A Passion for Running

Welcome to the home of Mark aka The Running Blogfather – a 40 year-old dad, husband and marathon runner who's beaten injury and is on the comeback trail!

barefoot running

passion for running category: running,sites u should visit on Friday, February 18 2005

Some of you have heard me talk about trying barefoot running. Well, I’ve been doing a lot of reading on the subject and am bound and determined (and excited!) to make it a part of my life.

Here are a few terrific links on the subject:

Barefoot Running is a terrific site maintained by a barefoot runner who looks a lot like Forest Gump (when he was running and had grown a beard)!

Here’s an article on barefoot running from Sportscience.org

Here is a really terrific on-line book written on the subject of barefoot hiking. This fella hikes barefoot in all kinds of terrain!

Lastly, here is a website discussing barefootedness from a more global perspective. That is, not just within the context of running or hiking. It might make you parents think twice before making your kids wear shoes all the time!

In doing the reading, I looked for arguments against barefoot running and you know what? They are pretty hard to find. As Ken Saxton (the Forest Gump lookalike) says, all the big money is on making people dependant on shoes, orthodics and foot doctors. On his website, he says $26 billion per year is being spent by Americans on shoes and another $28 billion/year is being spent on foot ailments. Conversely, there is next to no $$ going toward supporting barefoot running.

Interesting huh? I’m curious to hear your thoughts on this!

———————

after the fact edit: here’s an article involving Nike that I found interesting! Here’s Nike’s website for the product. Not exactly the same as barefoot running but it sure seems like a near admission of the problems inherent with running shoes.




12 Comments

2367

Comment by LouBob

Friday February 18, 2005 @

Ehh, it’s way to icy here to try it yet!! hehe:)

2368

Comment by jeff

Friday February 18, 2005 @

i know that barefoot guy! i see him running out at the beach all the time. he’s a great guy really down to earth. literally =)

2369

Comment by Mark

Friday February 18, 2005 @

That’s really cool Jeff. I think he is right about a lot of stuff!

2372

Comment by beverly

Friday February 18, 2005 @

I’m still in awe that the biggest shoe company is selling a shoe that’s just like being barefoot. Hmmmmm.

2373

Comment by Jon in Michigan

Saturday February 19, 2005 @

I’m ready, Mark! Just need a good thaw. And to read the books more. And to find a grassy spot. Uh, and to make sure there’s no dogs around. But I’m ready! :)

2374

Comment by Kirsten

Saturday February 19, 2005 @

I will definitely have to read your links. I run barefoot in the summer all the time. I’m a firm believer! It feels good. We have loads of soccer fields nearby and the feel of the grass is great. I’ve never seen much written about it…interesting. TX!

2385

Comment by David

Sunday February 20, 2005 @

I love to run barefoot on the beach. I do it regularly. I look at it as similar to my practice of alternating running shoes when I hit the road. By being different, my feet don’t get dialed into the same running step. I guess you could call it cross training of the feet.

2403

Comment by BD

Wednesday February 23, 2005 @

I used many of the ideas from the website to improve my running, even though I’m still in shoes. And I’ll probably stay in them until they can find a way to protect my feet from the myriad dangers out there.

2426

Comment by Brian D.

Monday February 28, 2005 @

I’m a firm believer in running barefoot. About 9 months ago was yet again having to stop running due to injuries. This time it was a mix of plantar facitis, and achilies tendonitis. I read through a bunch of the same articles and thought it worth trying. And wow what a difference. I’m in my longest break from injuries in several years.

However a warning: don’t go out and run a bunch of miles right away. I ran about 2 miles the first time and came back with 6 quarter sized blisters. Start slow like a quarter mile a day and just move it up a little. I’m up to just over 4 miles without any problems and 16 miles a week. Also you’ll probably want to work on your running technique to ease the impact on your feet. I’ve had good luck with ChiRunning.

Good luck on your barefooted adventures.

2468

Comment by paul

Thursday March 03, 2005 @

a lot of people are missing a great chance for running in winter time i like to run after a fresh fall of snow not too deep and with a temperature of over 25 farenheit the snow is an exellent shock absorber

2701

Comment by Laura

Wednesday March 23, 2005 @

I haven’t worn shoes for about four years now, and I don’t think I ever will again. I love walking around in my bare feet. I can’t remember a time when I couldn’t feel the wonderful sensation of the ground under my bare feet. I jog a few miles barefoot every day. I also hike barefoot once in a while.

Since I work at home, I don’t really have problems with my barefoot lifestyle. People might look at me funny once in a while, but they usually just ignore it. I’ve even had people who come into my house wearing shoes that leave carrying their shoes and socks in their hands. I think people who wear shoes are missing out on one of the most important parts of life.

7079

Comment by RR

Tuesday November 01, 2005 @

I think barefooting it is natural, except in the winter but the summer would be cool I was wondering if a person who has slight high arches who underpronates can still go barefoot, I walk, with jogging thrown in and am overweight but working on that, I notice when I go outside to walk, let alone run, I notice a jarring affect in my legs, probably the supination, can I still walk/jog barefoot, I have a ligament problem on the outside of my ankle behind the ankle bone which gets sore after an hour of walking in shoes, of course, should I just walk a bit more on my toes or what? any suggestions? can I still wear say ace bandage support barefoot?

thanks (I think barefoot walking/running rocks!)

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
A blue box by your comment means you do not have an avatar from www.gravatar.com!

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.