Wanderlust Ventures

Thoughts on barefoot running

Friday, August 27th, 2010

Since it’s such a hot topic, I thought I’d write a bit about barefoot running. I get lots of compliments* on my Vibram 5-fingers shoes, and also lots of questions. Ever since Chris McDougall’s “Born To Run” (a book I love by the way) these shoes have been a hot item, almost impossible to get in Chicago or online. Friends of mine say they have noticed the same thing in other geographies as well.

I managed to get my pair from REI a couple months ago, and love them. If you really want to understand why, you should stop reading, go find a grassy field somewhere, kick off your shoes, and run completely barefoot for a few minutes. It amazed me that this is probably something I hadn’t done since I was a kid, but running barefoot is just lots of FUN. I don’t know any other way to describe it, but once you get used to it you’ll come to dread putting on constricting running shoes.

Besides being fun, what’s the point of going without shoes? After all, scientists at Nike and other companies have been refining shoe design for years to make running easier and less injury prone – right?

Well, if you believe lots of experts out there, shoes are no match for the millennia of evolution that has gone into designing our feet – which are just about the most complex parts of our body. If you look at more primitive cultures that don’t use modern running shoes, you’ll find that they don’t have any concept of shin splints or Achilles injuries. The hypothesis is that because of the cushioning, modern shoes allow or encourage us to run with a form that isn’t natural to our body. To make matters worse, by shielding many of the small tendons and muscles in our feet and legs, it creates imbalances that can lead to injury.

It should be noted that this is a pretty new fad, and there is lots of research still to be done. But if you believe the hype, then it makes sense to just kick off your shoes and start running miles barefoot – right?

Er…actually….no. It’s more complicated than that. Unless you’ve been a barefoot hippie for a long time, your feet and body simply aren’t used to that type of stress. You need to gradually strengthen the muscles, soles, tendons, core, and other areas of your body that will be pushed completely differently. I made the mistake of having too much fun in my 5-fingers and doing a five mile-run in them (I had been running 15+ in shoes so 5 seemed pretty trivial by comparison.) Big mistake – I strained my foot and was out of commission for a month. Google “top of foot pain” and you’ll see plenty of other examples of people who make my mistake.

There are a few “steps” you can take to ease into barefoot running. For most of my distance running, I use Nike Free running shoes, which are designed to promote a more natural running form (and are also just lots of fun.) I still walk/run in my 5-fingers, but since I’m in the middle of training season and can’t afford to risk injury, I’m taking it super slow and not going more than a mile at a time in them (I use them for “brick” runs after biking fairly often.) There is a field nearby my place with a decent size hill, and I also go over there, kick off the shoes, and sprint the hill a couple dozen times completely barefoot (probably my favorite training exercise actually.)

The point of all this – you have to decide for yourself but barefoot running (or minimalist running with shoes like the 5-Finges) can be lots of fun and may help you run faster and with reduced risk of long-term injury. Like any other change of form, take it slow (much slower than you think you need to) and ease in. Let me know if you have any questions, thoughts, or experiences!

*Technically, “lots” equals exactly 1 compliment from a cute grocery-checkout-girl. But, who’s counting? They’re my new favorite fashion accessory.

**Update 8/30 – So as I have really upped my mileage, I’ve started to have shin problems (shin splints) in my left leg. First time I have ever experienced this (although, this is also the first time I have ever run 40+ miles a week.) I’m actually going to try doing some of my running in my Brooks running shoes to see if the support helps. I don’t really like the idea philosophically, but with 11 weeks until Ironman, there is not a ton of margin for error.

Tags: barefoot running, training | Posted in ironman | 6 Comments »