I'm one of those people who thinks two of the greatest inventions/discoveries since time began is fire and shoes. Fire lead to cooking and hot wonderful food. Enough said. And shoes, well the ground is hard and lots of nasty stuff lying around just waiting to mess you up. This hasn’t stop raw food and barefoot running becoming fashionable and downright popular here in Los Angeles. Raw food is a nonstarter for me with the obvious exceptions of fruits and vegetables. Barefoot running is more intriguing. There may actually be something in it.
Most are not going totally “nude” but are using barefoot shoes. Vibram FiveFingers glove like shoes is the biggest selling brand. They are ultra light - weighing only about five ounces. Remember running affects everything from your toes up to your lower back. You don’t just run with your feet. This so-called kinetic chain is easily damaged if your form is bad. Form is how you run. What part of your foot you land on. How bent your knees are. The question is do you need to change form when switching from shoes to barefoot?
The American Council On Exercise recently looked at this very question. They got a bunch of young women runners and monitored what happened after they switched over to Vibram FiveFingers shoes. Unsurprisingly they found correct form was vital or injuries resulted. You see shod runners land on the heel, barefoot runners should land on the forefoot. If you switch to barefoot running and keep landing on your heels you will injure yourself. Also they found it best to switch over slowly. In fact literally walk before you run and initially for only a fraction of your regular work out.
Personally I don’t see the need to go barefoot unless you’re sustaining a lot of injuries when you run shod. If you’re not getting a lot of injuries leave well enough alone. If you do switch, change your running form even if this means getting help from a trainer. Also of course if you’re diabetic or otherwise have special feet going barefoot is a big NO. Even a minor abrasion on a diabetic foot can lead to nasty problems.
