Barefoot running

If you were up at Bristol Downs and you saw a bloke running with no shoes on the asphalt path along Ladies Mile would you think, “that guy is not only odd, but he must be very lucky - a genetic freak with the perfect feet, that allow him to run without the aid of padding, orthotics, or any other thing that is designed to compensate for the inadequacies of the human foot”.

Well, if you were inclined to think that, then you would be wrong. It was me, taking my experiment a little further.

I have been to innumerable physiotherapists, podiatrists, and gait analyzing running shoe shops. I’ve had all manner of diagnoses ranging from knock kneed, bow legged, over-pronating, stiff-arsed (it was more technical than that) through to “fine”. I’ve had a broken leg, broken foot bones, sore knees and shin splints. And, of course, I’ve spent quite a lot of money as a result. I came to the conclusion quite some time a go that it is all bollocks, because I could never tell the difference.

I did not run barefoot today because I think it is better than all of that. It would be nice if it were, but I think that would probably be as hard to prove as all the stuff listed above. I simply like the idea of running with just my body - unencumbered. It feels good. And it feels good not to be taken for a ride by the professionals described above.

My point? Perhaps anyone can run barefoot. Perhaps we are “Born to Run”. perhaps all the technology is rubbish (mostly).

This was my first proper excursion without shoes. It felt fine on the grass and the asphalt, although I did slip in the mud. I intend to do more as it felt good, and I am interested in how it changes my gait. I found I ran more upright, flicked more with by trailing foot, and on the asphalt could sense my leading forefoot reaching out to find the ground.

Furthermore, it felt very odd and rather disconcerting when I put my shoes back on to run back down Redland Road - almost too padded and splodgy.

My tip for running injuries? Start back slow and small. Build up gently. Don’t waste your money.

Update on Thursday, 2 September, 2010 by Mike

2 days on and I did have some pretty sore calves, but recovered fine and have since been running fine.

Comments

[mikerives]

Nice post on running barefoot. Btw, have you heard of the Barefoot Runners Society? It is a community of barefoot/minimalist runners that you would find you have a lot in common with. :) Visit our website at www.barefootrunners.org and see what you think. If you would like to join (currently by invitation only) drop me an email to miker(at)barefootrunners(dot)org and I’ll send you one out. Good Running!