[Liberty1970]

This was a fascinating article that underscores the power of marketing to lead people to think they 'need' something that may be unhelpful, at the least.

I tried running barefoot in my younger years, but suspect I didn't stick with it long enough for my body to adjust. I did find it comfortable on grass but not on pavement. In retrospect that may have been due to a poor stride (too much up-and-down wasted energy, resulting in a lot of stress on the knees), despite the efforts of my kinesiologist father on that score. I suspect that sustained running barefoot may actually have resulted in a better running stride (to minimize stressing my joints) which would have improved my overall performance due to less wasted energy, in retrospect.

For me the deciding factor was simply that I didn't want to step on glass or other sharp debris. In places where that is not a concern, the evidence in this article suggests we might be better off simply relying on the feet God designed us with.

[Liberty1970]

I find it ironic how, further down in the article, they mention how the more money is spent on a shoe, the more likely the runners are to have injuries, after all other factors are controlled. The shoemakers better watch out or they might find themselves facing class-action lawsuits with data like that.

[dawn53]

I’m not a runner, never have been, in fact I have MS. Hubby has had his share of back problems and a hip replacement but he works out religiously, even though he can’t run either.

There is only one kind of shoe that has “lived up” to it’s reputation and advertising. Of course they’re not running shoes, but walking or everyday shoes, but we’ve found MBTs do what they say they do. They’re ugly, they’re expensive, but they do get rid of the aches and pains caused by an improper gait.

[Kimmers]

This is a real interesting article. I sent it to my runner son.

I always found it interesting the best runners came out of areas with minimal living standards, compared to ours, and no shoes or food stuffs created for runners based on years of scientific research.

[Liberty1970]

*Ping* I thought you might find this article interesting. Far down the article they mention the excellent design of the human foot. One would naturally expect a foot design from evolutionary processes to be poorly designed, full of dead-end evolutionary pathways that lead to sub-optimal performance characteristics. In such a case it should be easy to design shoes that would be an improvement in a physically demanding yet basic function like running.

The failure to do so in a multi-billion dollar industry suggest that foot design is highly optimized, and that the most optimal design parameters were utilized rather than sub-optimal dead ends chosen by blind evolutionary processes driven by natural selection.

[Tax-chick]

... the deciding factor was simply that I didn't want to step on glass or other sharp debris. In places where that is not a concern ...

Which is ... where? Where is a person to run, for more than a few steps, over fine soft grass, free of debris, trash, rocks, fire ants, dog plotz, ad infinitum? If anyone lives there, well bless their hearts.

[theDentist]

Same here... I tried running while barefoot once.... ouch. It has been my experience that a new pair of running shoes (why can’t we call ‘em ‘sneakers’ like when we were kids) takes a lot of pain from the lower back. As time passes and the soles wear down, I begin to ache more and more. So for this runner, I’ll take the running shoes.

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

My husband and son both are runners. Hubby was in a marathon recently....and there was a guy who was wearing a pair of *these*. He said that the 'shock' was absorbed in the calf muscles.

[Dr. Sivana]

So... Sally Henny-penny had it right all along...



The Kitten went on washing her white paws; so Lucie asked a speckled hen—

"Sally Henny-penny, have you found three pocket-handkins?"

But the speckled hen ran into a barn, clucking—

"I go barefoot, barefoot, barefoot!"

[NewJerseyJoe]

In Hawaii, kids grow up playing soccer barefoot on lava beds (cooled ones, obviously). Or so I have heard.

[oh8eleven]

when my runners train barefoot they run faster and suffer fewer injuries
I've been a runner for almost 28 years (including three marathons) and that's been a known fact for a very long time. The problem is you have to run on "soft" surfaces like grass or synthetic track material which 99% of runners can't do on a regular basis.
Running shoes may have been "hyped" by marketing over the years, but they really are a necessity.

[neb52]

I had come across this after, yet again, trying to figure out on getting rid of shin splints. The extra stretches worked, but I kept thinking about this. I saw a serious runner that was running in what look like spandex like slips. It mad me think even harder. After reading this article I may look into this low profile feet gloves. My concern like yours is my foot coming down on debris and causing injury.

