barefoot running

I am a convert. A running convert. No I’m not going to be going door-to-door and visiting you on your porch, rather I have fully embraced the barefoot running movement. Well except the actual barefoot part of it.

A quick explanation. Running barefoot is more than just running with out shoes. In essence it is to “run naturally.” This means no heel strike, when running AND walking the heel should NEVER strike the ground. It is unnatural and weakens key muscles and ligaments in the foot and ankle, leading to repetitive stress injuries. The midfoot should be the first part of the foot to touch the ground on every step. Experiment time, stand up and put on your shoes. Walk 10 steps like you normally would. Notice your heel hitting the ground first. Now take 10 more steps consciously making an effort to land on your midfoot first. Feels weird right? This is because most shoes today are built with a raised heel (roughly 10mm rise) and way too much cushion which encourages a heel strike while running. I know, I was a heel-striker until a chance conversation with my marathoning friend Chelsea led me to research running forms. Thankfully my running shoes I had at the time had a smaller heel raise and less cushioning so I was able to slowly transfer my from without screwing up my marathon.

As for the barefoot part…well glass freaks me out running outside, or rocks/roots on the trail (the thought of stubbing my toe on a root seems like a huge unnecessary risk). Plus I couldn’t run barefoot during the winter as I imagine severe frostbite is a big setback.

My answer? Minimal running shoes with no heel raise. There are several options here, check out http://www.barefootrunner.com/ for tips and reviews. I went with the Terra Plana VivoBarefoot Neo.

I’ve had the Neo’s for about a 6 weeks now, have I noticed an effect? Absolutely! In that my times were horribly slow to start even though I felt like I was flying. Thank you natural but unnatural to me stride/gait. Granted I lost a lot of speed when I focused exclusively on endurance for my marathon, but it was still a little discouraging. But I knew going in that it took time to build the correct muscles I would need, and that one day it would click. From what I’d read it wasn’t really a gradual progression, one day you were slow, the next you were fast (only slight exaggeration). About 2 weeks ago I had my moment; I cut almost 4 minutes off of my 4-mile loop, bordering on PR good for me. The best part, I didn’t feel like I had given it my all. Thank you barefoot-like gait, I am a convert!