Biomechanics expert Lee Saxby is among the world's foremost running coaches and one of a handful of level four Pose Method trainers globally.

Even though an estimated 80 percent of people give up running because of injury, evolution dictates that it should come naturally and effortlessly to all of us.  Saxby, who helped Chris McDougall author of Born to Run to run without injury, believes that we can all be trained to run pain free and more importantly love it.

Lee started his career and life long obsession with the human body when he completed his degree in Sports Science. He then embarked on a 15-year journey seeking out the most effective techniques and alternative schools of thought. Lee studied with leading researchers in areas such as biomechanics, nutrition, functional medicine, evolutionary biology and athletic training. Lee now uses a combination of cutting edge science, ancient wisdom and his knowledge and experience in fitness and sports education to provide profound results and thus be recognized as a leading specialist in barefoot running.

Some Facts

BAREFOOT RUNNING STIMULATES

The sole and tips of our feet have 200,000 nerve endings connecting us to the world and helping us balance. The stimulation is a connection from foot to body and foot to brain, this sensory perception is often denied because of thick layered and inflexible shoes.

Dr. William A. Rossi, Why shoes make 'Normal Gait Impossible' Journal of the American Podiatry Association, 1999

The soft materials in modern running shoes allow a contact style [heel strike] that you would not use barefoot. The foot no longer gets the proprioceptive cues that it should... a midsole can impair the foot's ability to react to the ground. This can mute or alter feedback the body gets while running.

Dicharry, Jay, MPT, Director of the Center for Endurance Sports at the University of Virginia, 2010).

Modern running shoes reduce sensory feedback without diminishing injury inducing impact.

Michael Wharburton. Barefoot Running, Sports Science Journal. Gateway Physiotherapy, Queensland, Australia, 2001.

BAREFOOT RUNNING ENCOURAGES NATURAL POSTURE

Most runners land with heel strike, it's like someone hitting you on the heel with a hammer about 1.5 to 3 times your body weight.

Daniel Lieberman, Ph.D. Harvard University, Shoes may have changed how we run. As Reported in BBC, January 2010.

Running with trainer's [and heel striking] increases impact on the knee by up to 36%.

Casey Kerrigan MD, The Effect of Running Shoes on Lower Extremity Joint Torques, PM &R, 2009.

A shoe with any heel height, trainers included, alters the entire body posture.

Dr William A. Rossi, Why shoes make 'Normal' Gait 'Impossible Journal' of the American Podiatry Association, 1999

When running barefoot the runner compensates for lack of cushioning by adjusting the foot-landing angle to a more natural mid to front foot strike, giving it a softer landing.

Michael Wharburton. Barefoot Running, Sports Science Journal. Gateway Physiotherapy, Queensland, Australia, 2001.

BAREFOOT FOR KIDS

After 8 weeks of wearing Vivobarefoot kids shoes, average sideways range of motion improved by 25.6%, while average upward/downward range of motion improved by 36.8%. This improved the child's ability to move their feet improving flexibility.

Anette Thompson, 'Barefoot Technology' in school shoes: gait pattern and functional improvement over an 8-week period. Bernard Price Institute for Paleontological Research and Institute for Human Evolution, University of the Witwatersrand.

Flat feet are most common in children who wear closed-toe shoes, less common in those who wore sandals or slippers, and least in the unshod. A study of 2,300 children showed the incidence of flatfoot was 8.6% in those who wore shoes and 2.8% in those who did not wear shoes.

Rao, Ub et al. The influence of footwear on the prevalence of flat foot. A survey of 2,300 children. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, 1992.

An Elevated heel of any height on a child's shoe shortens the Achilles tendon- the beginning of permanent tendon shortening.

Dr William A Rossi, (Children's Footwear: Launching site for adult foot ill's. Podiatry Management) 1999.

Soles that are over 6mm thick, prevent 80 to 90 percent of children's foot flexibility, thus denying the foot its normal step sequence.

Dr William A Rossi, Children's Footwear: Launching site for adult foot ill's. Podiatry Management. 2002