For the Advanced RAW Program click here.

An excerpt from Q&A with Ken Bob Saxton, Barefoot Running Pioneer. This information is useful for everyone who has ever been for a run in Sydney, not just barefoot runners, if you are from the latter group you might find the full interview interesting!

OK, so how to run gently, gracefully, naturally, on any surface?

1. Cadence. Don't be lazy. Get your feet moving. Practice lifting your feet 180 times a minute, or a little faster, while running in place, to start with. The longer time you are in the air with each stride, the longer you will be falling back towards the earth. If your steps are quick, and short (in time, not necessarily distance), you will spend less time accelerating toward the earth, and will reduce impact.

2. Lift your feet. Do be lazy. Don't push off. Don't focus on landing. Focus on lifting your feet, BEFORE landing. Don't worry, gravity will insure that you land, but, by starting to lift your foot BEFORE you land, you will be decelerating it's fall toward the earth. It's like when you drive your car. Most of us don't wait until after hitting the car in front of us, to slow down! Likewise, we don't want to wait for the ground to decelerate our foot fall.

3. Relax. Let your body bend. The largest natural springs we have are our ankles, knees, and hips. But, they have almost no shock absorbing capability as a compression joint. Their real advantage is in the ability to bend. Too many people run with these joint "locked" or rigid, because they are convinced that their shoe will protect them.

4. Posture. Every part of your body should be resting on top of the part of your body beneath it. In order to do this, you must be balanced. Grab the top of a broomstick and hold it upside down. If the broomstick is not balanced above your hand, it takes more work to hold it in position. So, make sure that your head is balanced on top of your body, and your body is vertical and balanced on top of your hips, and the big mistake most people make is sticking their butt out the back, so make sure your hips are tucked in underneath your torso.

5. Lean. Now it's time to start moving forward. Remember that broomstick? If you let it lean just a little, then by moving your hand in the direction of the lean, you can restore balance. When running, we want to do the same thing. Let your hips lead the way, and your feet will follow to restore balance. Lean is your accelerator. Increase lean, you will run faster. Decrease lean and you will slow down.

6. Be Aware. Listen to your feet. If they hurt, chances are it's time to stop, or at least slow down. If we go beyond what our bare feet are ready for, chances are we will be overusing other parts of our body too.

A few other notes: Don't TRY to take long strides by reaching out in front of your body. Running fast does not come from lengthening your stride. Long strides comes from the body moving forward fast. Again, too many people stretching a stiff leg lazily out in front, waiting for gravity to do it's worse, end up with a slow, plodding, JOGGING, injurious stride.

It's much easier to simply fall forward. If you land with your foot out in front of your body, you are hitting the brakes. Your foot just got in the way of moving your body forward.

Remember those tips on your next run around Sydney!!!!!

For more Barefoot Running Tips, visit Ken's site.

Today's WOD:

No this is not the same session as yesterday. See how playing with the order changes the time you get!

If you CAN do muscle ups you row

If you CAN'T you run carrying 15/10kg

7 muscle ups or 15 burpee pull ups

15 clean and jerks (body weight)

1000m row or 800m run

* If you can not muscle up you must practise the muscle ups before the session*