Our Asics range was selected due to its EVA (foam) midsole which offers protection from impact on harder grounds, and the versatile cleat and moulded stud configurations.

I spoke [...]]]> We’ve hit round 5 of the amateur football season which see’s us continuing to help many eager player’s in to boots for the 2012 season. With a mix of warmer weekends and rainy game days we’ve found our customers have been searching for one pair of boots that can handle differing ground conditions.

Our Asics range was selected due to its EVA (foam) midsole which offers protection from impact on harder grounds, and the versatile cleat and moulded stud configurations.

I spoke with Matt Appleton, Podiatrist to Melbourne Football Club, during the week about his experience with professional football players. For Matt the most common preventable foot related injuries he sees in professional athletes are Plantar Fasciitis, Achilles and calf soreness along with Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (commonly known as ‘shin splints’). When asked about common complaints that players have with their football boots he reported ‘there are few issues with boots these days, the modern boot is a very good bit of kit’, he went on to explain ‘the only trouble occurs if they fail to break them in slowly’, which is important for players from any code or any level to learn from.

Like with most AFL clubs, Matt explains that the use of football boots during training sessions is limited throughout pre-season, ‘the transition from runners to a hard ground boot like the [Asics] Lethal is a carefully controlled process’, and when it comes to having a few different boots on the go Matt says ‘some players will train in say a [Asics] Lethal and play in their traditional boot like a [Asics]Tigreor.  Most will never train in a screw in boot’. Unfortunately, for most junior or amateur players having two boot options would be a luxury they are not exposed to, which is why Asics have designed their range especially for our Aussie ground conditions and variations.

Shoes are currently not available online. Most shoes selected are done so in store with the appropriate Podiatric assessment of your biomechanics, injury history, training volume and activity. [...]]]> Just in time for Mother’s day we have now launched an online shop to help our customers shop for gifts more conveniently! To celebrate the launch we will be giving away a pair of FREE brooks socks with every gift vouchers sold online & in store from now until the 13th of May!

Shoes are currently not available online. Most shoes selected are done so in store with the appropriate Podiatric assessment of your biomechanics, injury history, training volume and activity. Without seeing how the shoe behaves at your weight, height and speed, it is not possible to ensure you have the best available option. By selling our vouchers online, we hope we are able to provide a more convenient solution to those wishing to purchase gifts on the net. Watch this space for future products beyond gift vouchers available for online purchasing, direct to your office or home address.

Please feel free to email tishmonahan@activefeet.com.au for information or any further online requests.

Running is a high impact stressful activity. The factors we have to control these impact stresses are;

 your speed  the surface/terrain you are (predominantly) running on  your foot movement & running technique  your shoe type

With regards to the shoe, one needs to pay particular care.  The shoe structure is a [...]]]> Running against the train this year?  Best you give some careful consideration to the most important piece of equipment (your shoes), and to the terrain tricks and tips for this year

Running is a high impact stressful activity. The factors we have to control these impact stresses are;

 your speed
 the surface/terrain you are (predominantly) running on
 your foot movement & running technique
 your shoe type

With regards to the shoe, one needs to pay particular care.  The shoe structure is a major determinant in how your foot behaves once it contacts the ground.  Some of us are efficient midfoot or forefoot runners, some of us land heavily on the heel, we are all different weights and varying levels of experience.  It takes a thorough assessment of all these factors and more to determine the correct shoe for you.

I suggest you drop into active feet for a free assessment by one of the Podiatry staff, well before you race.  A biomechanical assessment using video treadmill analysis is the only true method of assessing the function of a shoe for you.  Make the most of a free service, and save yourself the time, trouble, energy and effort of getting injured, or getting it wrong.

In terms of hills, well GTR has plenty of those!  Shoe fit is crucial.  Downhill running will push the toes forward into the toe box, risking toe nail trauma, uphill running will test the heel fit…slipping will result in the foot working hard in the shoe, with blister risks also.  A ‘heel lock’ with the lace pattern can assist here, ask us to show you before the race.

There are some simple tricks to running downhill fast, and how to be more efficient running uphill.  A running COACH is best able to advise on these methods based on your current running form, so it is beyond this forum for me to detail too much.  I always remind myself however, that gravity is a free resource, and is available for the beginners through to the elite so don’t run downhill with your brakes on hard.  This of course requires practice in training and conditioning to the higher stresses of downhill running.  In particular, the muscle soreness you have from running downhill will be much worse than any amount of uphill running.  Underestimate this at your peril!

In terms of shoe type for this event, there is no requirement to go for a trail specific shoe, your road shoe will be adequate.  Use a premium sock for racing, to ensure it doesn’t become abrasive if wet, and reduces friction (shear) stress.  Trial in training first.

Finally, good luck for the event, prepare well, don’t start out too hard (like most do), tackle the uphills, drive the downhills, but most of all, enjoy.  I will see you out there.

Visit http://www.puffingbilly.com.au/news-events/great-train-race/information-for-runners/ for all the race day information you’ll need!

Pictures sourced with permission from  http://www.puffingbilly.com.au/

Our Asics range [...]]]> Preseason is certainly well under way and with school and local leagues due to kick off round 1 in the latter part of April it’s about time to start thinking about what boots will carry you through your season, if you haven’t already. All the recent rain we have had is taking effect on the grounds, it wouldn’t be surprising to hear there are plenty of players doing majority of their training in football boots by now.

Our Asics range of boots are suitable for the growing foot in all codes of football. They are filled with the latest football boot technology and split in to two key areas, Protection/Support and Performance/Speed.

At active feet we provide the same level of service and expertise to selling a football boot that we do to selling a running shoe. We have Podiatrists employed by St.Kilda and Melbourne Football Clubs that have years of experience in catering for the higher running demands of AFL football.

I sat down with Rick Osler, Podiatrist for St. Kilda Football Club late last week to gain some insight into football boots at an AFL level.

After having personally seen a number of amateur football players clinically, most presenting with stress related injuries in the lead up to the season I was keen to find out what issues tend to plague AFL players. Rick shared that the most common preventable injury he treats players at an AFL level is “medial tibial stress injury (“shin splints”), plantar fasciitis and tendo- achilles injuries”. Rick reported “these problems often arise in pre season with load increments. Fortunately at the Saints we are currently injury free.”

For the St.Kilda players, consideration for boots include “tricky sponsorship obligations, stud configuration, ground conditions, position on the ground, weight of the player and impact stress. Preseason grounds are firmer, so this also needs to be considered”. Players use their football boots for “all on-field preseason skill and drill sessions, leaving their running shoes for only general fitness training sessions”.

Lastly, I was keen to find out whether players use different model boots for training and game day. Obviously this is a luxury that most junior and amateur players could only dream of. When it comes to the St.Kilda squad “most use the same boot type for skills and drills training and game day. Many players will go through or rotate 3-4 pairs in a season. The primary change is that some use long stops in the wet, some don’t, depending upon their position on the ground and personal preference.”