[r9etb]

I’m a fairly serious runner, including trail running. Believe me: the right shoes make a huge difference.

[fr_freak]

When it comes to preparation, the Tarahumara prefer more of a Mardi Gras approach. In terms of diet, lifestyle and training technique, they're a track coach's nightmare. They drink like New Year's Eve is a weekly event, tossing back enough corn-based beer and homemade tequila brewed from rattlesnake corpses to floor an army.

Unlike their Western counterparts, the Tarahumara don't replenish their bodies with electrolyte-rich sports drinks. They don't rebuild between workouts with protein bars; in fact, they barely eat any protein at all, living on little more than ground corn spiced up by their favourite delicacy, barbecued mouse.

This article is very interesting and everything, and there might even be some real truth to this, but when I read the above portion, I got the impression that the author was one of these "noble savages are better than Western civilization"-type people. After all, what in the world does drinking and not eating protein have to do with their not wearing shoes? Is the author suggesting that their shoeless superiority is so great that they can get drunk the night before and still win? Whether one wears a shoe or not, it isn't going to help a hangover, so this has to be a complete non sequitur. If the author will embellish this part, than how can I trust anything he writes?

[kickonly88]

AS Rush is fond of saying; follow the money. During my days at Lackland AFB we had a TI who could out run any of our sorry asses, backwards while wearing combat boots. And he ‘smoked like a diesel locomotive on bad fuel!’
It’s like wearing a lifting belt in the gym, it just takes the stress of the essential back muscles never allowing them to get as strong as they would without it.

[Desdemona]

I'm not a runner, but a walker. We have the same issues, but at different rates. I've traded "up" out of cross-trainers twice, spent money on the latest technology and ended up with plantar facilities in one foot. And it always seemed to be only when I wore those shoes. Hmmm. Because my ankles tend to turn over (but never in bare feet, imagine that), I did the rollbar thing for one pair and they turned more than normal. Went back to cross-trainers this last time and it's all diminished.

After reading this article, my Spanish relatives are really rather vindicated as we walk in the door and kick our shoes off. We used to catch all sorts of crap for that. "Put your shoes on!" was a regular mantra from my sainted grandmother. Well, Grandma, see, it's like this....

[jimtorr]

The Mail was pretty slow to publish this article. Vin Lanana has been the head track coach at U of Oregon since July 2005.

[ottbmare]

This is fascinating. I’d love to run barefoot because I hate the big clunky thick training shoes that seem to add so much weight to the end of each leg. Yet the Fivefingers are very expensive (local shops quoted me $90 for what is essentially an experiment with a product that doesn’t promise to last very long). I wonder if it would work to just find a soft pair of moccassins or Keds to protect my feet as I run through the woods. Tree roots are painful!

[philled]

Interesting article. I tried running barefoot for about a week back chen Bikkela [sp] won the Boston Marathon in the late 70s. It didn't work for me but I had unfriendly terrain. However, if I'm on vacation there is nothing better than running barefoot on a beach!

My thought on the prioe/injury correlation- more serious runners and people who have already experienced trouble will spend more. Runners that pound up the miles will eventually get injured no matter what they wear. Good shoes minimize the pain and probably increase the damage because you aren't quitting because it doesn't necessarily hurt-yet. If you are running around the block once a week, you aren't likely going to drop $150 on a pair of shoes. However, if you are like me and just trying to keep running, the comfort of Mizuno Creations are worth the price.

[RedWhiteBlue]

I don’t think barefoot running would get me very far. I’ve got an extremely high instep, and feet that are shaped like that are stiff. A normal foot flexes a little bit to absorb shock, and foot with a high instep simply isn’t capable of doing that. I have to have a running shoe that is designed to cushion, to make up for what my own feet can’t do. I know when it is time to change out to a new pair of shoes, because when the cushioning is shot, I get “runner’s knee,” and it progressively gets worse ... until I change to a new pair of shoes, then the “runner’s knee” goes away without having to take any break from my running schedule.