to run or not to run

[jlawson58]

I totally disagree about running barefoot (or minimalist) being good for people: at least for all people anyway. A poster in this thread very early on talked about people with high arches being poor candidates for running with shoes like Vibram FFVs or barefoot.

I have run most of my life and never had any foot problems but as I got into my 50s started having knee problems. Because I am a bit of a "heel striker" I thought barefoot or FFV running would teach me to land on the ball of my feet and minimize the knee pain. The problem is that I have high arches and the FFVs gave me a severe case of plantar fasciitis. I have since read quite a bit about the issue, and the general consensus seems to be that barefoot running is more suited to flat footed persons.

I consider running in the minimalist shoes one of the worst decisions I ever made in a sport.

[Steve G]

In all the top road races I have seen and competed in I don't see any barefoot runners in them?
I agree lots of running shoes are too spongy etc,I prefer flatter, responsive shoes, but it isn't practical for any serious runner to run barefoot.

Steve

[Steve G]

A snippet from one of the UKs fast lady marathoners

"Lastly, my take on the new craze of bare foot running. Africans are the best runners in the world, have grown up running barefoot but choose to wear shoes! In the Western world our feet have adapted at an early age to accommodate shoes, why suddenly change and cause yourself hassle? Just get the correct trainers and go out and enjoy your running. "

[jlawson58]

A snippet from one of the UKs fast lady marathoners

"Lastly, my take on the new craze of bare foot running. Africans are the best runners in the world, have grown up running barefoot but choose to wear shoes! In the Western world our feet have adapted at an early age to accommodate shoes, why suddenly change and cause yourself hassle? Just get the correct trainers and go out and enjoy your running. "

Although if I remember correctly Kip Keno (sp?) won the Olympics barefooted: maybe a Swede or Norwegian once too.
Having said that though, I still agree with both her and you. He probably would have been even faster with shoes

[rlholtz]

Well it's been about 2 1/2 years since I started my barefoot running experience. For me, it works. Since I finally got permission to run on my gym's treadmill barefoot, that's how I do it. No Vibram's, no nothing. Strictly barefoot is the way to go, inside or out. Just need to build slowly: SAID = Steady Adaptation to Imposed Demands. This particularly holds true when switching to barefoot from shoes. Any shoes. I still feel like a newbie even so, but distance and speed are building. Plus, IT'S FUN! (sticking my tongue out at my old orthopod!)

[slackercruster]

Does not matter what we say...your knee has the final say.

I like to mix things up to avoid injury. When I'm inside, I do circuit
training on a rebounder or treadmill, C2, UBC, stationary bike, Nordic
Track, Skiers Edge, kettle bells, pogo sticks, jump rope, and
Treadwall. I may pick 3 - 5 of these activities and go at it for 8 -
10 minutes each for 30 - 40 minutes of aerobics. After that I may cool
down on a slackrack slackline.

If I'm outside I may do some mountain biking, trail running, skating
or jogging at a local college track.

Besides these things I do yoga and weight training.

...and don't forget proper nutrition and sleep!

Mix it up and stay healthy..with exercise as well as diet!

Good luck!

[Yankeerunner]

A snippet from one of the UKs fast lady marathoners

"Lastly, my take on the new craze of bare foot running. Africans are the best runners in the world, have grown up running barefoot but choose to wear shoes! In the Western world our feet have adapted at an early age to accommodate shoes, why suddenly change and cause yourself hassle? Just get the correct trainers and go out and enjoy your running. "

Although if I remember correctly Kip Keno (sp?) won the Olympics barefooted: maybe a Swede or Norwegian once too.
Having said that though, I still agree with both her and you. He probably would have been even faster with shoes

You're probably thinking of Abebe Bikila, not Kip Keino. Bikila won the Rome Olympic Marathon in 1960 barefoot. When he defended his title in Tokyo in 1964 he wore shoes and ran 3 minutes faster. That's one champion barefoot vs. 21 with shoes (28 if you include women Olympic Champions).

If someone is successfully and happily running barefoot or with minimalist shoes I wouldn't dream of suggesting that they change. But I would never recommend it to someone else.

Without beating this into the ground, I concur with what the UK's fast lady marathoner stated above.

[johnlvs2run]

Most of the runners in the Kenya cross country races are barefoot by choice.
The reason international runners wear shoes in competitions is due to shoe contracts,
or due to being forced to by their coaches and managers, who get paid to promote them.

Another reason is because is it's easier to run on hard surfaces like in marathons wearing shoes.

It is not to run faster. In fact, running barefoot is quite a bit faster than with shoes,
because the feet are lighter and more efficient, thus the cadence is faster and takes less energy.

So it's a treadoff.
However shoes are heavier, more cumbersome, and cause more injuries to the feet.

Optimally we'd have good surfaces to run on, as they do in Africa, but we have to make do
with the concrete and asphalt jungles we live in.

[eliotsmith]

I have a problem with any and all statements that revert to how we were "designed" or "evolved" to run. This is nonsense. We adapt very rapidly to new ways of doing things. Run barefoot, by all means. Run with shoes, responsive or not. If you get injured in either case, it may have nothing to do with the tool but with the user. I've also heard it said that we haven't evolved to eat wheat in the form of flour and so we shouldn't. This is also nonsense. Correlation is not causation.

Eliot

[rlholtz]

The better part of 3 years and I'm still running, all barefoot. That after my orthopod rang the death knell over my future as a runner.