Barefoot running

Here's an article in Scientific America. Again it shows barefoot is better for you. I don't run a great deal - in the summer I do maybe 3 x 5 miles a week, in winter 1 or 2 x 5 depending on the weather (in the deep snow I didn't do any!), but I have considered investing in a pair of these I'm not sure as they are pretty expensive & I don't know anyone who's tried them, so I waver about ordering a pair just in case. I will probably have to give them a go one day I suppose just to check them out. I have relearnt running after bad repetitive impact injuries in the past & I'm way more a mid-foot runner these days - I suppose I should just bite the bullet & try running bare footed, but the crap on the streets just puts me off going 'le natral' on the streets of Brighton -It's like asking to step in dogs muck, old chewing gum & the odd broken bottle - not that Brighton is overflowing with the above, but knowing my luck I'm a bit dubious about testing out bare foot style running without at least a hint of sole protection (yes I'm a wuss I know!). If you've tried out the five finger shoes (or similar) or even go in for bare foot running then let me know what you think?

Just digging around for articles & found this - running shoes worse than high heels? that's a bold statement - I'm not sure I agree with that, but it's a great eye catcher as who wouldn't read that article!

Dug up this site from Harvard University that pretty much wraps up barefoot running nicely. It has been suggested that good old fashioned plimsolls might be a cheaper option to the 10x the price five finger shoes, sure each toe isn't in it's own little 'finger', but you've got a flat sole that is very thin, just enough to stop the debris on the streets, but no cushioning to speak of, so you'd run pretty naturally...I'm going to go & look for some before the weekend & give it a go (I might run just a mile or 2 first go & build up).

The Tarahumara(sp) Indians whom run legendary long distances like to just make shoes out of old tires. Just a strip of rubber made into a flip flop basically and they'll run extremely long distances that way. 50 plus mile runs. They prefer such 'shoes' to what we call shoes.

...I've been getting back into running but so far with the cold weather just running indoors at my house. I'm lucky enough to have a circular area through the kitchen, den, dining room living, foyer, hall and I've just been running with socks on. Actually worked up to some hour long runs this way and it does feel pretty good. I was figuring switching to big cloppy shoes here shortly (for most runs outside) was going to mean using new muscle and not be so good for me...

I've actually decided to order some plimsolls for running. I've moved from fancy air cushions, to cheap, harder soles with some give, next step (ok bad pun) plimsolls with just a thin sole that kids used to wear for PE at school & cost only a few £££'s on ebay! Just waiting for cash to clear on my paypal, then I'll order a pair & give them a go. I've done a lot of modifications to my running style, so I converted from a heel runner to a forefoot runner. I found the book Explosive running to be really useful.

Strangely enough I had Coach Gary round the other day from a belated birthday eat around Brighton (& very good it was too) & although he knows a fair bit about stability & core work, he wasn't so up on running so we had a good old chat about it & he'll be taking away that book to read on his next visit here

Here is a very balanced article about running bare-foot Vs wearing shoes. It's pretty long, but it goes into all the research out there & the pros & cons. As a note I actually ran a half marathon distance (give or take a bit) in very thin soled shoes (just a few mm if rubber) yesterday. I can vouch for the fact that the calves do work harder than if you were wearing a thick soled shoe. (As a side note this is also the furthest I've been able to run since I injured my knee & hip in normal running shoes, for me at least going for less on my feet has help with fixing the issues I had-at least up to now).

Anyway here's the article , it comes in 5 parts

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Barefoot running is not possible because of all that crap on the roads. But you can do it in certain garden especially if there are running tracks. They are generally much cleaner than the roads.