Comments on: The Barefoot Running Debate

By: Scott in Oregon

Scott in Oregon — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 09:34:11 +0000

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!

By: Linda Mooring

Linda Mooring — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 01:21:11 +0000

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.

By: Megan

Megan — Wed, 19 May 2010 20:39:57 +0000

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!

By: Robert

Robert — Fri, 14 May 2010 15:36:36 +0000

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…

By: Summer

Summer — Tue, 11 May 2010 17:54:28 +0000

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.

By: Starr Clapton

Starr Clapton — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 21:38:21 +0000

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.

By: AG

AG — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 20:19:32 +0000

Any thoughts on barefoot rock climbing?

By: JIM

JIM — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 15:49:36 +0000

It is alot easier to get on the treadmill in the morning barefoot and with no ill effects.

By: barefootnick

barefootnick — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:56:22 +0000

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).

By: Lawrence Benner

Lawrence Benner — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:34:15 +0000

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.

By: Gregory Ferger

Gregory Ferger — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:32:31 +0000

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!

By: Ken Lonewolf

Ken Lonewolf — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 18:28:56 +0000

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.

By: Tom

Tom — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 17:11:02 +0000

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.

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 15:35:14 +0000

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.

By: Joel

Joel — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 14:33:04 +0000

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.