Running debate over going barefoot?

That podiatrist is a damn fool, like most of them. I wonder how he supposes children survived to adulthood before the advents of of podiatry and "appropriate" shoes?

The only reason there is so much resistance to this is because there would be a f***load of podiatirists and shoe company executives out of jobs if the public understood that barefoot ambulation is far superior to any crap you can put over your feet.

+1 to marijuologist

I recently became aware of another reason to run barefoot. It appears that muscular fatigue is caused in large part due to heat buildup, and that the body has an important cooling mechanism whereby heat escapes through the hands and feet, where large numbers of blood vessels are embedded. It has been shown that performance on muscular endurance tests is dramatically improved by wearing special gloves which chill the hands during exercise. Thus, it would be fair to hypothesize that wearing shoes might impair performance by disrupting heat release from the feet.

Also according to your logic, the many elite runners who wear gloves in addition to singlets/short/spikes during late fall and early spring competitions would have less muscle fatigue without the gloves.... I don't doubt the validity of the study you quote, although it does sounds a bit peculiar, but don't you think that you should at least qualify, if not rethink, your statement? Your "hypothesis" makes sense assuming a temperature in excess of the optimal temperature for exercise, but fails to take into account the all but infinite variables that exist in distance running. Even assuming your "hypothesis" (and I use scare quotes because a hypothesis is usually based on scientifically proven suppositions), your statement fails to take into account that the benefits of footwear during competitions or workouts (which have to be what you are REFERring to since you use the word "performance", which is typically not associated with easy training runs) probably outweigh the supposed drawback of inhibiting heat release in the feet.

I'm not replying to your post in an attempt to disprove the benefits of barefoot running- I think a certain amount of barefoot running enhances stabilizing muscles and improves running form and economy- but rather to suggest that you are vastly overextending the implications from your alleged "study."

No becasue their bodies don't need to release heat, they are already cold. I believe that he is talking about hot days...you still wear shoes on hot days, maybe more shoes should be like the lanangs and vent pluses

Runnin barefeet never did me no bad. Course us hillbillies never made it passed 40 year old so cant tell longterms Then agin we aint got those fancy hard roads to run on

as i do about 80-90% of my running barefoot i would like to join the thread right now, but i have to go and pick up my kids so i can't.

I'll look for the thread tomorrow, or tonight, if i manage to give some applied anecdotal info.

Very briefly i would say this:

different contexts and alternative choices, still greatly benefit from the use of primordial common sense.

...gotta use your smarts... (if you say it with a bah-ston accent, it sounds great...)

marijuologist wrote:

I recently became aware of another reason to run barefoot. It appears that muscular fatigue is caused in large part due to heat buildup, and that the body has an important cooling mechanism whereby heat escapes through the hands and feet, where large numbers of blood vessels are embedded. It has been shown that performance on muscular endurance tests is dramatically improved by wearing special gloves which chill the hands during exercise. Thus, it would be fair to hypothesize that wearing shoes might impair performance by disrupting heat release from the feet.

That's very true, I have noticed that when running barefoot on grass on hot days I can maintain the same pace as on cooler days. Hands and feet radiate a lot of heat.

running barefoot is great if you have perfect feet, but not everyone is so lucky. for example, if you overpronate, you need specific stability which you can only get from good shoes. running miles without that is just asking for trouble.

I overpronate on my left foot. Barefoot is no problem for me.

Why do overpronaters need specific stability shoes?

My school has an awesome football turf that is perfect for running barefoot. I pretty much only run barefoot for my strides though.

i am increasingly inclined to believe that my gait has greatly improved as a result of barefoot running. I had very low arches. And i don't anymore.My feet were anything but perfect 5 years ago when i started.The results are there. It takes patience and a rearranging of priorities to get them.

yeah but wrote:

running barefoot is great if you have perfect feet, but not everyone is so lucky. for example, if you overpronate, you need specific stability which you can only get from good shoes. running miles without that is just asking for trouble.

yeah until you end up with a stress fracture due to trying. so instead of running around barefoot, you could just wear shoes.

yeah but wrote:

running barefoot is great if you have perfect feet, but not everyone is so lucky. for example, if you overpronate, you need specific stability which you can only get from good shoes. running miles without that is just asking for trouble.

That's bullshit. The shoe might 'support' the foot, but what supports the shoe? Oh yeah... the ground. All antipronation shoes do is provide a slightly less squishy bit for the foot to roll against. It still doesn't even reduce pronation, it just messes up with your natural sensation and makes you feel more protected.

The heels in shoes cause heel striking which actually puts more stress on your shins and joints. Nice try though.

wondering... wrote:

+1 to marijuologist

What is is "+1" "-1" stuff that's suddenly appearing on every web forum? I know what it means, but where and when did it originate? Who is responsible for the most recent annoying Internet expression?

-1 for whoever popularized it.

I have a feeling that this new found wisdom about barefoot running has not resulted in too many new world records. If it was such a revolutionary idea, I doubt the Kenyans would adopt the practice of running in shoes while they have nice dirt roads to run on. Most the ones I see have shoes on. I do like running speed workouts in lighter shoes etc, but I have to think that all the buzz over the past couple of years is just another distraction.

Don't think so.

It's just that an old wisdom has finally emerged with some scientific backing and some common-sensical applications.

Breaking world records is an activity reserved for a very small segment of the general population.

Most people are trying to improve, feel good, understand what they are doing and why.

Very unlikely that I will break a world record. Still, i am not going to quit running. Nor am i going to quit running barefoot.

As far as the Kenyans are concerned (like other athletically talented indigenous populations,) you may find that many have grown up mostly barefoot. That's true for a number of athletes i have talked to who said they lived barefoot till about 18.

So now it really doesn't matter what they put on their feet. They're so strong it probably doesn't affect them either way. I would guess Gebre and Bekele could still fly wearing army boots.

The big question for Bekele would be if he might have won by an even bigger margin by taking the other shoe off rather than putting back the one he lost. But, who knows, there maybe contracts to be respected... Or maybe he really loves his racers.

in any case: Strong feet = Strong running.

And wearing shoes for protetion makes just as much sense as developing trails and terrain that would be ideal for barefoot running (naturally grass and sand are great.)

Maybe somebody should start thinking about doing it.

I definitely wish there were more places conducive to running barefoot..or just soft surfaces in general with or without shoes. I live on a golf course, but still don't run barefoot for fear of glass, sticks, whatever might be there. I wear shoes for protection. I don't believe that the major force production is inhibited by the shoe, the muscles in the ankle region and the Achilles are primarily responsible. The Kenyans and Ethiopians etc have tried it both ways and I would imagine they have chosen what they feel works best. If they were to run around without shoes, they would probably be slower due to the time they would not be able to train due to the injuries from the debris. It feels good to run on soft surfaces without shoes, but I don't expect it will result in great breakthroughs in my running like perhaps hill training or long runs or tempos.

Also, people were wearing shoes long before Nike came into the picture so I don't think the conspiracy theories of Let's runs "cannibus" poster are valid (that kid ain't the sharpest tool in the shed).