Originally Posted by
Terry the Tortoise
For anyone interested in trying barefoot running or looking for the perfect shoe, hunt down Running Fast and Injury Free by Gordon Pirie. Here's a little 'taster'.
"Unfortunately, the ideal running shoe is not offered by most major manufacturers. Your best hope is to get the lightest, most economically constructed shoes you can find, then machine them to the correct specifications. The perfect running shoe should be something like a heavy-duty ballet slipper - simply an extra layer of protective material around the foot, like a glove. If you run correctly, you will be able to wear such a shoe and never be injured. I once advised a 58-year-old marathon runner, Ed Schaeffer, whose best time had been 3:28, to change his technique and shoes, with the result that his time immediately dropped to 2:58. He told me later it had been “easy” to run 30 minutes faster! Another example was a 4:12.8 miler I retrained; he dropped his time to 4:02 in just three weeks. Now that you know what to do with your feet and legs, and understand how poorly designed running shoes contribute to both injury and slower running, how may we produce a shoe to fit your feet?
We shall do this by taking a typical pair of running shoes, and reconstructing them to the correct specifications. Firstly, the shoe should fit properly; the foot will slip and slide in a shoe that is not close-fitting, resulting in a loss of performance as well as friction-related injuries such as blisters, which can lead to subtle changes in the way you run, and predispose to more serious injuries. Ideally, the shoe should fit snugly “like a glove”. Secondly, it is essential to prevent the most common injury directly related to poor shoe design, namely that to the Achilles tendon. A very quick way to guarantee yourself an injury to this very vulnerable part of your body is to allow any part of your shoe to impinge on the tendon – all running shoes have a piece of material (either plastic or leather) that jams into the tendon when the foot is plantar-flexed (i.e. the toe is pointed down). Clearly, if you run many miles, you will put a great deal of jabbing pressure on the soft Achilles tendon on every step, mile after mile. With an Achilles “protector” on your shoe, discomfort or injury is guaranteed. The quickest remedy to this problem is to take a knife to the curved piece of shoe material and cut it off, so that the top of the shoe heel is level with the rest of the upper, and below the level of the soft tissue of the Achilles tendon. The top of the shoe heel must not be higher than the bony heel. Runners who come to me limping with very sore Achilles tendons are able to run away with their pain relieved after this surgery is performed on the shoe (with the shoe removed, of course). This “operation” will make the shoe about half a size larger than it was originally, so bear this in mind when purchasing shoes. Thus, if you buy your shoes a bit snug and remove the heel tag before you wear them, Achilles tendon problems should become a thing of the past. Another problem related to shoe design is the shape of the inside of the heel of the typical running shoe, which is different from that of the normal human heel, such that it only contacts the top of the heel bone. As a result, there is too much empty space around the base of the heel bone. This space needs to be filled in to provide a close fit around the entire heel. If left unfilled, the upper portion of the heel bone will receive excessive pressure because the shoe presses on the foot only on an area directly below the junction of the Achilles tendon with the heel bone. The result is severe blistering in the short term, and heel spurs and Achilles tendonitis in the long
term. To make the shoe conform to the shape of your heel, fill in the space with surgical padding, being very careful to ensure that the padding conforms exactly to the shape of your heel.
Clearly, this should be the job of the shoe manufacturers, and I discussed this problem with Adi Dassler, the late founder of Adidas, as early as 1959. He agreed with my evaluation of the shape of running shoe heels (but, sadly, I still find it necessary to customise Adidas shoes).
To summarise, therefore, friction interference of running shoes with the soft tissue of the Achilles tendon and bursae of the heel bone/Achilles tendon junction causes injury. Consequently, all parts of the shoe that impinge on this area should be removed. Contrary to what the shoe companies would have you believe, the foot is supposed to twist and roll as it goes through each contact phase with the ground, and yet they continue to come up with new ways to prevent the foot from moving in this way. The amount of movement varies from person to person, and depends on the strength and development of the intrinsic muscles of the foot and foreleg, and whether you land correctly with each foot. Putting all sorts of excess materials and supposed clever ideas into running shoes (i.e. soles and uppers) has practically nothing to do with these foot movements. When the shoe is on the ground, it becomes a part of
the ground and the foot does its necessary rolling and twisting within the shoe. If a shoe is made to become a straight jacket to prevent the natural movement of the foot - for example a ski boot, or a stiff rubber gumboot - you cannot run, you hobble. You will only be able to carry out part of the physical movements, and apply only a fraction of the physical forces, that are essential to drive yourself forward at a fast running pace. This is easy to prove - go out and run in bare feet, then start adding material onto your feet. You will slow down. The same applies to shoes which interfere with the undersurface of the foot. Any change in the curvature of the sole of the foot caused by a shoe - for example, nylon pylons across the sole at the rear of the ball of the foot, lifted nylon rings around the spikes, and lumpy soles caused by
the cut-away under the toes of most jogger's shoes (thus presenting a ridge under the padded ball of the foot) - will interfere with your ability to run. The rolled up toes common to most jogging shoes are the cause of the sharp pains in and around the joints between the toes and the metatarsals familiar to most runners. Any departure from the natural shape of the foot will interfere with your ability to run, and lead to injury."
A big part of my deciding to move to 285s and Walshes
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