garlic08
01-24-2010, 18:15
I just saw this article in today's paper:
Jury still out on whether barefoot running trend is beneficial
by Mary Beth Faller - Jan. 24, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
Running barefoot is as old as humanity. We ran barefoot for thousands of years before shoes were invented.
But barefoot running has become more popular lately, due mainly to Christopher McDougall's best-selling book "Born to Run," which describes the barefoot-running Tarahumara tribe of Mexico and its mystical ultra-marathoning lifestyle.
Though there weren't throngs of barefoot runners at last week's P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon and 1/2 Marathon, more people are interested in barefoot coaching seminars and "barefoot"-like footwear (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/#).
The trend can also be tied to a backlash against running-shoe companies (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/#) that pile on ever-increasing and costly amounts of padding and gel while pulling favorite models off the market to encourage stockpiling.
"One thing that annoyed me about running shoes is that they kept changing," said Andrew Holtum of Phoenix, who runs barefoot. "I'd be disappointed when I'd find a shoe I liked, and by the third iteration it would be something different."
Advocates say that running shoeless produces a more efficient gait, reduced impact and fewer injuries.
Patty Egan, a physical-education teacher and head cross-country coach at Cactus Shadows High School in Cave Creek, has her runners go barefoot. "About twice a week, we have our cross-country kids finish their workout at the football field - the only nice grass to be found - to run 200 to 1,000 meters of barefoot running," she said. "When the foot spends most of the day in a restrictive shoe, the small muscles (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/#), tendons and ligaments can weaken from lack of use. Getting out and running barefoot, when introduced in a progressive manner, can give the runner a chance to build the strength back up."
For others, bare feet are more about freeing the spirit. The guru of the movement, Ted McDonald, known and revered as Barefoot Ted, was featured prominently in "Born to Run," although he has been sharing his passion for au naturel running for years.
"We were not born broken," he said. "So many people have been led to believe that their feet are broken appendages, and (that) if we could have them removed at birth that would be better, but since we can't, we'll cast them up in shoes and await their demise."
Science lacking
Not everyone agrees, including Lewis Maraham, a New York City physician and medical director (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/#) for the Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon. He sees few barefoot runners at the Rock 'n' Roll races.
"You can run barefoot if, from the moment you were born, you never wore shoes," Maraham said. "Running barefoot isn't going to relieve (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/#) what your parents gave you."
Most people have biomechanical issues to their gait that need to be corrected before they cause overuse injuries, he said. "People need shoes for structure."
American running icon Frank Shorter, who won the 1972 Olympic marathon gold medal, said: "Everyone who's ever looked at my feet has said, 'How do you run?' I was born with very bad feet. I run with shoes."
"Born to Run" author McDougall talked to several experts on biomechanics before concluding that "running shoes may be the most destructive force to ever hit the human foot."
But there's not enough science to prove - or disprove - that. Podiatric groups haven't taken a stand on barefoot running because evidence is lacking, thus there are no definitive conclusions.
David Jenkins, a professor in the podiatric medicine program at Midwestern University in Glendale, recently reviewed dozens of studies.
"Advocates say that barefoot runners have less injuries, but we haven't been able to prove that yet," he said. "My gut feeling is that some of the perceived benefits are real, but I can't say for sure."
Removing shoes would give a runner a shorter, quicker stride, Jenkins said. "There might be less impact but that impact would have to go somewhere, maybe into the muscles and joints instead of the heel."
The most important factor for those who want to try running barefoot is to work up to it gradually, he said.
David Cauthon, one of Jenkins' students at Midwestern, worked on the review of studies and started running barefoot last May, after finishing the Boston Marathon. "I would go out for a 3- or 4-mile run, and at the end I would take off my shoes and do half a mile," he said. Other than some blisters (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/#), he was injury free. "I had read a lot about how you automatically change your gait to shorten your stride and reduce your impact, and I was still surprised at how quickly that occurred - in the first 50 meters. Your body seems to know what you're trying to do."
A glove for the foot
Jenkins would like to survey runners to see how many run barefoot and why. "That might steer us toward ideas for actual research."
Rather than going barefoot, some runners choose the next closest thing - wearing form-fitted socklike coverings that protect the skin but provide no support. One of the most popular is the Vibram FiveFingers.
Phoenix-based Runner's Den manager Ron French said he has fielded dozens of customer requests for the FiveFingers over the past few months, and the product is so popular that Vibram can't fill orders until March.
"It's created a buzz in the running community, and I think it's a good training tool for people to do foot drills on grass," he said.
As someone who has been in the running business a long time, French has seen the FiveFingers fall prey to the same "cool factor" as other footwear.
"I've already seen people at the mall wearing them."
Barefoot-runner Holtum has taken his footwear into his own hands. He makes running sandals out of utility floor mats from Home Depot, polypropylene rope and duct tape. Each pair, which resembles flip-flops with a heel binding, costs him about $2.
"The design is simple, cheap, consistent and comfortable," said Holtum, 52, an engineer. He can customize the sandals for trails and to compensate for one leg being a bit shorter.
"Running shoes are good at making the foot land exactly the same way each time. It's not about the impact, it's about repetitive motion," he said. "When running with sandals, I'm constantly altering my foot strike to dodge things or compensate for terrain, so every foot strike is a little different than the next."
Holtum said the sandals have helped him to regain the fluid running style of his youth. "It's quiet. There's no weight on your feet."
Barefoot Ted, whose coaching seminars have exploded in popularity since the release last year of "Born to Run," tells his clients to think about why the bottoms of their feet have so many nerve endings. "It's to deal with what's happening with grace and form and strength," he said. "It's a joy to run."
