Barefoot running, it’s good for you

There’s been some buzz building recently about the benefits of running barefoot. The Tarahumara indians of the Copper Canyon in Mexico essentially run barefoot and they can and do run for very long distances on a regular basis and they have very few running related injuries.

Based on the Tarahumara and some other research, there are a lot of people that seem to agree that barefoot is the way to go. This being America and all, you can’t just run barefoot on the asphalt so companies are making shoes that mimic running barefoot.

Over on Wired Magazine, of all places, they had an interesting write up on the phenomenom of running barefoot. They also have some nice tips about how to build up your barefoot running endurance. Here’s a few of them:

• Start slow, with quarter-mile runs at most, and build up very gradually.
• Listen to your feet. Don’t try to run with the same gait you use in shoes — shorten your steps and land on the forward part of your foot.
• Keep your head up and your body vertical. Your feet should be hitting the ground almost directly underneath you, not in front of you.
• Ankle and calf strength is key to avoiding injury, so consider Ferber’s four-week barefoot strengthening program before you start (.doc).
• Keep barefoot running to no more than 10 percent of your weekly regimen, especially at first.
• If you’re running completely barefoot, run on a mix of soft and hard surfaces to give your feet time to toughen up.

Here’s a link to the video from that site that explains the benefits of barefoot running:

Last year, I tried modifying my gate to match more of a barefoot style, but my shoes are too big and bulky to do that efficiently.  Maybe I’ll give the whole thing another try this year. Those shoes do look cool though.

Related posts: