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A Look Back at the Barefoot Running Trend

Leta Shy — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 03:06:55 PST

Are we better runners when the shoes come off? That's the question more runners are asking, thanks to the growing popularity of barefoot running, one of this year's biggest running trends.

It's not a new trend, however. Serious runners have been braving the asphalt sans shoes professionally for decades (some have even competed in the Olympics without them!), but the movement started gaining even more traction with the 2009 publication of the book Born to Run, in which author Christopher McDougall explores how members of a Mexican Indian tribe have learned to run hundreds of miles continuously, injury-free, wearing only thin sandals on their feet. The book's promotion of barefoot running has led to a marked increase in runners who decided to ditch their heavier running shoes for minimalist pairs, or nothing at all!

It may not be new, but 2011 was definitely the year of the minimalist/barefoot running trend. Here at FitSugar we got a jumpstart by trying it out for ourselves late last year. Turns out, barefoot running is comfortable (especially on a treadmill over asphalt) and correcting; see for yourself how much your gait can change with this video comparing minimalist running with normal running shoes.

Celebs love barefoot running too! Read on for more about the trend after the break.

Shoe Review: Fila Skele-Toes Voltage

Jenny Sugar — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 01:18:41 PST

Sneakers with articulated toes have been all the rage since barefoot running came onto the scene. It wasn't until Fila sent me a pair of Skele-Toes Voltage sneakers ($75) that I finally tried them out for myself. Like most minimalist running shoes, they're extremely lightweight (6 oz.), but unlike shoes designed with barefoot running in mind, these have a thick, hard sole. Intriguing design, no?

Keep reading to find out the pros and cons of these Fila sneaks.

Should You Start Barefoot Running?

Leta Shy — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:26:08 PDT

Has the sight of celebs traipsing around town in Vibram FiveFingers made you anxious to start barefoot running? Responding to the minimalist shoe craze, the American Council on Exercise decided to test out those barefoot running shoes to see how they fared for normal everyday runners. The council tested Vibram's Bilkia model on 16 recreational joggers and compared their performance running in these shoes, regular neutral shoes, and running barefoot. So, should you dip your toes into the barefoot running trend? Read on to find out the pros and cons of running like your ancestors after the break.

Scarlett Johansson Is a Minimalist Runner - Are You?

FitSugar — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 18:12:00 PDT

Scarlett Johansson took to the streets in a pair of bright pink Vibram FiveFingers during a run with beau Sean Penn and friend Owen Wilson. The threesome made their way through a Los Angeles neighborhood together, and Scarlett demonstrated that like Reese Witherspoon, she is a midfoot striker. Striking the ground with your midfoot provides greater shock absorption than heel striking, and it puts less strain on your calf muscle and Achilles tendon. One of the benefits of running barefoot or with a minimalist running shoe is that it encourages you to improve your gait and posture. Looks like it might be working for Scarlett!

Barefoot Running: I Tried It

Susi May — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 09:00:09 PST

For some it's a lifestyle thing about getting back to nature, for others it is all about efficiency; regardless of the reasons, barefoot running is taking off. When teaching Pilates, I often preached the merits of strong feet and walking barefoot. Every time your foot hits the ground when taking a step, the contact initiates a chain of muscular events that create dynamic support from your heel all the way to your lower back. Shoes damped the effectiveness of the natural muscular pattern, and confused muscles can lead to those dreaded overuse injuries. Prior to having my gait analyzed by running coach Lee Saxby, he explained that when we encase our feet in puffy sneakers they interfere with correct body mechanics, allowing us to jog, striking our heels heavily into the ground with each step. Saxby said running is more efficient bio mechanically than jogging, which blends the motions of walking with running. But running also uses up more calories than jogging, and the body likes to conserve calories - remember as we evolved, food (aka calories and energy) was pretty scarce. So we allow ourselves to jog, and the shoes, in his opinion, aid this disastrous technique.

Learn what I thought about running with no sneakers and check out a video of how my gait changed without them when you

After reviewing tape of me running in sneakers, I hopped on the treadmill sans shoes. The first issue to address is posture; our desk time has really interfered with our ability to stand up straight. Lucky for me, years of dance training reinforced by years of Pilates helped get my posture in line. But I needed help with my rhythm and to increase my cadence, or turnover. The longer your foot is on the ground the longer time your ankles and knees have to veer off course, eventually creating chronic injuries. After having me hop in place on the treadmill (this is no easy feat), Lee set a metronome to 180 beats per minute and had me run to the beat. It was a challenging pace but felt great. Next issue to address was the tension in my upper body; it's a "passenger" along for a ride so it's important to keep it loose and relaxed.

I ran, with Lee coaching me, on the treadmill for 10 minutes barefoot. It felt great. I really thought my feet were going to hurt, or my knees ache, but none of that happened. Then I tried the Evo, a minimalist running shoe by Terra Plana, that felt like rubber ballet shoes except with plenty of room for my toes to wiggle. I really like being able to feel my foot make contact with the ground, or rather the belt of the treadmill, but I am not sure when I will venture out into the world in them. I would like to think something as simple as chucking my sneakers would ensure that I could run injury free, but I don't think it's likely. And honestly it's not a gamble I am willing to try. I did learn to let go of all that padding though, and I think I will run occasionally without shoes. But only on a treadmill.

Here's a little video of the experience. You can totally see how my gait changed without shoes.

Have you tried a minimalist running shoe or gone completely barefoot for a run?

Source: Flickr User Taina Linda

Do You Like Working Out Barefoot?

