So this is a serious question: A lot of talk on this board about using proper barefoot form (lift up feet, bend knees, don't push off...). I'm not sure I understand why. I can see learning proper form to hit a baseball or swing a golf club since neither is an inherently natural activity. But running barefoot is. I don't think anyone is teaching the various indigenous barefoot runners we read about how to run. So it seems to me that (at least) one of the following three things has to be true (in which case I would love a discussion of which ones you guys think are most likely true, or if there is another possibility I am missing)
1) You don't really need to consciously worry about good form. Just run barefoot. Some combination of your genes and feedback from your feet will get you running correctly as long as you increase mileage slowly.
2) You need to consciously focus on good form because of all the years you wore shoes. If you hadn't worn shoes, you could just run and not worry about form, but you did wear shoes, so you have to worry about form.
3) Even people who have never worn shoes would do well to consciously worry about form.
1) You don't really need to consciously worry about good form. Just run barefoot. Some combination of your genes and feedback from your feet will get you running correctly as long as you increase mileage slowly.
2) You need to consciously focus on good form because of all the years you wore shoes. If you hadn't worn shoes, you could just run and not worry about form, but you did wear shoes, so you have to worry about form.
3) Even people who have never worn shoes would do well to consciously worry about form.