Barefoot Running.
By peteh on Mar 01, 2010 with Comments 3
Barefoot running appears to be the “in thing” at the moment, for a variety of reasons. I must admit to not having tried it myself on a regular basis, although I have run barefoot very,very occasionally on grass (usually the in field of a track after a workout) I did in fact find it invigorating. Having said that this is the only time I have done it but it does come highly recommended!
I received this email a few months ago and didn’t think anymore of it but as there is a lot of interest at the moment in barefoot running I thought I would share it with you - but don’t throw away your trainers just yet!
“I wanted to make you aware of a new book that I know will be of interest to you and your readers, BORN TO RUN: A HIDDEN TRIBE, SUPERATHLETES, AND THE GREATEST RACE THE WORLD HAS NEVER SEEN, by journalist Christopher McDougall. BORN TO RUN tells the story of the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s Copper Canyons, who centuries ago discovered techniques which allow them to run for hundreds of miles with minimal effort, all the while maintaining nearly perfect health. Chris McDougall stumbled upon a mysterious man named Caballo Blanco, and together they not only uncovered the secrets of the Tarahumara, but also planned and trained for a 50 mile ultramarathon in the Copper Canyon with the Tarahumara and some of America’s best (and weirdest) ultradistance runners. The ultrarunners include Scott Jurek, Barefoot Ted, and Jenn Shelton, all famous in this small, intense world of ultras.
We’ve put together this great video of Chris, take a look:”
Filed Under: Training and Racing
My husband read this book and is now a bare foot runner. In fact he is aiming to complete both Brighton and London marathons bare foot in April. He always had troubles with his back and hips when running and got a few knee injurys too but since going barefoot the only injury he has picked up is the odd swelling on top of his foot from pushing it too hard and a few blisters. He has had to go completely back to basics and re learn how to run without hurting his feet which he has now done and he completed the Brooks 10k and the Brighton Half marathon barefoot in almost the same time as he did when he ran them in shoes. He is trying to convince me to try it but I am not quite as brave as he is
I am sure barefoot running is as nature intended, but really how do you avoid thorns and other things entering your foot? Also what do those of us do who are forced to run in the concrete jungle? You cannot avoid stepping on stones, glass and other nasties…
I would be interested to hear solutions.
There are various shoes on the market which are as close to running barefoot as they come which could be a solution to helping if having to run in concrete jungle.
Have a look at the other article: http://running4womenblog.com/barefoot-running-update/
and also:
http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/products/index.cfm
http://barefootrunningshoes.org/