I was reading a post by Ed to one of the many new people looking for advice.

 

Ed says:

"A good landing is critical of course, but you don't get it by thinking about your feet.  You get it by thinking about your entire posture.  A forefoot or midfoot landing is the consequence of good posture, not the other way around.

I have seen many beginners struggle with this.  They try to force themselves to land on the forefoot, and it feels awkward and unnatural to them because they haven't change their posture. So they decide they are just "natural" heel strikers, and this isn't for them.

 

I don't have any great suggestions for how to convey this.  Maybe put more emphasis on the need to lean forward from the ankles, and keeping the feet below (or behind) the center of gravity.  Pictures might help, although even pictures can be misleading when you're describing something as dynamic as running."

 

The lean forward from the ankles concept intriqued me so I tried it on my last shod run.  Then came the major revelation!   I found the source of my hip pain.  Evidently in my normal stride my foot angle is such that I need to kind of swing my feet out to the side to bring them forward so that I don't scuff the ground.  When I focused on leaning forward from the ankles the result was my toes being pointed up more throughout my stride and I was able to bring my foot forward straight under my body instead of swinging out to the side.  I could immediately feel the difference in my hips!

 

This is just an example of why I am trying out BF running.  I really believe that if I develop my form so that I can run BF that it will improve all of my running.

I agree with Ed on both points- all runners should learn good form; and it is much easier learning good form when barefoot.