Michele Foley — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 03:47:47 PST

While working out on the stationary bike a few weeks ago, I had the incredible urge to take off my shoes. I don't know exactly how to explain it except to say that my feet felt disconnected with the rest of my body. Kicking off my shoes worked like a charm; my feet felt engaged, and I felt more grounded to the bike. I've been doing it ever since - whenever I work out at home to one of my fitness DVDs, I do it without shoes on. I was apprehensive at first and had the usual worries about support, stability, and shock absorbency, but I've had much better workouts this way. In fact, I'm performing many of the exercises with more control and balance, and my feet and leg muscles feel like they are getting a better workout because the muscles are more engaged.

Barefoot running is slowly growing, and professionals in fields like dance and circus arts regularly train barefoot - how about you?

Running and the Evolution of Endurance

FitSugar — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:15:29 PDT

If speed ain't your thing, don't worry - humans aren't really built to go fast. As we evolved and moved out of the trees, humans began to walk upright with obvious benefits to "hands-free" locomotion - look how far we've come. But one major drawback about becoming bi-pedal: it slowed us down. A recent article on the subject on NPR explains that "in a tiger-eat-monkey world, two legs were slower than four."

The upside of our being upright, however, is endurance. Anthropologist Daniel Lieberman feels humans evolved to outrun quick prey over long distances. One of the advantages we have over four-legged creatures is we cool down by sweating, while possible prey like a gazelle must pant while sprinting, which adds up to overheating and an eventual slowing down. We may lose the speed race, but we can maintain a quicker pace over a longer period of time, giving us a different advantage.

To learn how the "new" movement toward barefoot running fits into the evolutionary process,

Unsurprisingly, Lieberman is also a proponent of barefoot running, or at least wearing minimalistic footwear. After studying the gait pattern of barefoot runners (remember our ancestors didn't have access to Asics), he found they naturally landed on the balls of their feet. Heel striking is just too painful, but when the ball of the foot makes contact with the ground, elastic-like energy is stored in the ligaments and Achilles tendon.

Lieberman's advice for long distance runners:

"When you're in the marathon and you're wondering at mile 16 or 17 what on earth you're doing, remember, you're chasing a kudu. That's what you're doing. You're re-enacting that chase from a million years ago."

I am not sure if the image of chasing down an antelope is enough to inspire me to run 26.2 miles, but I do like how this theory on running supports the notions that "slow and steady wins the race."

Shoes to Run Barefoot In

FitSugar — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 05:50:13 PDT

Barefoot running has slowly been gaining momentum amongst mainstream runners. Proponents say that modern-day running shoes hinder performance and cause injury. Shoes, it seems, constrain our feet, and cause us to move in ways that aren't natural: we strike our heels, run with bad posture, and don't engage with our environment.

But barefoot running is not something to try blindly. Luckily, there's been a huge push to design minimalist shoes that mimic the feel of barefoot running. These shoes engage the muscles of the feet, encourage good posture, and help train the wearer to land correctly. If you're thinking about giving barefoot running a try, here are a few selections to get you started. Use these shoes as training wheels on your way to true barefoot running or as guidance to becoming a chi runner.

Source: Thinkstock

Run Barefoot and Avoid Running Injuries?

FitSugar — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:00:04 PDT

The idea of running barefoot seems like some new age, hippie movement to get people to be free in their bare skin. Or some eco-friendly push to persuade people to forgo sneakers so they don't end up in landfills. Although the freedom and environmental arguments for barefoot running are valid, Christopher McDougall, author of the best-selling book Born to Run, believes running without sneakers could be the answer to preventing shin splints, knee pain, and other running injuries.

After suffering many an injury himself, he set out with the question, "Why does my foot hurt?" In his journey to answer that question, he discovered the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s Copper Canyons. They run hundreds of miles at a time with only thin, homemade sandals on their feet, and don't suffer any of the injuries that the rest of us runners do. After running with them, he realized the secret was ditching his sneaks, and since then, he's been injury-free. McDougall believes today's high-tech sneakers "warp our natural stride, encourage bad form, and lead to injuries."

To hear more about barefoot running, keep reading

Running Barefoot

FitSugar — Fri, 25 May 2007 04:00:00 PDT

I love when the weather gets warmer and I can finally wear flip flops and let the wind blow through my toes. Feeing the cool grass beneath my feet is what spring is all about.

Other people have taken it to the next level and run barefoot. Some athletes train and compete shoeless, like South African runner Zola Budd, a former Olympic track and field competitor.

So why do they do it? To prove they can withstand pain? To show how tough they are? Have they lost their sneakers?

Some barefoot runners like the way the ground feels on the soles of their feet, like the grounding sensation that allows you to balance in a yoga pose. Plus shoes can be constricting, and when your feet are bare, you can really spread your toes out and grip the ground.

When you run barefoot, your muscles are in control instead of your shoe, so some feel it makes their feet stronger, which improves their performance. Shoes also add weight to your feet, so running barefoot could improve your speed.

Some barefoot runners say they have fewer injuries when running shoe-less. Sneakers can cause blisters, calluses, and toe numbness, so some runners do it because it's more comfortable.

Want to know some other reasons why people run barefoot? Then

Also, when you wear sneakers, you are depriving yourself of a very important aspect of running - feedback. The ability to know you are landing too hard, or on the wrong spot of your foot, is essential in learning to run gently, smoothly, efficiently, and without the risk of injury. Wearing sneakers makes your foot blind to those sensations.

Another great thing about running without sneaks is a greater sense of awareness. You pay more attention to your surroundings, especially to the ground below. You've got to be super focused so you don't step on a piece of glass or small pebble. You also become more aware of your form - being accurate with each stride and careful not to drag your toes.

Well, it's something to think about. Have any of you ever tried barefoot running? I'd love to hear about your experiences.

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