I have been running fairly consistently for just over 8 years now. For the most part, my muscles, ligaments and joints have pretty well adapted to the rigors of running. It is a rare occurrence when I actually get sore muscles from a leisurely 5 - 6 mile run. That is until recently.
When I first started running, I didn't want to invest a lot of money into the pasttime, because I didn't know how long my desire to run would last... so I bought the cheapest pair of big-box department store "running" shoes that I could find and headed out the door. Those shoes served me well until I started increasing my mileage beyond the 6-mile mark. Around that time, I developed a severe pain on the outside of my right knee - a very common overuse injury called iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS). A good friend of mine (once he saw the shoes I was running in) suggested I go to a running specialty store and get fitted for some proper running shoes. Later that week, he took me to our local Fleet Feet running store, where I underwent a very thorough shoe-fitting. Through that session, I learned that I was a "heel-striker" and an "over-pronator," and I needed "support" running shoes to correct my imperfections. Armed with a pair of $100 support running shoes on my feet, I continued running and my ITBS went away.
As I transitioned from being a casual runner to a student of running, I came across a short book titled "Running Fast and Injury Free" by Gordon Pirie. Gordon Pirie was a mid-twentieth century British long-distance runner. In his book, he listed his 12 Laws of Running. All 12 of his laws helped to transform me into a much more efficient runner, but the first two of his laws really peaked my interest:
- Running with correct technique (even in prepared bare feet), on any surface, is injury free.
- Running equals springing through the air, landing elastically on the forefoot with a flexed knee (thus producing quiet feet). On landing, the foot should be directly below the body. (Walking is landing on the heels with a straight leg).
A couple of years ago, a new type of shoe came on the scene: Vibram FiveFingers. Their shoes were not specifically created for running, but runners wanting to try running barefoot were snatching them up left and right. Just a few weeks ago, I finally determined that the time was right, and I bought a pair of Vibram FiveFingers (KSO model). With these shoes, the only thing between the road and my bare feet is a 3.5mm piece of rubber. No cushioning, no corrective structures or technology... just a thin piece of rubber to protect your feet from sharp objects. In fact, I recently saw an advertisement for Vibram FiveFingers that says "You are the technology."
I have been surprised at the difference running "barefoot" makes. So far I am up to running just over 4 miles in the Vibrams. My feet do not hurt, but I have noticed a lot more muscle soreness than I am used to. Muscles that were never fully engaged when I ran in cushioned shoes are now enlisted in dampening the impact of each stride and moving me forward step by step. Since running "barefoot" I have experienced tightness and some soreness from my lower legs, all the way up to my lower back and obliques. The muscles that were taking it easy and going along for the ride as I ran in cushioned comfort are now being activated and called to duty. Now that my comfortable cushioned shoe crutches have been left behind, my body is completely committed to the act of running... probably for the first time in my life.
God designed the human body to run, with built-in systems for dampening impact and propelling forward. Many times, shoe companies design shoes to mask people's bad habits and improper running form instead of encouraging people to run correctly and utilizing the "technologies" that God has already built in to the human body. As the Vibram advertisement says, "You are the technology." You can't help but run correctly in a pair of Vibrams. It's too painful not to. A few days ago, I came across this quote from David Platt in his book "Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream" and it got me thinking:
"You don't need to have inordinate skill or unusual abilities to make disciples. You don't need to be a successful pastor or a charismatic leader to make disciples. You don't need to be a great communicator or an innovative thinker to make disciples. That's why Jesus says every Christian must do this. One of the unintended consequences of contemporary church strategies that revolve around performances, places, programs, and professionals is that somewhere along the way people get left out of the picture. But according to Jesus, people are God's method for winning the world to Himself. People who have been radically transformed by Jesus. People who are not sidelined to sit in a chair on Sundays while they watch professionals take care of ministry for them. People who are equipped on Sundays to participate in ministry every day of the week. People who are fit and free to do precisely what Jesus did and what Jesus told us to do. Make disciples."Performances, places, programs, and professionals have become our comfortable cushioned shoes... they have become our crutches... and because of them, we are not fully engaged in the Great Commission, and sadly, we are not fit and free to do what Jesus has called us as the church to do. This is not true of the world-wide church as a whole. I would not say this is true of the church in China, or Africa, or India... but it is true of the church in America. Instead of fully running the race, we have designed performances and programs, invested in places, and hired titillating professionals to mask our imperfections and hide our immaturity. I can say that because I am just as guilty of it as the next person. Check out this quote from the Apostle Paul:
"Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love." Ephesians 4:10-16Just as God designed the body to run, He designed the Church to be fruitful and multiply and cover the earth with the knowledge of the Glory of God. When we use our own methods and "technologies" to mask our imperfections and appear fit to the world, we do the church and the world no service. If anything, we weaken the church and cause her to become irrelevant to the world. Don't get me wrong: performances, places, programs, and professionals are not bad - as long as they complement what God is doing and fully utilize the people that God is using.
Back to the quote from Hebrews above. The Message puts it this way:
"So don't sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it!" Hebrews 12:12-13 (The Message)Let's leave those comfortable cushioned crutches behind, get fully engaged, and run the race!
