Barefoot Running

I have been recently intrigued by the concept of barefoot running. It sounds like patent insanity at first, then begins to sound more reasonable. The basic idea is that running barefoot (once you get in shape for it) will build up muscles in your feet that atrophy when you rely on shoes for "support". This goes hand in hand with data that shows that the cushion in shoes does little or nothing to reduce the shock felt by hips and knees. What the cushion does do is prevent the sensitive bottoms of your feet from getting the signals that would cause you to avoid beating the heck out of your hips, knees, back and so forth.

I first became curious about this in the fall of 2009, when reading the book:

Born to Run

This is a great book that I highly recommend. There are a lot of lessons that can be extracted from the book, but even without that it is very enjoyable reading. The first lesson is that shoes may be the root cause of many running injuries. This thinking has spawned a whole host of barefoot running enthusiasts. Part of the thinking is that shoes protect our feet so much that they become weak and dependent on the support of the shoe. Also barefoot running and running with shoes require a different technique. Shoe running tends to bang down on the heels, whereas barefoot running tends to land on the toes and use the whole foot to absorb shock rather than letting it be a passive lump at the end of our legs.

Another lesson is that we need to run more and slower and longer. And to have more fun too. Our bodies benefit more from longer sustained exertion.

Clearly to transition to barefoot running will require some care in order to develop the strength in previously pampered feet, but many people who are now running barefoot say that it solved problems they were having with injuries.

Hand in hand with this de-emphasis on speed is a surprising lesson that older people running slower actually do better at long endurance runs than younger people. Leave the short fast runs to the youngsters and learn to plug along at a nice sustainable pace for hours.

Here is some interesting information on running times from chapter 28. Suppose you ran a marathon at age 19. It has been found (by looking at finishing times for the 2004 New York Marathon) that runners get faster every year after 19, and hit their peak at age xx. However, it isn't until a runner reaches age 64 that his time gets back to his 19 year old time! The point is that human beings (even older human beings) are particularly good at long distance running.

A fellow named Jack Kirk (aka the "Dipsea Demon") was still running the Dipsea Trail Race at age 96. (The Dipsea trail run is an extremely scenic 7.4 mile course in Northern California. It begins in the town of Mill Valley and passes through the Muir Woods on the way to the finish at Stinson Beach.)
Jack said:

You don't stop running because you get old;
you get old because you stop running.

Jack Kirk died on January 29th, 2007 at the age of 100, at a hospital in Clovis, CA.

Starting in 1930 and continuing until 2002, when he was 95, Kirk started and finished every Dipsea race that was run. In 2003, at the age of 96, Jack was the first runner out of the gate, but he got only as far as the top of Cardiac Hill, the highest elevation point on the course. He was not well, yet he still achieved that challenging summit at 96.

Shoes for barefoot running

I know, a contradiction right away, but the fact is that sharp rocks, glass, and such make literal barefoot running (on anything less than lawns or manicured trails) a bit much for any but the extremely hard-core.

Vibram five-fingers defined the whole notion of a barefoot running shoe (though they were intended originally as footwear for people on the wet decks of yachts). I owned a pair (but seem to have misplaced them) and greatly enjoyed them. However, I am unlikely to replace them with another pair because I have found something that I like much better.

Merrell "sonic gloves" have become my next barefoot shoe. I like them because they are much easier to put on, they don't look as weird, and above all because they protect my foot better on rocky trails. On one run with my five-fingers my foot brushed a trailside rock and nearly ripped off my little toe - this kind of thing does not happen with the Merrels. Some people complain about the sonic gloves needing a break in, but although I worried about this a bit, after the first short run they have been absolutely comfortable. Also, I chose them because they looked like they would hold up better than other shoes (such as the New Balance offerings, and even the "trail glove" from Merrell). The "trail glove" would seem to make sense for a place like southern Arizona where I run, but I know the mesh will get torn up much more quickly that I would like. All in all these are fantastic shoes, despite the obnoxious orange color that was my only choice.

A side note -- some people fret a lot about shoe width, which I think is nonsense as long as the shoes are not too narrow. I lace my shoes loosely and all I ask from the shoe upper is that it keep the soles from falling off of my feet. I would be just as happy running with comfortable sandals (and sometimes I do). I have found this true of hiking shoes/boots as well. Get the length right and let your foot loaf around inside a roomy chamber. Works for me, or maybe I have adapted my running and hiking style to shoes that fit like this. I recommend you give it a try.

Barefoot shoes have now hit the big time, and the makers specify the "drop" of the shoes in millimeters. A true barefoot shoe has zero drop. The drop measures the wedge of the shoe from the heel to the ball of the foot. A shoe with 3mm of drop would have the ball of the foot 3mm below the heel. Actually if I was setting up this lingo, I would call it the "lift" (the heel is lifted 3mm above the ball of the foot), but nobody asked me. When you start thinking about heel lift though, your mind focuses on one of the major flaws of conventional modern running shoes. There is substantial heel lift, and you are in effect running atop a raised platform -- and your foot can topple off the platform to the side (as happens when you sprain an ankle). A zero drop running shoe makes you almost immune to this kind of injury. The Merrel sonic glove, although a zero drop shoe, does put (some say) about 12mm (half an inch) of stuff under your foot -- but I have never minded or noticed.

Links

Take a look at:

Here are a list of facts from an Amazon.com reviewer (Golden Lion Reader):

  1. In 1993, The American Journal of Sport medicine report that from a group of Dutch athletes that runners who stretched were 33 percent more likely to get hurt.
  2. The increased technology in motion control and cushion do not decrease the aliments affect the foot, says, Dr. Stephen Pribut, President of American Academy of Podiatric Sports medicine.
  3. The Sports shoe industry is a $20 billion industry.
  4. Dr. Craig Richards does not believe that running shoes make you less prone to injury. Runners wearing the top-of-the-line shoes were 123 percent more likely to get injured.
  5. Wearers of expensive shoes are promoted that the shoe prevents injury. However, runners that wear inexpensive shoes are less likely to have injury, such as, Achilles problems or planter fasciitis.
  6. Arthur Newton sees no reason to replace his thin rubber sneakers until he'd put at least four thousand miles on them.
  7. Thin sole shoes build foot muscles and cut down foot injuries.
  8. On a hard surface, your feet briefly unlearn the habits they picked up and shift to self-defense mode. You find yourself landing on the outside edge of your foot, then gently rolling from little toe over to big until your foot is flat. Pronation is a shock absorbing motion that allows your arch to compress. Landing on your heel causes overpronation and is common with over cushion heels. Overpronation leads to knee injury.
  9. Your foot's centerpiece is the arch, the greatest weight bearing design ever created. The arch gets stronger under stress. The foot arch has a high-tensile web of twenty six bones, thirty three joints, twelve rubbery tendons, and eighteen muscles, all stretching and flexing like an earthquake-resistant suspension bridge.
  10. Dr. Hartman believe putting your feet in modern shoes lead to muscular atrophy, as high as 60 percent. In the shoe, tendons stiffen and muscles shrivel. Feet live for a fight and thrive under pressure.
  11. In 1976, Paul Brand observed that countries where the people did not wear shoes there were lower incidence of corns, bunions, hammer toes, flat feet, and fallen arches.
  12. Nike doesn't earn $17 billion a year by letting the Barefoot Teds of the world set trends.
Have any comments? Questions? Drop me a line!

Tom's home page / tom@mmto.org