January 28, 2010
The Barefoot Running Debate
Shoes or no shoes? That is the question these days. Photo courtesy of flickr user joshuahoffmanphoto.
My husband’s favorite story to tell about his first marathon is that a woman in stocking feet beat him.
“And it was in Vermont…in October…on gravel roads,” he always adds, still amazed at the freakish phenom.
That was in 2006, and now just over three years later, barefoot running, though clearly not the norm, is becoming more common. (Or nearly-barefoot running is, at least.) Just this past weekend, while running on the National Mall, I saw a runner ahead of me wearing Vibram FiveFingers, the lightweight, glove-like shoes now being sold at sporting goods stores.
Runner’s World, Wired, Popular Science, Popular Mechanics and the New York Times have all joined in on the “shoes or no shoes” debate. The barefoot contingent argues that running shoes that promise to provide the needed stability or correct pronation issues negatively affect a runner’s form and may also lead to injuries. “We’re being fleeced,” writer and barefoot enthusiast Christopher McDougall told U.S. News & World Report.
In his bestselling book Born to Run, McDougall writes about the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s Copper Canyon who run extraordinary distances (we’re talking up to hundreds of miles) in simple sandals without experiencing the injuries that plague most runners. He uses the Tarahumara to prove that, as humans, we are built for this type of running. Running barefoot, people have a more upright body position and shorter strides, landing first on the middle or ball of the foot, rather than the heel, as is often the case when wearing cushy shoes.
Having run track in college and a marathon since then, I’ve had my share of muscle pulls and stress fractures. So my ears perk with this news of a possible remedy. But it takes more than recommendations from “Barefoot Larry” and “Last Place Jason” on a Runner’s World forum to convince me to lose my shoes. What’s tempted me as of late is the release of two new studies—in the December 2009 issue of PM&R: The journal of injury, function and rehabilitation and another in this week’s edition of Nature—that come down hard on shoes. One found a 36 to 54 percent increase in knee and hip torques in runners wearing shoes versus those who did not.
Experts advise barefoot beginners to ease into it and run barefoot only ten percent of the time. This way, they can toughen up their feet and ankles.
Living in Washington, D.C., I fear the shards of glass on the city’s sidewalks—nothing a pair of Vibrams can’t protect me from, I guess. Then, there are the stares from baffled onlookers. But maybe I’ll get up the nerve to give barefoot running a try…
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I’ve prefered walking barefoot my whole life, and so am more then happy for the barefoot running fad to take off. I’ve walk around most of DC barefoot, with out much ill effect. (Expect for not being let into the building where I worked by a security guard thinking with her mothering side.) If you want to start toughing up your fee I’d recommend trying the area around the embassies up Mass. from Dupont — it is clean and well kept.
Love reading this! I stopped running with shoes on my treadmill almost a year ago and I would never consider buying another pair of “running shoes”. I haven’t experienced any problems or complications from doing it this way but the benefits are amazing. I get a better workout and you feel it! Upon my first run barefoot, there were muscles and parts of my legs that were sore that I didn’t even know I had! I just feel that barefoot, I get a much more effective workout and as the article states, because I’m not wearing shoes anymore, my heels don’t get any impact as I otherwise would with sneakers on. My legs look great to boot. One thing I know is that there are several runners out of some countries in Africa that train barefoot, and I think that plays a big part in so many of them winning marathons; trust me, running barefoot triggers muscles that were otherwise asleep when running in shoes.
I have to say I agree. I used to incur constant injuries when I used running shoes, but one day when I didn’t have them with me, and the children were playing in the park, I took off my work shoes, and ran in bare feet. To my amazement, no upset hips or knees at all after that run, but just sheer enjoyment and a newfound freedom. It was wonderful! I’ve never looked back. I’ve not run with shoes on since that day. It’s always a joy. i’ve never stepped on glass or needles or had any unpleasant experiences running barefoot at all. It’s two years now…and my soles have toughened up.
I’m glad to see that further study is showing the benefits of going barefoot. For parents out there, remember that this is great for children as well and can lead them to fewer health problems in the future.
The fear of glass or other hazards is way overblown. Get out there and try it, don’t let your imagination keep you from the joys of barefooting.
I started running barefoot on the treadmill in December and now use the Vibrams, but I keep having calf problems. At 62 am I too old for this? I am frustrated since I took this up to avoid the injuries, esp calves, that have sidelined me in the past.
Greetings,
I have hiked barefoot for miles through forests. It’s nice to feel nature on the bottoms of the feet. There is a nice sense of freedom about going barefoot.
I have also run barefoot quite a bit. Better than when wearing running shoes.
When I fenced (swordfighting) for many years, I normally wore shoes, since they are required in tournaments. I also taught this sport at the college level. Sometimes I taught barefoot. Much better grip on the floor surfaces. Some of my students preferred taking my fencing class barefoot, and amazingly, these students had less ankle and knee problems than the students who wore sport shoes. Has anyone done a study on playing some sports barefoot?
Now that I am retired, I enjoy going barefoot 24/7 year round. Yes, even in winter. The bottoms of my feet are quite tough now! Of course, I have a pair of rubber flip-flops in the car for those store and restaurant owners or clerks who go berserk about shoppers in bare feet.
Only in America! LOL! They always quote phony health laws. And there are no laws in any state in America that says that you cannot drive barefoot. I fly airplanes in my bare feet!
