If you woke up shuffling to the coffee machine after a “great” run in your favorite carbon-plated shoes, this episode is your intervention.

Coach Jessica Marie Rose Leggio laced up the Nike Vaporfly 4 so you wouldn’t have to. And what she felt wasn’t “performance.” It was a lie wrapped in tech, sold by marketing, reinforced by your run group, and echoed in your algorithm. What you’ll hear isn’t another highlight reel from a pro runner or a hype video disguised as a review. It’s a biomechanical breakdown from the injury expert who built an entire corrective system on her own broken body, then spent two decades rebuilding thousands more.

Because here’s the truth no one else is saying: Your shoe isn’t just a shoe. It’s a decision. To heal or to band-aid. To feel or to numb. To learn or to follow.

If you’ve ever felt pressure to wear what everyone else is wearing… If you’ve ever feared switching shoes might make things worse… If you’ve ever wondered why you’re doing “everything right” and still getting hurt… This is for you.

No rankings. No fluff. No savior sneakers. Just a hard reset on your identity as a runner and the signals your body has been trying to send you every time you untie your laces.

🎧 Listen first. Then watch the latest Root Cause docuseries episode to see what words can’t capture, how Coach Jessica’s entire stride transforms between the Nike Vaporfly 4 and the Nike Free 5.0. No filters. Just biomechanics in motion.

• 🎥 Watch the Root Cause docuseries The Root Cause Youtube

• 🧪 Test your own shoes Revisit Episode 1 of the docuseries for Jessica’s simple bend test, then check every pair in your closet as instructed in the show.

• 📲 Connect with Coach Jessica RunPainFreeNow.com

• 📝 Apply for a #RunPainFree Consultation if you want help decoding what your body is telling you

You’re on here because you’re in pain. You don’t think you’re ever going to get fixed. You probably call yourself “broken” more than you realize, and you also more than likely think that’s normal.

That is all hogwash.

For decades, a belief system has been built that “running is a part of pain,” and it gets validated every time you wake up, put your feet on the ground, feel last night’s run, and someone tells you, “That’s just running. Get this sneaker, you won’t feel that pain.”

In this episode, I start pulling that entire belief system apart.

I talk to you as a Sports Biomechanics, Athletic Injury Correction and Conditioning expert, and as someone whose entire program was built on my own injured body after getting hit by a truck. My body is my science book. I’m a corrected person, which means I’m a prevented runner. My body screams the moment a sneaker forces me into dysfunction… and whether you realize it or not, yours is doing the same thing.

• Why you’ve been giving your sneakers all the credit, but never any blame

• How innocent conversations about “what shoes to buy” quietly turn into injury-causing ideology

• Why simply changing into the “hot new carbon plate” and feeling less pain should actually alarm you

• How the running community’s “pain is part of running” culture teaches you to mask feedback instead of listen to it

• Why I call your sneakers your apparatus as a runner, just like a racket, a bat, or a golf club is for other sports

• The moment in our new docuseries where you see my body react in real time to what’s on my feet

I’m not here to sugarcoat anything. I’m here so you can still run 20–30 years from now.

If you’ve:

• Swapped shoes and thought, “Wow, this fixed my pain”

• Woken up the next day with a new pain somewhere else and never connected the dots

• Been told by well-meaning friends, co-workers, or the internet that pain is just “part of being a runner”

…then you need to hear this episode and see the visuals that go with it.

I’ve taken everything you’ve been hearing on this podcast for years and expanded it into a full docuseries, where I show you, with my body, what’s really happening when a sneaker is allowed to control your movement.

• 🎬 Watch the companion docuseries episode here

• 🌐 Apply for a 1:1 Run Pain Free consult: RunPainFreeNow.com

• 💬 Comment and tell us what you feel when you do the simple foot test from the episode

In this episode, Coach Jessica dives deep into the often misunderstood and misdiagnosed condition known as runner's knee. She debunks common myths, explains why knee pain is rarely about the knee itself, and shares insights on addressing the root causes of the pain. This episode is a must-listen for anyone told that knee pain is chronic and unfixable.

• Introduction: Dispelling the myth that "runner's knee" is chronic and unfixable.
• Understanding the Pain: Why knee pain is rarely about the knee itself.
• Common Misconceptions: How braces, stability sneakers, and shots can make things worse.
• Biomechanics: The importance of understanding how your entire body moves.
• Personal Stories: Real-life examples of runners who overcame knee pain by addressing the root cause.
• Practical Advice: Steps you can take today to start addressing knee pain.

• [00:00] - Introduction and myth-busting.
• [03:45] - Deep dive into the causes of "runner's knee."
• [10:30] - The dangers of braces, stability sneakers, and shots.
• [17:00] - Real stories: How addressing biomechanics resolved knee pain.
• [23:45] - Practical advice and next steps for listeners.

• RunPainFreeNow.com
• RunPainFreeAcademy.com
• RunPainFreeRabbitHole.com

If you're struggling with knee pain and have tried everything without success, visit #RunPainFree, Inc., and apply for a consultation. Let's get to the root of your pain and get you back to running pain-free!