Been reading “Born to Run” and learning more about the benefits of barefoot running. Seems like a perfect fit with the minimalist, “don’t follow the crowd” nature of unicylists, so I’m wondering if there are any other converts to this philosophy out there. The
I think you’re right, and we should all try it for that reason.
I’ve just read the reviews. Looks like some interesting ideas.
I used to run barefoot quite a bit when I was in my late teens and early twenties. I have not read that book. It came easy to me because I was naturally a mid-foot striker and I ran at lot at the beach and I could pick the part of the wet sand that just had a little give. But soon I was running on grass and pavement barefooted. It teaches you to run very smoothly, almost a gliding style of running and it actually is very easy on the joints because the foot strike has to be very light. Now (at 52) when I run, which is not very often preferring to ride my uni for fitness I wear shoes and have tried to retrain myself to be a heal striker to maximize the cushioning in my shoes. It’s easier to run barefooted when you are in shape and have low body fat because running barefooted, at least for me, has a slight braking action from the forefoot strike. So being old and out of shape compared to my youth and I can run longer using a rolling stride starting with a heal strike.
I own a pair of these O’Neill surf booties that have a rubber sole and are elastic, nearly form-fitting to your feet. I bought them for kayaking and backpacking (water crossings), but thought it may be neat to do trail-running with them, the thing sole protecting from small thorns and splinters.
Barefoot running, or perhaps bootie running, is something I’d like to experiment with. When I jog, I plant with my heel, but would like to try running, on the balls o my feet, which I naturally do anyway when running (but not jogging).
I also would like to try, once the soles of my feet toughen up, unicycling in just booties or bare feet.
I should probably add that I grew up going around barefooted, even riding skateboards barefooted until I got better and started going faster, etc. I grew up playing street games (hide and go seek, etc) barefooted and walking long distances barefooted. So my feet were already very tough before I started running for fitness barefooted.
My dad runs Ultra Marathons.
He’s done 23 and finished 15.
He’s finished Hardrock a handful of times. He normally does the 100 mile ultra’s.
I just went for my first fast hike/run in these. I really enjoyed it, feeling the natural suspension system in my feet being used, which according to what I’ve been reading, has been suppressed and weakened by cushioned running shoes. I’m looking forward to getting faster with this method. It’s probably not for everyone, but I’ve been dealing with foot pain, orthodics and sprained ankles for many years, and am willing to try anything once to see if it helps.
I think good running shoes gave me planers fascious(sp)
I have run on and off for many years with Converse all stars sneakers. They have a rather hard sole, so I decided to treat myself to a pair of 80$ Nike air Pegasus, one of the cushier air running shoes.
I had to give up running, or for that matter walking. I had a very painful condition, much worse in the morning, where it hurt so much to put weight on my heels I needed crutches. I just assumed I was getting old, I didn’t blame the new shoes. Because I wasn’t running, I stopped wearing the expensive cushy shoes, and after a while my heels were ok again.
Then I read a while back that the instability of cushy running shoes was causing more injuries. That started a hard sole running movement.
So anyway, I started running again with the old converse sneakers and have had no problems. Who would have guessed that 80$ special air running shoes could cause an injury ? Apparently the extra lateral movement that the cushy shoes allow can injure the heel.
This is similar to what I’ve heard. In fact, I believe most barefoot runners avoid heelstrike entirely, and land mid-foot, over the arch, which any engineer would confirm is an inherently strong structure. It requires an adjustment to the gait, with the feet hitting earth sooner (more under the body), faster, and lighter. And if you don’t have an arch, that might be rectified by going barefoot also. Many people have seen their shoe size actually shrink, because they actually DEVELOP an arch by using the foot muscles as nature intended. I’m just repeating stuff from “Born to Run,” I’m not an expert.
Yup I love running barefoot.
If I am far from where I need to be and am wearing shoes I automatically start to jog.
But if I am far from where I need to be and I am barefoot (or wearing 5 fingers) I tend to break into a run.
I love running barefoot as it just feels natural and since you don’t want to heal strike you naturally just speed up and don’t really slow down untill you are out of wind or energy.
