I was heel striking, which was encouraged by equipment (thick padded shoes) and by coaching. I took years off, learned to row, and came back literally running barefoot and on my toes. Tired of pulling glass out of my feet, I started using racing flats and then vibrams when training.

It took five years to get to where I could do the same mileage as before. Now my knees don't hurt any more than any other part of my body after running. I think the soft landings of toe strike running make all the difference.

Those early years definitely did damage. In my case I feel I have overcome it. I hope you will too. Running is a beautiful thing and a shame to lose.

When I first heard about the book "Born to Run", and how the Tarahumara use their legs/feet as the natural shock absorbers that they may have evolved to be, I said, "This is the style for me. I'm not a fan of running, but I do love efficiency, and this sounds like a fun way to give it a shot." It didn't really pan out--I have some Vibrams that get used once or twice a year--but I do like to sprint on rocky trails a lot, and going downhill is a lot more fun using something like BRT.

Interestingly, the only other comment besides yours mentioning "barefoot" is one from neilsharma, who writes that he had lots of problems from running that he chose to ante up on the footgear, which ended up further weakening his feet. I don't know if there have been studies done that show how our current shoe designs are bad for our feet--only that Vibram got in trouble for claiming that their shoes are better for you without anything backing them up--but it seems like something that ought to be looked at.

Often times the body's limitations are caused by problems that can be fixed or worked around, allowing you to push yourself farther and harder without hurting your health.

The way you're moving the goal post surely counts as exercise as well.

Running does improve health in some aspects, but it also causes significant health problems as well. Running isn't the only form of exercise.

The guys who do my bike fitting (basically, ensuring your bike is properly adjusted so as not to cause undue stress on your body) also do running coaching - I recently did two sessions with them which I found useful.

(If you're in Sydney, it's The Body Mechanic in Milson's Point)

One of the big takeaways for me was increasing my cadence - where previously I was around 150-170 bpm, I now aim for around 180 bpm. The higher cadence seems to have helped me put less stress on my legs with each step.

Also, I'm working on having good posture, and ensuring my feed land under my torso (as opposed to in front or behind me).

And what mpol said about keeping your torso/head stable is correct - you do not want your head bobbing up/down as you run.

But yeah - if you are keen on running, definitely go see a professional, who can give you good advice based on your own individual running style.

Many people seem to bounce up and down on every step, putting shocks of weight on their knees at every step. That will hurt you in the long term, probably even in the short term. You should have a certain flow in running, where your upper body just remains at the same height, and your legs are the only moving parts. Like your upper body is just sliding forward, that is the effect you want.

And you might think you do it right, but chances are you don't. I do not run myself, but I can imagine there are running trainers who specialize in ergonomics and health. You might want to have someone like that take a look at how you are running.

The main exercises to correct this were one legged squats, leg extensions (again, one leg at a time), and several balance exercises to help me position my hips properly while running.

Obviously, though, if there's one thing we've learned, it's that there's a lot of variety in our bodies, so if you're having pain, see a doctor first and if they think it's necessary you can get a referral to a physical therapist or another doctor that specializes in that area.

We used a lot of this stuff in college. I don't know if it's perfect, but it's a good place to start.

Note that this is a preventative exercise. Iirc if you already had shin splints this would make it worse. Those with shin splints either swam or biked, but mostly iced and rested. Running was strongly discouraged so that recovery could happen.

I can't for the life of me understand how people bear to run landing on heels. The whole ankle system is "designed" to recover as much energy as possible by loading up the Achilles tendon while at the same time saving both the knee and hip joints.

Since I’ve switched to shoes with minimal padding and a level foot bed my knee pain has decreased (oh and my feet are stronger too).

As a result, I have two bum knees (the breastroke kick puts so much lateral force on the knees that they separate), a pair of dodgy hips (again, I blame breaststroke), and shoulders which literally dislocate at will (I pin it on butterfly and bad form). Too much focus on the major muscle groups, and none on the muscles which keep all of those joints where they should be.