Jury still out on whether barefoot running trend is beneficial
by Mary Beth Faller - Jan. 24, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
Running barefoot is as old as humanity. We ran barefoot for thousands of years before shoes were invented.
But barefoot running has become more popular lately, due mainly to Christopher McDougall's best-selling book "Born to Run," which describes the barefoot-running Tarahumara tribe of Mexico and its mystical ultra-marathoning lifestyle.
Though there weren't throngs of barefoot runners at last week's P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon and 1/2 Marathon, more people are interested in barefoot coaching seminars and "barefoot"-like footwear (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/#).
The trend can also be tied to a backlash against running-shoe companies (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/#) that pile on ever-increasing and costly amounts of padding and gel while pulling favorite models off the market to encourage stockpiling.
"One thing that annoyed me about running shoes is that they kept changing," said Andrew Holtum of Phoenix, who runs barefoot. "I'd be disappointed when I'd find a shoe I liked, and by the third iteration it would be something different."
Advocates say that running shoeless produces a more efficient gait, reduced impact and fewer injuries.
Patty Egan, a physical-education teacher and head cross-country coach at Cactus Shadows High School in Cave Creek, has her runners go barefoot. "About twice a week, we have our cross-country kids finish their workout at the football field - the only nice grass to be found - to run 200 to 1,000 meters of barefoot running," she said. "When the foot spends most of the day in a restrictive shoe, the small muscles (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/#), tendons and ligaments can weaken from lack of use. Getting out and running barefoot, when introduced in a progressive manner, can give the runner a chance to build the strength back up."
For others, bare feet are more about freeing the spirit. The guru of the movement, Ted McDonald, known and revered as Barefoot Ted, was featured prominently in "Born to Run," although he has been sharing his passion for au naturel running for years.
"We were not born broken," he said. "So many people have been led to believe that their feet are broken appendages, and (that) if we could have them removed at birth that would be better, but since we can't, we'll cast them up in shoes and await their demise."
Science lacking
Not everyone agrees, including Lewis Maraham, a New York City physician and medical director (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/#) for the Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon. He sees few barefoot runners at the Rock 'n' Roll races.
"You can run barefoot if, from the moment you were born, you never wore shoes," Maraham said. "Running barefoot isn't going to relieve (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/#) what your parents gave you."
Most people have biomechanical issues to their gait that need to be corrected before they cause overuse injuries, he said. "People need shoes for structure."
American running icon Frank Shorter, who won the 1972 Olympic marathon gold medal, said: "Everyone who's ever looked at my feet has said, 'How do you run?' I was born with very bad feet. I run with shoes."
"Born to Run" author McDougall talked to several experts on biomechanics before concluding that "running shoes may be the most destructive force to ever hit the human foot."
But there's not enough science to prove - or disprove - that. Podiatric groups haven't taken a stand on barefoot running because evidence is lacking, thus there are no definitive conclusions.
David Jenkins, a professor in the podiatric medicine program at Midwestern University in Glendale, recently reviewed dozens of studies.
"Advocates say that barefoot runners have less injuries, but we haven't been able to prove that yet," he said. "My gut feeling is that some of the perceived benefits are real, but I can't say for sure."
Removing shoes would give a runner a shorter, quicker stride, Jenkins said. "There might be less impact but that impact would have to go somewhere, maybe into the muscles and joints instead of the heel."
The most important factor for those who want to try running barefoot is to work up to it gradually, he said.
David Cauthon, one of Jenkins' students at Midwestern, worked on the review of studies and started running barefoot last May, after finishing the Boston Marathon. "I would go out for a 3- or 4-mile run, and at the end I would take off my shoes and do half a mile," he said. Other than some blisters (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/#), he was injury free. "I had read a lot about how you automatically change your gait to shorten your stride and reduce your impact, and I was still surprised at how quickly that occurred - in the first 50 meters. Your body seems to know what you're trying to do."
A glove for the foot
Jenkins would like to survey runners to see how many run barefoot and why. "That might steer us toward ideas for actual research."
Rather than going barefoot, some runners choose the next closest thing - wearing form-fitted socklike coverings that protect the skin but provide no support. One of the most popular is the Vibram FiveFingers.
Phoenix-based Runner's Den manager Ron French said he has fielded dozens of customer requests for the FiveFingers over the past few months, and the product is so popular that Vibram can't fill orders until March.
"It's created a buzz in the running community, and I think it's a good training tool for people to do foot drills on grass," he said.
As someone who has been in the running business a long time, French has seen the FiveFingers fall prey to the same "cool factor" as other footwear.
"I've already seen people at the mall wearing them."
Barefoot-runner Holtum has taken his footwear into his own hands. He makes running sandals out of utility floor mats from Home Depot, polypropylene rope and duct tape. Each pair, which resembles flip-flops with a heel binding, costs him about $2.
"The design is simple, cheap, consistent and comfortable," said Holtum, 52, an engineer. He can customize the sandals for trails and to compensate for one leg being a bit shorter.
"Running shoes are good at making the foot land exactly the same way each time. It's not about the impact, it's about repetitive motion," he said. "When running with sandals, I'm constantly altering my foot strike to dodge things or compensate for terrain, so every foot strike is a little different than the next."
Holtum said the sandals have helped him to regain the fluid running style of his youth. "It's quiet. There's no weight on your feet."
Barefoot Ted, whose coaching seminars have exploded in popularity since the release last year of "Born to Run," tells his clients to think about why the bottoms of their feet have so many nerve endings. "It's to deal with what's happening with grace and form and strength," he said. "It's a joy to run."