Have your shoes got it in for you?
SteveIf you’re a cyclist, equipment is all part of the fun. Some cyclists wear more parts out by polishing than by riding. It’s not really the same for runners - running kit is pretty boring. Maintenance just means laundry. Cyclists like hanging around bike shops but honestly who wants to hang around a running shop?
Maybe the boringness of running shoes explains the way they are sold. Buying them has become a quasi-medical experience - you turn up, you get examined and then you’re sent home with a prescription. At least that’s how it seems to me.
I think this idea infects us all a bit. When friends start running, we say ‘make sure you get some good shoes’. Would we even know good shoes if we saw them?
Until the running boom of the late 70s and early 80s running shoes were pretty simple (what did people say to beginning runners then? Have fun?). Since the shoes were simple, running with bare feet probably didn’t seem like a big deal, and it was quite popular. Abebe Bikila won the 1960 Olympic marathon in bare feet and barefoot running remained popular throughout the 60s, with runners like Ron Hill and Bruce Tulloh running well on all surfaces without shoes.
Then running went mainstream, sportswear became fashionable, and athletics went professional. Shoe companies spent more on marketing, research and development. Elite runners never run without shoes now.
Has the research and development been worthwhile? You don’t hear much boasting from the shoe companies to say so. How many injuries have Nike Air or Asics Gel prevented? Since the shoes companies never say, presumably not many.
The excellent Science of Sport website has a good series of articles discussing running technique and the effect of running shoes on running injuries. Its conclusion? That the evidence in favour of modern running shoes is at best shaky and that they may in fact be harmful.
Chris MacDougall has written a book about how his search for a solution to chronic injuries led him towards barefoot running. I’ll review that in another post.
Could barefoot running take off? I can’t quite picture it. But I can picture future generations laughing at our devotion to thick soled shoes.
Reader Comments (3)
On the subject of running routes, I think the answer may again lie in literature, check out Chris Bloor's new book 'Crossing Boundaries' I think it's called, a guide to running off road and much more besides around Bristol by the founder of Town and Country Harriers..
Don't curb your enthusiasm, good luck in running.
Anyone else got any ideas?!
I think if you like the idea of running barefoot, just do it - anywhere where there is some nice level grass is a good place to start. But it does put a stretch on your calves so I would start with tiny amount (1 minute or so) at the end of a few runs before doing any more.
If you don't fancy bare feet at this time of year (I don't!) then spikes (especially track rather than cross country ones) feel pretty good compared to running in training shoes.