Elites and barefoot running

Anyone I've ever seen wearing VFF's is an out of shape 40 year old looking for a shortcut.

gebr sells asses wrote:

But if humans were "born to run" barefoot (or in Vibram five fingers), why aren't the fast humans these days who were born to run winning races barefoot? Why do East Africans don running shoes in the first place?

Shoe contracts.

eddie grant wrote:

gebr sells asses wrote:

But if humans were "born to run" barefoot (or in Vibram five fingers), why aren't the fast humans these days who were born to run winning races barefoot? Why do East Africans don running shoes in the first place?

Shoe contracts.

The kenyans at my d2 college started wearing shoes to run in, when they came to the US and could afford them. They don't have shoe contracts.

ran at the baby race wrote:

eddie grant wrote:

Shoe contracts.

The kenyans at my d2 college started wearing shoes to run in, when they came to the US and could afford them. They don't have shoe contracts.

Why do some talented singers smoke?

Seriously, that is a dumb question. While I made a faulty analogy, the whole idea of Kenyans automatically knowing what's best is just ridiculous. They wear shoes because shoes are comfortable and protect your feet. They're not thinking about how it affects the muscle strength in their feet.

So are you saying if throw Sammy Wanjiru into a race sans shoes (after some transitioning off the evil shoes), he stands a better chance of running with fewer injuries?

ran at the baby race wrote:

The kenyans at my d2 college started wearing shoes to run in, when they came to the US and could afford them. They don't have shoe contracts.

Sure, but I'd argue social conformity and the diverse and unpredictable running surfaces of the US contribute greatly to africans lacing up.

In talking candidly/privately with one very good Eastern African 1500 runner who would later become a world champion, on his preference for wearing shoes, he said the following (paraphrasing):

It's mostly contract obligations, and also a bit of inconsistent surfaces that can injur you here (UK) without shoes, and a bit of indifference now. I don't think shoes bother me now, and that they don't factor in w/ training. But if I had good dirt roads and nobody looking, I would rather run barefoot.

He also felt that running barefoot as a child helped significantly as to help him run with correct form with or without shoes.

ran at the baby race wrote:

The kenyans at my d2 college started wearing shoes to run in, when they came to the US and could afford them. They don't have shoe contracts.

The thread is about "elites". D2 Kenyans do not qualify.

Barefoot: the way it should be done

http://running.competitor.com/2010/12/photos/2010-rock-n-roll-las-vegas-race-gallery_18528/attachment/lv_raceday13

a running site wrote:

Barefoot: the way it should be done

http://running.competitor.com/2010/12/photos/2010-rock-n-roll-las-vegas-race-gallery_18528/attachment/lv_raceday13

Results for the event have that bib in the 1/2 at a time of 1:37:47, age 43

I would probably run that slow too, without shoes...

The problem with the barefooters is that they focus on one aspect of what it means to run naturally. The elite Africans are natural runners because they have spent their whole lives developing their natural ability to run. Barefoot or shod, that's not the issue.

http://thelogicoflongdistance.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-does-it-mean-to-run-naturally.html

natural =/= barefoot wrote:

The elite Africans are natural runners because they have spent their whole lives developing their natural ability to run. Barefoot or shod, that's not the issue.

^ This. McDougall's argument is that African's have already developed the muscles in their feet that strengthen them from injury before ever putting on the shoes. Those of us who never had to run barefoot to school have always trained in shoes, thereby weakening those muscles and leading to injuries.

And FWIW, his argument of "Born to Run" is not "Born to run FAST." In the chapter where he covers the evolution of this concept, the two (or three) doctors that he references discover that mankind is made to run far, not necessarily fast. I wonder if we would be able to train hard fast miles in Vibram's or barfoot...but suspect not. Build you aerobic base barefoot, then put on shoes and get speedy.

yeah, the barefoot crazy should be about spent, so anyone have any insight into what the next big running fad will be?

gebr sells asses wrote:

But if humans were "born to run" barefoot (or in Vibram five fingers), why aren't the fast humans these days who were born to run winning races barefoot?

The barefoot running movement is not about running faster. The idea that it makes people faster is used to sell it to the public, but at its core it is not about racing or beating people. It's about being healthy. This is understandingly a hard thing to understand for letsrun users.

Well I run to compete.

I want to run far and fast.

On the NYT blog, there is a video of McDougal saying that running barefoot is a natural means of keeping yourself from overtraining b/c after 6 or so miles you just need to stop.

Well, I look at shoes as a way to protect my feet so that I do not need to stop.

Actually it's more about being on the "cutting edge" of a fad. I've seen people who have a sever case of smug talking like an expert to someone just because they're wearing VFF's. I see it on the indoor track I run on during the winter. Some guy comes up puts on these abominations and jogs a mile then enjoys his aura of superiority. I just laugh that he wastes money on a slipper, when he could just run barefoot, or in a pair of flats. But because of Born to Run they don't know any better.

The masses are late to the party anyway, people have been going minimal for years for the same benefit. Using this incredible technological innovation called flats.

swingline wrote:

yeah, the barefoot crazy should be about spent, so anyone have any insight into what the next big running fad will be?

zen running. paleo-diet. all-natural apparel (synthetics are unnatural and interfere with our body's ability to [generic bodily function]). saunas as cross training. "MEAT" over "RICE." eschewing medical treatment of injuries as "unnatural."

Put up wrote:

ran at the baby race wrote:

The kenyans at my d2 college started wearing shoes to run in, when they came to the US and could afford them. They don't have shoe contracts.

The thread is about "elites". D2 Kenyans do not qualify.

They guy I'm talking ran 3:48 last year for 1500. He will eventually be elite. (we hope)

There are three completely separate, but related, topics to address here and not just one. One is proper running form, second is minimalist (or barefoot) footwear, and third is what it takes biomechanically to be "elite". You really need proper running form to run with minimal footwear without getting hurt. Traditional footwear is designed to correct or compensate for inherent gait deficiencies. You can use minimal footwear as a proprioceptive tool to help learn better form (note: putting on minimalist shoes doesn't improve your form). You don't HAVE to run in minimalist shoes to run with proper form. You don't have to have proper form to be elite. Many of them have terrible form, but have other gifts that enable them to run fast anyways.

The better your form gets, the less you are prone to injury, the more you can run, the faster you get from consistent training, and ultimately you can get away with more minimal footwear.

Fap Fap Fap wrote:

Well I run to compete.

I want to run far and fast.

...

Well, I look at shoes as a way to protect my feet so that I do not need to stop.

well, not until you need a hip replacement, knee replacement, or you're just in so much pain that running is no longer enjoyable any more. That's when you'll stop. If you're really lucky, you might win a local race or two before then.