Is Barefoot Running Better?
photo by 802
The first time I heard about barefoot running, I wondered what type of crazy person would trade running shoes for roughed-up heels. It wasn’t just vanity talking (though, OK, my desire for soft, smooth heels did play a role in my skepticism). It was my concern for the general well-being of these runners—especially the city folk.
Bare feet + concrete + shards of glass + a hypodermic needle here and there does not = safe running. Still, over the past year or so I’ve read a lot of firsthand stories saying barefoot running is to exercise what eating locally is to nutrition. Or something like that.
Well, today a study was published that says, “Not so fast. Running sans shoes may be better after all.” In today’s issue of the journal Nature, Harvard researchers who studied runners’ gaits report that 75 percent of people who run in shoes land on their heels first. People who run barefoot strike the ground with the balls of their feet first, which generates less force on impact. According to the researchers, all of this is important because more than 30 percent of runners are injured every year—and those injuries arise thanks to problems in the foot or lower leg.
Why Shoes?
Running shoes are a relatively new phenomenon. In early B.N. (that’s Before Nike to you), people ran barefoot, in sandals, or—more recently—in thin sneakers with little support or cushioning. It wasn’t until the ’70s that manufacturers started making shoes specifically for running—bells, whistles, and doodads (hello, iPod sensor) included. Today’s running shoes have wide heels that are cushioned to absorb some of the force created by smacking a hard surface while running. A lot of shoes come with arch support to prevent overpronation, the rolling in of the foot due to to low arches. Because running shoes are designed with such a high heel, they make it easier to strike the ground heel first, also called heel-to-toe. The study’s authors say people who run in shoes (and strike with the heel first) often switch to a forefoot-first running style when jogging barefoot in a lab.
photo by matthetube
You, too, could have feet this ladylike.
A Case for Bare Feet
I’ve always known that running is a high-impact activity. But this study shows that running with shoes creates more impact than running barefoot does. Doesn’t make sense, right? Here’s how it works: The amount of force generated by your foot striking the ground differs based on gate. When you strike the ground heel first, you generate an impact that’s 1.5 to three times your body weight. Yikes. The researchers say that’s like having someone hammer your heel with 1.5 to three times your body weight. Oh, and don’t forget: That’s for one step. You hit the ground thousands of times during a run. Even with cushioned running shoes, the impact is only reduced by 10 percent.
Striking the ground with your forefoot first results in forces that are about seven times lower than forces created by heel strikers.
A Case for Shoes
Um, the pebbles, glass, gum, and who knows what else litters the streets. Even if you live in a rural area and can run through an open field footloose and fancy free, you’ll still have to watch your steps. Oh, and it doesn’t sound so fun in the winter. With snow. Or ice. I should probably mention again: calluses. And rough feet that aren’t adorable in summery sandals. Just a warning.
Aside from all that, it can be hard to change the way you run overnight. The researchers say doing so may put you at increased risk for Achilles tendinitis, an injury you really don’t want. (Trust me. Been there, done that.)
What’s it All Mean?
I duno, I’m just the reporter. All right, all right. The scientists say more research is needed to figure out whether barefoot runners really do have fewer injuries than their well-shod friends. From their mouth Web site to you: “We emphasize though, that no study has shown that heel striking contributes more to injury than forefoot striking.”
The Not Superhuman Take
Eh. I might—a big fat might—get all interested in this if I weren’t nursing two bad knees, but going barefoot right now doesn’t seem smart. Plus, the idea that barefoot running allows for natural overpronation makes me nervous. That’s exactly what I don’t want to happen, because when my feet roll inward, my knees follow. (Other really bad things, like cartilage being scratched off the back of my kneecap, happen too.) Plus, the study didn’t look at knee pain. Which makes me say, “Heck no!” I do think it’s an interesting concept and I hope more studies are done to figure out the possible benefits of barefoot running and its relation to running injuries.
Wanna Try?
So you want to run barefoot? The researchers gave some awesome tips for getting started if you’re used to running in shoes. Tip No. 1: Go slow. Overdoing it is going to cause you mucho pain. Here are some other things to keep in mind.
- Start with modified shoes. Pick a running shoe that doesn’t have a high heel, which forces you to strike heel first. And look for a pair that have a flexible sole and no arch support. You should be able to bend ’em like Gumby. A shoe like this will allow the muscles of your feet to function the way they’re supposed to, say the researchers.
- First run on a smooth surface, like a tennis court or track. It’ll help you get acclimated without hurting your still-sensitive feet too much.
- Give yourself time to get use to it. At first, your foot muscles may be tired. That’s to be expected.
- Wear protection. If you’ll be running around a city or another road that’s not perfectly smooth, try wearing thin shoes called Five Fingers. You’ll look absurd and silly, but you won’t puncture your heel with a broken Bud Lite.
The researchers also gave some great tips on barefoot running form. Check them out at their comprehensive barefoot running site. (This site is also a great resource.) The researchers’ site also has some pretty cool videos that show how African children who have never worn shoes naturally run.