Store and restaurant owners worry about athletes feet disease, but people who don’t wear shoes don’t have athletes feet, and they don’t spread it. Athletes feet disease grows in warm, dark, humid shoes!
Plus, going barefoot is natural, healthy, and enjoyable. We humans evolved to go barefoot.
I have been experimenting with my body for the last 6 months wearing the 5 fingers all day while working in my office. (I am a massage therapist and work on my feet 9-12 hours a day and usually 6 days a week.) In the last few months I have also incorporated the Yamuna foot wakers as a daily part of my body maintenance. The function of my feet, ankles, knees, hips and spine has never been better. I used to wear orthotic inserts to correct my fallen arches never thinking that what I was actually doing was propagating the issue by leaving the muscles weak.
I am now getting in about 12 to 15 miles of running a week on my Vibrams and will never look back. I feel joy when running again and smile during my runs instead of grimacing my way through.
Do it, do it, do it!
I have always preferred being barefoot, or, at the very least, in a pair of flip flops. For ten years, I have run on running shoes until they nearly fell apart. It was always after finally buying the new running shoes that my knees would start hurting again.
Last Fall, I read “Born to Run” and immediately went out and ran barefoot. I feel that living in Brooklyn, with the glass and debris on the streets, I want some layer between me and the pavement, so I bought the Vibrams. I have been slowly building up my endurance, because this running style definitely works a different part of the leg; it works more of the foot and calf. Now I run two to three runs a week “barefoot” with one more in traditional running shoes. The last run will be barefoot by the summer! My legs feel great and the run is so light, I seem to sneak up on people.
Barefoot is the way to go. Take it slow, as with anything new.
Running barefoot or in Vibram Five Fingers allowed me to run without hating it.
Although I was never plagued by injuries, running in traditional running shoes was a chore, slightly uncomfortable in a bad way and not fun at all. A few miles here, maybe there and that was it.
I got fed up, ditched the shoe and haven’t looked back since then about eight months ago. Since then I have topped out at 48 miles in a week and I keep building with a goal of running a 50 mile ultra marathon in August this year (in Vibrams).
It is alot easier to get on the treadmill in the morning barefoot and with no ill effects.
Any thoughts on barefoot rock climbing?
I know this discussion is all about running, but I am only able to walk. I just spent a lot MBT’s for WALKING on a treadmill. Does anyone really know if you can us Vibram FiveFingers on a treadmill? Who are you supposed to trust? Thanks.
Ive read about barefoot running, and tho not much of a runner, thought id try it on the trail near my house (not paved). ADVICE: DO NOT run your whole regular run the first time out with winter feet. Though i LOVED it whilst doing it-it was a very yogic connection to feel the different temperatures in the sand and rock and my body felt GREAT-my feet paid big time afterwards–HUGE blood blisters on each of my 2nd toes and very sore middle foot…probably bruised. So, while I will do it again, I will EASE IN TO IT.
I’ve always preferred running barefoot because I’m always faster. It’s against the rules to run barefoot in track, however. I find this wrong…
I also have always preferred to go barefooted and I have the scars to prove it. All the same, I still go bare most of the time. I wouldn’t recommend going running on a lake shore (scar #1) or an unpaved path (scar #2) or a street in an unkempt part of town (scars #3 and up) but with a pair of barefoot shoes, you can go in perfect safety. I definitely would recommend easing into going barefoot, only a few hours a day _at_most_ in the beginning, as your Achilles tendon will need to get used to stretching and it _will_ get revenge if you push it. I also wouldn’t recommend going barefoot if you have to spend a lot of time standing still on a hard floor. If you can do a lot of moving around, or if the ground is soft, though, go for it!
Count me as another convert. I always thought that I needed a soft shoe. When I heard about barefoot running, I had an epiphany: humans evolved as runners and we ran for millions of years without shoes. Like forcing an elephant to stand all day on concrete, using running shoes eliminates our body’s evolved support and impact strategies, or at least I am convinced of this. I started running a mile barefoot after my runs on a nearby grass field. It felt so great I started running that mile at the beginning of my run or running barefoot on my treadmill. I can’t afford Vibrams, so finally decided to chuck the shoes entirely. On my first try, I went three miles and although I felt great, the skin on my feet were too green. I got blisters. I didn’t want to wait to build up callouses, so I tried my daughter’s water shoes. I don’t need the toes on the Vibrams. All I need is protection from rocks and glass. Problem solved! Now I run in the water shoes and it’s great! My once chronic knee problem is still there, but the pain is greatly reduced and on some days I have full flexibility and no pain at all. Without shoes, my form must be perfect. I can’t cheat. And it feels so great. Running on grass now actually feels a little too padded, like I’ve got my shoes back on. I even do my step aerobics barefoot now. And I can walk around the house barefoot in blissful comfort – back when I wore shoes, it hurt to walk barefoot around the house! Now my feet and my entire skeleton feels like its all working the way it’s supposed to.
I’ve been running in the vibrams for a month now on back woods and mountain trails and I am a true convert. Do go slow though. I really jumped in too fast and wasn’t in great running shape when I started, so I paid the price of pain from using new muscles that I hadn’t used in years running in regular running shoes. It will humble you a bit when you start using all those unused muscles. It’s amazing all these posts ar positive …. That should tell you something!