Dear Barefoot Runners

*slow clap*

agreed wrote:

*slow clap*

Increasing in intensity.

east stands wrote:

agreed wrote:

*slow clap*

Increasing in intensity.

... and add these to the list

4) Quit your desk job and take up an occupation/lifestyle that has you continually on your feet.

5) Donate your car to a charitable organization and always go everywhere on foot.

There are times and places for barefoot/minimal, but it isn't for everyone and even then for most it should only be sometimes.

The thing I really hate about the barefooters is the near religious intensity that they spout off about the right way to do things.

They laugh at people who wear shoes, and think they've discovered the one true way to run. I remember when the Saucony Kinvara came out and Saucony put out a video how they were inspired by natural foot mechanics and barefoot style to craft a neutral, flexible flat, and the barefooters all hooted and hollared about what a joke, and Saucony "just doesn't get it".

A lot of these fat injured guys like it because it takes so long to adapt. Run 1/10 of a mile to start, increase no more than 1/10th of a mile, give your body time to adapt (recover). If you follow some of their plans it takes you 2 years to run a 10 miler, and you'll be running slower than you did in shoes.

I want to go faster, I want to run more mileage, I want to be able to run doubles. I

THIS:

http://antonkrupicka.blogspot.com/

Q: How many miles of barefoot do you run per week?

A: "It varies depending on the season (more in summer, less in winter), but it is pretty standard for me to hit 15-35mpw as true barefoot out of my usual weekly totals of 140-180mpw. All of this is done as barefoot laps around a flat, half-mile grass loop here in Boulder tacked on to the end of my daily runs. Most of my barefoot running is done in the evening as part of my flatter, easier, shorter shake-out run of the day."

Well said, my friend.

I run barefoot in combination with my training in Nike Lunaracers, a very non-restrictive shoe, and have been for about a year now.

Since then, I've run faster, ran twice as much mileage, and I regularly run doubles.

Give it shot before you bash it.

Oh, and it's fun as hell.

Devil's Advocate wrote:

I run barefoot in combination with my training in Nike Lunaracers, a very non-restrictive shoe, and have been for about a year now.

Since then, I've run faster, ran twice as much mileage, and I regularly run doubles.

Give it shot before you bash it.

Oh, and it's fun as hell.

I agree wholeheartedly!

Oh, but by the way, you aren't a "barefooter" ... you are just someone smart enough to know that variety in training leads to improvement. "Shoe guys" don't usually say you should never run barefoot, but "barefooters" are likely to tell you that shoes are bad and you shouldn't use them.

Devil's Advocate wrote:

I run barefoot in combination with my training in Nike Lunaracers, a very non-restrictive shoe, and have been for about a year now.

Since then, I've run faster, ran twice as much mileage, and I regularly run doubles.

Give it shot before you bash it.

Oh, and it's fun as hell.

"True barefooters" would never go back to (or intersperse their training with) traditional shoes like the Lunaracers. Running < 20% of your weekly mileage barefoot on grass/trails has big advantages (nice quote from krupicka, illustrates this perfectly). Trying to run a half marathon on pavement barefoot is just stupid IMHO.

The biggest advantage of the barefoot running fad is it has got people talking about proper mechanics, foot strike, etc. and manufacturers are coming out with some good minimalist, neutral flats.

another shoe guy wrote:

Oh, but by the way, you aren't a "barefooter" ... you are just someone smart enough to know that variety in training leads to improvement. "Shoe guys" don't usually say you should never run barefoot, but "barefooters" are likely to tell you that shoes are bad and you shouldn't use them.

+1

another shoe guy wrote:Oh, but by the way, you aren't a "barefooter" ... you are just someone smart enough to know that variety in training leads to improvement. "Shoe guys" don't usually say you should never run barefoot, but "barefooters" are likely to tell you that shoes are bad and you shouldn't use them.

Well said.

From a surgeon:

http://www.quickswood.com/my_weblog/2006/08/athletic_footwe.html

don't let the facts stop you wrote:From a surgeon:

http://www.quickswood.com/my_weblog/2006/08/athletic_footwe.html

Since when is an essay considered facts?

WOW, THANK you OP. Your incredible wisdom, insight, and logic have truly saved me and others from deciding what is best and thinking for ourselves. What would we do without people who know everything like you?

It would also help if your parents had fed you a low calorie pre-industrial, chemical/hormone-free diet since birth, so you wouldn't be six feet plus tall with size 14 feet. Five feet tall and 90 pounds works wonders for decreasing stress on lower extremity bones and joints, and makes going up those hills a bit easier, too.

shouldn't that be "Deer Bearfoot Runners"?

Barefoot No More wrote:

Saw a middle age guy blah blah...

I love how after 8 years and thousands of miles running barefoot, guys who never set a bare foot on the ground a day in their f*cking life still think they can give me advice about it. stick to your shoes and STFU.

Davis Barefooter wrote:I love how after 8 years and thousands of miles running barefoot, guys who never set a bare foot on the ground a day in their f*cking life still think they can give me advice about it. stick to your shoes and STFU.

I don't think he was talking to you angry Davis, I think he's offering out some advice to those thinking about giving it a try. Why are you so defensive?

Davis Barefooter wrote:

Barefoot No More wrote:

Saw a middle age guy blah blah...

I love how after 8 years and thousands of miles running barefoot, guys who never set a bare foot on the ground a day in their f*cking life still think they can give me advice about it. stick to your shoes and STFU.

ignorance...