This summer I did a 8km loop of dirt roads and bush trails barefoot. One stop at a stream to drink water and eat a crap-load of blueberries.
I have a pair of Vibram 5 fingers and they are great. They won’t protect your feet from real hard impacts (like a moderate drop onto uneven rocks) but are great if you can’t take the sticks, stones, and pine-needles of everyday trails. My mom and two of my aunts have gotten the “shoes” since seeing mine and we all love them.
they even straitened one of my aunts toes!
I tried out some shoes without cushioning and support last year. Running on paved roads in those cured me of heel striking pretty quickly, but it also gave me an over-use injury, so I’m back to ordinary running shoes for now.
I’m working on running more as if I was barefoot. If I can get my feet to adjust to that style of running I might try the flat shoes again.
Might I mention that out of all the people in that book that run barefoot, none of them run on pavement.
The foot is made to naturally run barefoot on pretty much everything other than pavement.
I will wait for potter to chime in before saying more.
You realise that might take years, right?
In Morris dancing, the heel seldom contacts the floor. It’s all on the balls of the feet, using the arch, ankle, calf and knee as the body’s natural shock absorbers. I dance mainly outdoors, on a variety of surfaces.
A few years ago, for about two seasons, I danced in thin-soled jazz dance shoes. It was great. I felt lighter, more agile, and it was almost like being barefoot. I loved it.
Years later, I still limp on bad days because of the damage it did to my feet.
I can’t totally blame Nike
After my heels started to get sore the morning after running, I started using a pair of Dr Shool’s heel gell inserts, in my Nike air shoes. I believed at the time that impact was the cause of the soreness, so the gell heel inserts should help I figured.
Worst shoe ever. I had to crawl the next day. My heels were so inflamed by the instability (lateral torque on the heel) that it felt like stepping on a nail to stand up the next morning,no way.
I can’t prove that running with an air shoe with gell heels caused this problem, it’s sorta anecdotal. I didn’t suspect it at the time.
I want to emphasize that I am older than I have ever been, and now I can run in my old hard rubber Chucky T’s and wake up with heels that feel just fine. I really do blame those air plush shoes. I didn’t throw them in the trash, they are great for walking and standing around in. I wouldn’t run in them now if you paid me.
If you get heel pain from running, I would suggest getting a very stable, basic, hard rubber sole. IMHO the heel gets twisted if it lands on a soft shoe, and this twisting may cause serious heel pain in some people.
two years or so ago, my brother-in-law started running to get back in shape. he had some really nice high-end running shoes, but he ended up w/ a serious leg injury and his doctor told him he needed to stop running until he was better. he had to stop for 3 months. while he was stuck at home he started asking questions on a couple of forums and when he started to run again he gave barefoot running a try. it completely solved his problem, and he’d never go back to his shoes now. his feet are tough enough he’ll even run in cold and rainy weather. also, 100% of his running is on pavement.
we got into the conversation because i started longboarding (skateboarding) barefoot this summer and really liked the feeling, but my feet are not nearly as tough as when i was a kid
It can be done.
I ran barefoot on pavement. Not exclusively on pavement, but I would run a mile or two on sidewalks to get to the park or parkway where I was going to do the bulk of my run and then run back. I quoted myself above to reiterate that I had years of being barefooted leading up to running barefooted on all surfaces.
The response here is consistent with what I’ve been hearing. I have a feeling we’re going to start seeing more “basic” solutions out there from Nike et al. Re: pavement, almost all my experiments with barefoot running has been on dirt, but I still spend 12 min. on pavement getting to & from the trails, and the pavement seems actually easier.
A few months ago I started walking and running barefoot and have been enjoying it (as I see a lot of you are). I have a pair of vibrams for some of the “Rougher” and colder conditions, but generally find that I do fine without them. Only problem I have had with barefooting is landing on some sharp rocks on a canoe trip and running my local single track (pine cones and roots). Vibrams usually help alleviate the roots and pine cones, not sure about the rocks as I have not used them.
I transfered somewhat easily into the barefooting thing as I have been skimming for years, but I did have sore feet sometimes for the first few weeks.
And I really want to read that book Born to Run. I just have to get my hands on it first.
