiculous-looking shoes? Not necessarily. I can help you by recommending Vibram Five Fingers if that’s the way you want to go, of course. But I can also recommend other shoes, including locally sourced shoes from Phnom Penh. What sort of equipment do you need to have? You’ll need running shoes of some type. If not Five Fingers, we’ll need to work out something similar before the first training session. You can wear “standard” running shoes if you like, but don’t expect to be able to run with good technique in them. Bring water. What kind of training can you expect? I’ll start by going through what your goals are and what you’re trying to achieve out of barefoot running. It could be as simple as being able to run 5 km, or a half-marathon, or as complex as having impressive-looking calves. We’ll start with some basic theory on why I believe barefoot running to be advantageous to other methods. We’ll do some basic drills and exercises that will help you get the feel of what barefoot running is like. Then – the fun part – the actual running itself. We’ll start slow and build up from there, and I’ll give you tips the whole time on how you can improve. I’ll take some video footage of you running and we’ll spend some time doing some analysis of that video, so we can get a better idea of where you might be going wrong and where you can improve. After the first training session, I’ll email you a bunch of online resources and articles on barefoot running that will help you to understand the concept and technique better. Don’t worry – it’s not homework! The idea is that it’ll be easy and hopefully interesting. When and where are the training sessions? They are held on an as needed basis until they're full. We meet at the South East entrance to Olympic Park at 6am. I expect the training to finish after about an hour or so. Here's the map below. http://goo.gl/aVX4X
What is the cost? You must confirm your attendance with me either via email or phone before the first session. Priority will be given to people who have paid in advance. After the first session, you are under no obligation to continue for the remaining 5 sessions. The overall cost for the 6-week course, video analysis, emailed contact and follow-up advice will be $95, payable on the second training session. The training session will have no more than 4 participants. To make things fair, the first 4 people to pay for the whole course (even if it is before the course starts or before the second training session) will be guaranteed a place in the 6-week course. If you delay payment until the second session I can't guarantee you a spot. If for some reason I cannot continue taking the course halfway through I’ll refund you whatever proportion of money I still owe you (each session works out to about $16). The reason why payment is upfront is because it is a bit of an effort to get out to Olympic Stadium at 6am, so hopefully by making the down payment you will turn up on time and commit. If you genuinely cannot make it, because you are sick or something came up, you can let me know the night before that you can’t make it. In this case we will try and reschedule or work something else out. If you don’t come simply because you couldn’t get out of bed, I can’t reschedule or refund. I know this comes across as a bit cold hearted but it is difficult to organise and run the classes if people are continually dropping out unexpectedly, so I need people who are willing to make the commitment. What if you want something more tailored to your needs? I am absolutely open to changing the setup based upon your needs. Get in touch with me via phone 092840704, or via email: wmyeoh AT ausphysios DOT com.
