:D Barefoot Running

[nikalas]

30,000 plus runners ,compete in the London marathon and indeed big marathons around the world.
All or nearly all wear modern running shoes.
How many do you think would manage it barefoot ?
Wake up,we are not designed to run on hard tarmac roads without a little help from air eva gel etc etc .

Yes, but how many get injured in the build-up or on race day? See reference to previous study on injury incidence and contributing factors. No-one is saying that everyone should run barefoot, just that we don't need the cushioning/support that the running shoe industry has brainwashed us into thinking we do.

We are not "designed" to do anything but we have evolved a very effective shock absorption system that only works optimally if the foot is able to flex freely and interact with, and adapt to, the ground. We also evolved to run on hard baked savannah which is equally as unforgiving as tarmac.

[sjedwardz]

OK - so how many of the posters on this thread have actually tried running barefoot on a range of surfaces?!!?!?

I have and found it suprisingly easy, especially on tramac!!

So before arguing about cushioning, gels, air etc get out there and give it a go, otherwise you are not adding any weight to the argument if you haven't actually tried it!

It's like my 3 year old telling me he doesn't like broccoli when he's never tasted it!

[bfluc]

OK - so how many of the posters on this thread have actually tried running barefoot on a range of surfaces?!!?!?

I have and found it suprisingly easy, especially on tramac!!

So before arguing about cushioning, gels, air etc get out there and give it a go, otherwise you are not adding any weight to the argument if you haven't actually tried it!

It's like my 3 year old telling me he doesn't like broccoli when he's never tasted it!

Why would they lose their time trying it? And when I write trying it I ain't meaning doing it unwisely and overdoing it!

CL keeps pretending there is no studies. I asked him what was Dr. Daniel Lieberman doing? Dr. Daniel Lieberman has published some things and is doing more research on a longer term basis which means it will give CL plenty of time to keep writing "Show the research!"...

[A.P.E Knott]

We are not "designed" to do anything
I didnt think on this topic we were going to "split hairs " ,if you want to discuss
Evolution, by all means go ahead I have a library full of Dawkins ,Ridley Pinkler Jones and the great man himself so Please try not to be to clever.
As for contributing to the topic without "trying it myself" ,do I need to hit my thumb with a hammer to see if it will hurt ?

[Inov-8 Insider]

If your running injury free in your thick cushioned, reinforced, heavily posted shoes carry on.
But for those people who have been injured, bought orthotics, seen numerous specialist and been told by their doctor to stop running then maybe trying barefoot may actually help.
As I have said I was very sceptical and when I first tried at my local park I was hobbling around tip toeing and wincing at every little stone.
I jogged a short distance but one thing I did notice was that I wasn't feeling any knee pain.
The next day I could feel my calfs when I woke and walked around but it wasn't painful.
I'm now running near enough every day for a few miles barefoot( well to be honest I do have a new test shoe that offers some protection but no EVA, upper or support)
Barefooting works for me, I would suggest people at least give it a try before just writing it off.

[sjedwardz]

As for contributing to the topic without "trying it myself" ,do I need to hit my thumb with a hammer to see if it will hurt ?

Fine, if you want to live you life based on what other people say or write without giving something a go yourself thats fine by me

Personally I was quite intrigued when I first heard about barefoot running and thought why not, I'm not advocating doing it all of the time but is worth giving it a go. Especially if you try it on a grassy field - you feel like a 5 year old kid again!

[Terry the Tortoise]

Okay, enough's enough. Let's get rid of 2 of the most stupid "against barefoot running" arguments:

1: Tarmac (we're not supposed to run on it)

Have you tried running bf on it? It's actually pretty smooth and comfortable. Yes it's hard, but your body finds a way of dealing with it and running efficently. Now take off-road. Yes there's less impact, but it's a lot more technical and there's loads of thorns ad pointy stones and rocks etc, so if anything it's harder to run bf on but no one argues againts running bf off-road?

2: Broken glass!

Who out there wearing top of the range super-cushioned pronation control bollocksie shoes, goes for a run, see's some broken glass in front of them and thinks "Hey, I've got shoes on, I'll run straight over it"? You don't! You avoid it, just like you would bf!

[nikalas]

We are not "designed" to do anything
I didnt think on this topic we were going to "split hairs " ,if you want to discuss
Evolution, by all means go ahead I have a library full of Dawkins ,Ridley Pinkler Jones and the great man himself so Please try not to be to clever.
As for contributing to the topic without "trying it myself" ,do I need to hit my thumb with a hammer to see if it will hurt ?

Sorry wasn't trying to be clever just, because of what I studied, evolution is one of my pet topics and I can be a bit pedantic about it.

I've done a lot of research into this area recently for an article I'm writing and have spoken to an awful lot of people who have been able to return to running after trying every shoe, orthotic etc under the sun to solve conditions such as PF before trying barefoot/minimal footwear as a last resort and it working.

I can understand people being skeptical as we've had 40 years of the running shoe industry/podiatrists telling us we need X, Y and Z to "cure" our faulty foot-strike and the more cushioning/more support school of thought does seem intuitive until you take a step back and think about our anatomy and evolutionary past. Then it becomes blatantly clear that we've created a problem by trying to solve one that doesn't exist.

[sbrt]

Okay, enough's enough. Let's get rid of 2 of the most stupid "against barefoot running" arguments:

1: Tarmac (we're not supposed to run on it)

Have you tried running bf on it? It's actually pretty smooth and comfortable. Yes it's hard, but your body finds a way of dealing with it and running efficently. Now take off-road. Yes there's less impact, but it's a lot more technical and there's loads of thorns ad pointy stones and rocks etc, so if anything it's harder to run bf on but no one argues againts running bf off-road?

2: Broken glass!

Who out there wearing top of the range super-cushioned pronation control bollocksie shoes, goes for a run, see's some broken glass in front of them and thinks "Hey, I've got shoes on, I'll run straight over it"? You don't! You avoid it, just like you would bf!

3: Dog poo. Its bad enough cleaning it off mudclaws.

Sorry for being childish. Been enjoying the barefoot thread very interesting

[Terry the Tortoise]

Haha...dog poo is easier to clean of your feet :-)