One of the things most people are worried about when thinking about barefoot running is, "What if I step on broken glass and get cuts?" While there is certainly the possibility of stepping on broken glass when barefoot running, it happens much less often that you would think. In fact, I have now covered over 500 miles while running barefoot across America, and during that time (including the months of training I did beforehand) I have stepped on,...more
Beginning running barefoot will probably create some structural changes in your feet, especially if you have been wearing shoes exclusively for many years. Prior to barefoot running, I was someone who wore shoes most of my life, and for the past 18 years had been wearing tightly laced running shoes during my intensive running career. This meant that my foot had to go though many (sometimes painful) structural changes as I began training for...more
While I would not say that barefoot running could yet be called "all the rage" (most people still gawk at someone running barefoot, and if there's one barefoot runner per race or marathon it's amazing) - but it is getting a growing following of enthusiasts who are dedicated to shedding their shoes.But why? What reasons could there be for going out barefoot running on your nice, soft, tender feet and risking glass, nails and even gravelly driveways (oh my) when you could be wearing a new pair of comfy, padded running shoes?As it turns out, plenty of reasons. Here are my top seven reasons for running barefoot:Reason #1 For Barefoot Running: Stronger feet.When you wear shoes, your feet are "supported" - and that means they don't have to support themselves. Weaker feet means they are more likely to get injured, just like the rest of your body would be more prone to injury if you didn't use the muscles there, which bring me to my next reason for running barefoot.Reason #2 For Barefoot Running: Fewer injuries.Barefoot running was once thought to be a certain cause of injury (and most people still think it is). However, since padded running shoes began to be used widely in the 1970's,...more
When I started barefoot running, I got it all: blood blisters, broken glass in my foot, swollen forefoot...there are a lot of hazards to beginning barefoot running, and I stumbled onto practially all of them. It's not as though you are learning scrap-booking; you are bound to encounter some hazards. However, barefoot running need not be all that...more
A Guide to Choosing the Best Running Shoes For Distance Running We are grateful to a whole set of people from various phase of our life who have provided significant help, support as well as resources that led to the compilation of the first edition of this book. Our parents have been instrumental in their commitment towards us and...more
One of the biggest questions that barefoot runners get asked all the time is how did they make the transition from wearing shoes to doing completely barefoot running?Fortunately the answer is very simple. They started out slow with barefoot running, but they also used some special barefoot running foot-gear that I am going to reveal in a moment. It is suggested that you read this article carefully if you are considering barefoot running - so that you don't end up injured. You see, running barefoot is a very challenging for the first two, two and half months...the reason for this is very simple: most of us haven't spent a lot of time going barefoot. Growing up, a lot of people did notspend a lot of time going barefoot - their feet were in shoes. Most people are used to in shoes with a lot of cushioning. Number one; when you use shoes for running; all the nerve endings in the bottoms of the feet are under-stimulated, all the muscles in the feet were under-developed, the toes are all cramped together, there is no space in between them whatsoever - people who switch from shoe running to barefoot rumming have very little control over all those muscles when they started barefoot...more
Barefoot Running downhill requires an intentional shift in your center of gravity in order to avoid hurting your feet and legs, as well as avoid slowing down substantially. The problem is that when you running in shoes, you keep the same stance when...more
As you may imagine, the barefoot running stride is very different than the shoe-running stride, at least if you are doing it properly. If you don't change your barefoot running stride, you will end up with bad blisters, heel contusions and all sorts...more
If you would like to start barefoot running, but have always run in shoes, then there are several types of "minimalist" shoes that you can get to ease the transition from running with shoes to complete barefoot running. When looking for a transition...more
How many miles should you start with when you are just starting to go out barefoot running? That is a very good question and the answer, actually is "not miles; but minutes." You see, when you start out barefoot running, unless you are from the...more
You may have already started barefoot running; or maybe you are just considering barefoot running but haven't started yet. One question that comes up often is, "how will I know if I am damaging my feet with barefoot running?"This is a good question....more
The good news is, most of the blisters you get with shoes will not happen when you are barefoot running. The reason for this is, most shoe-running blisters occur where the shoe is rubbing on your foot, and that simply can't happen with barefoot...more