A new exercise phenomenon is sweeping the nation and, for once, it’s not a short-lived fad. Now Cherokee residents can get on board with this time-tested, energy-boosting workout without ever leaving their home county at Natural Strides located in the heart of downtown Woodstock.
Natural Strides is all about balanced running and walking, sometimes called natural, minimalist, barefoot or Chi running, and owners Greg and Kelly Scott really do practice what they preach.
“We came up with the idea to open a shoe store because I was transitioning to minimalist running myself and was having trouble finding shoes,” Greg said. “I kept ordering them online and shipping them right back because I didn’t like them, and I thought, ‘I can’t be the only one doing this.’”
With that pivotal thought in the back of his mind, Greg began researching minimalist running and found the barefoot style of running was just about to boom. In fact, this all-natural style was just getting widespread recognition with the launch of the book Born to Run, about the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s Copper Canyon who run 200 or more miles at a time with only a thin layer of recycled tire rubber for shoes. With Greg’s passion for running and Kelly’s retail background in footwear, Natural Strides was born.
“Chi running was one of the first styles of natural running,” Greg said. “It combines the principles of Tai Chi with running to make it more efficient, effortless and to cause less injury. That ties in really well with minimalist footwear because humans are built to run a certain way and traditional footwear prevents us from doing so. Chi running is about relearning our natural movement.”
Although Natural Strides offers Chi running classes complete with gait analysis, personal instruction, regular group runs and is even sponsoring a trail run series in 2012, the focus of the store is natural style footwear.
“What makes us unique is that everything we have in the store is close to level; we don’t have traditional high heeled running shoes,” Greg said. “We just don’t think that’s healthy and there’s more and more evidence that it changes your gait in a negative way. We also have transitional shoes for people as a place to start gradually.”
A gradual transition to minimalist running is key to avoid injury, according to Greg, but the staff at Natural Strides, including a two-time women’s winner of the Atlanta Thanksgiving Half Marathon, is well equipped to get you on the right path in no time!