Have you ever tried barefoot running? Will you ever?
15 comments
I blogged about this previously when I read about it in the New York Times with the intentions of trying it. That was a couple months ago and I still have yet to try it! I’m afraid of hitting glass, but the man in the NY Times story ran in Central Park and said it was fine!
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Tracey Reply:
January 28th, 2010 at 8:39 pm
FoodFitnessFreshair: I read that New York Times article, too. I remember him writing that he adapted fairly easy to it. Let me know how it goes if you do give it a try!
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Hi Tracey, nice blog you got going. I can actually say that we grew up running barefoot… Don’t laugh, but today it is much harder to walk without shoes.
It is nice meeting mew people on twitter, I just love the internet.
Will visit more often to read up on your posts, keep it up.
Alexandri Flor
Your nr 1weight loss coach
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Tracey Reply:
January 28th, 2010 at 8:41 pm
Alexandri, I agree: I think it’s great that it’s so easy to meet so many people from all over. Thanks for stopping by and for your kind words!
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A few months ago I read Born to Run, which is a pretty fantastic book and I think it’s a fun read even if you don’t run, but it made me really want to try barefoot running. The author really sold me on it. But I run through trash and debris strewn Philly so it’s not something I’m going to put into practice.
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Tracey Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 12:50 am
Joy: Yeah, barefooting it on the streets of Philadelphia may land you tetanus.
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Not unless I’m on the beach!
New to your blog — love it! : ) I want to be a writer sooooo badly!!
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Tracey Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 10:54 am
Nicole, beach running is probably the best barefoot running–soft with lots of resistance from the sand. Thanks for stopping by the blog!
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I have been hearing about this for a while now. I can make a case (like you) both ways. But to be honest, I don’t see myself giving up my shoes anytime soon!
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I can’t imagine running barefoot unless I was at the beach! Way too hard on my feet and scary to think what I might step on!
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I am not so sure how crazy about running barefoot… maybe on the beach but no where in my neighborhood.. They are still building and god only knows whats on the ground… Great post though!
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Tracey Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 1:21 pm
Gelareh, that reminds me of my neighborhood. Lots of dogs. Hmm, I’m not sure I’d want to run barefoot in their bathroom.
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I love barefoot running when playing catch w/ my niece and nephews in the back yard….but other than that? Um….not so much. But then again…I’m not so much a fan of running with shoes either! HA!
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What does all this mean? It means that the last generation or two, those who grew up in our shoe-obsessed society from 1980s till today, appear to not know about the relatively recent past, or even how a particular part of their bodies works.
1) Kids went barefoot all summer long in most places in the US, during the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, regardless of poverty level. They knew that gradually taking longer barefoot walks in the spring made their feet tough enough to be able to go barefoot on the sharpest objects and hottest pavement. It was no big deal, and most kids could not wait for school to end so they could spend an entire summer barefoot. And that often included going into stores and most everywhere else. It was the opposite peer pressure than it is today. Those kids who were not tough enough to go barefoot and always wore shoes were looked at as odd, and wimpy. Today’s shallow-valued peer pressure is all about showing off your expensive sneakers. Which in reality, make your feet weaker, and prevent proper development.
2) Though it was not socially appropriate for adults to go barefoot in general, most had fond childhood memories of doing so. But during the late 1960s, a segment of the young adult population began to go barefoot, the hippies. Because of their perceived lack of patriotism by being against the Vietnam war, combined with their unusual and radical for the time, way of dressing and hairstyles, many establishments did not want them coming in, and the ‘no bare feet’ and ’shirts and shoes required’ sign was born, to hopefully keep hippies out without actually admitting to discrimination. (There are no actual laws regarding this.)
3) By the early 1970s, all this hit the mainstream population of young people, and many ordinary and well-to-do young people in their teens and twenties were going barefoot everywhere. It was quite the fad during the early 1970s, all over college campuses and in most places in the “US, and that includes New York City. Please read the New York Times article from Sept 1, 1970, entitled “Shoelessness on the Rise” , describing how it was not all that uncommon to see young women walking barefoot downtown and shopping in expensive stores, and to see barefoot couples waiting in line at broadway theaters. And that was the dangerous, dirty NY, not the ‘clean’, ‘disneyfied’ NY of today. And the world did not end, the sky did not fall.
So you can run barefoot as well. It’s like lifting heavy weights – you gradually get used to it, do not over do it at first, and before you know it, you can lift twice as much as you could without hurting yourself. And as far as dirt and germs are concerned? Soap and water works well. What you touch with your hands on a daily basis is amazing – door knobs, money, any surface other touched. You wash your hands and move on. Same with going barefoot. Don’t put closed shoes on until you have washed your feet thoroughly. Same as when you work on your car or do gardening and get your hands all dirty.
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Tracey Reply:
February 19th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
CityFun, thanks for that great insight. What a thoughtful response! I appreciate the historical background. And you’re right about the germ part: When you consider what we touch today, the ground is one of the cleaner areas!
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