New article on barefoot running controversy

obviously our biological survival didn't expect us to manufacture shoes. It's so simple

everyone that runs barefoot also owns a barefoot themed business

wi|fredo wrote:

everyone that runs barefoot also owns a barefoot themed business

I run barefoot and don't own a barefoot themed business.

F*ck the scientists. They are the ones who have pushed the footwear nonsense all along.

What's the 'Barefoot Running Controversy'? Did someone propose a counterargument that humans evolved running in shoes? Now that would be controversial.

Back in the day wrote:

What's the 'Barefoot Running Controversy'? Did someone propose a counterargument that humans evolved running in shoes? Now that would be controversial.

Just a little factoid about, you know, running across an open savanna versus running through the streets (on asphalt and concrete) of our present-day towns.

Because we've totally evolved for running on pavement. Run bare, baby, run bare!

thinksum wrote:

Back in the day wrote:

What's the 'Barefoot Running Controversy'? Did someone propose a counterargument that humans evolved running in shoes? Now that would be controversial.

Just a little factoid about, you know, running across an open savanna versus running through the streets (on asphalt and concrete) of our present-day towns.

Because we've totally evolved for running on pavement. Run bare, baby, run bare!

ALso, I'm not sure, but I don't think the human body evolved in a way that allows for 100 mile weeks or more, without any help.

i'll just say this, if your pr's are down the line better than mine, i'll let you explain a little about why you run barefoot and then agree to disagree...

if they aren't, then just let me run the way i always have...i'm not the 120 guy from mexico or 115 pound african, i'm a slightly built, 160 angelo who relies on a flat foot strike and quads

i just can't take someone slower than me, by pr's, seriously about changing things with my running

Some human bodies were almost certainly doing 100-mile weeks barefoot back in the day. So there.

Fair enough. But it's not all black-and-white. You can do mostly shoes and still maybe lower your PRs with 10%mileage BF a week. Maybe. Or not, I don't give a crap, I was just responding to the OP's lame title.

No one in the US or Europe was running "barefoot" back in the day when the old running boom was taking place. Shoes were being developed to answer the needs of the runners , fast or slow , elite or recreational , shoes kept people running and on the road. Marketing got running shoes overbuilt as shoe companies needed something to market and sell the product with.

The new fad of "barefoot" has its place in the new boom of running. It will loose its luster with time. The new barefoot shoes we are seeing for 2012 are already adding midsole , give it some time its a big circle of evolution.

Hopefully we can get back to more simplistic design , better midsole materials than don't need the height for cushioning allowing a lower profile , better feel on the road and gaining full utilization of the foots purpose in running.

dafastestogre wrote:

i'll just say this, if your pr's are down the line better than mine, i'll let you explain a little about why you run barefoot and then agree to disagree...

i just can't take someone slower than me, by pr's, seriously about changing things with my running

My barefoot (no foot augmentation) pr for the marathon is 3:15. This is not considered a fast time universally but it's pretty fast for an American barefoot runner and almost assuredly faster than you could run a marathon barefoot. In fact, if you were even to attempt that, you would probably end up in the hospital. So yes, I think I'm qualified to say that running barefoot on concrete is possible and even fun, and it's even possible to be somewhat competitive. The fact that I can do it and you can't does make me a superior athlete to you in some sense. That's what competition and sport is about, right?

I challenge anyone here on letsrun to run a marathon barefoot faster than me, and then we can talk shoes. Until then STFU.

That article used a whole lot of words to say absolutely nothing new or useful.

"ALso, I'm not sure, but I don't think the human body evolved in a way that allows for 100 mile weeks or more, without any help."

So you dismiss completely the theory of running down animals to their exhaustion?

You can't just say that because 10,000 years ago some people ran barefoot all day while hunting animals to exhaustion, THEREFORE, any given person living now can duplicate that feat if properly trained.

I don't doubt that SOME people could and can do that, but SOME people could and can do many things that MOST people can't do. I think there still is a question of whether the entire human population ever was or is adapted to running all day barefooted.

In other words, assuming that at some places and times humans have hunted animals by running them until exhausted, there is still a serious question of what - if anything - that actually tells us about a particular person living now in the early 21st century.

lol

I ran a 3:14 while wearing an eye patch so until you beat that you can "STFU"

touch my 72 flat half marathon in any circumstance and we'll talk...until then...i can't hear you