For many years, I have been interested in the ideas related to Pose running. Lately, I am starting to think the guys over at BearPowered are perhaps closer to the truth. I was rereading their book the other night, and it just seems to make more logical sense. Basically, Pose running attributes speed to gravity or falling forward, while BearPowered attributes it to forces quickly applied to the ground.
The BearPowered theory is backed up by the studies done by Harvard researcher Peter Weyand, that show more (vertical) force applied to the ground results in greater speed. This also occured to me when I saw a picture in the newspaper of a lady who had a won a 20k race. She didn't appear to be falling forward; instead, she was really flying forward with huge strides. According to BearPowered, these huge strides are not the result of muscular effort, but more of a loaded spring model.
Another good thing about BearPowered is the openness related to form. The idea is to get faster, but to allow a person's body to naturally find the correct positions and improve the coordination necessary to produce these greater speeds. Plenty of top runners have idiosyncrasies in their running styles; it doesn't appear to be an insurmountable obstacle if you have the natural talent.









