Earlier I talked about the turning point in my view of running. Now, I want to explain exactly what changed and why I now genuinely enjoy going for runs.
Every spring, at the beginning of Track season, I began my research for my next pair of running shoes. Online shopping for running shoes was (and still is) an obsessive habit of mine. It’s unsurprising that eventually in my search I stumbled upon “minimalist shoes.” The idea confused me. If running shoes are meant to support and cushion your foot, why in the world would a shoe be made specifically lacking these qualities? The question gnawed at my mind until I gave in to Google search it.
My search yielded many varying results. Reviews ranged from rave reports about how the minimal shoes changed their life to irritated complaints describing the injuries the shoes inflicted on their feet and legs. After sifting through dozens of webpages, I came to the conclusion that the arguments for the benefits barefoot or barefoot-like running outweighed the arguments for traditional running shoes.
Example of a forefoot strike. https://fitwithcassandra.wordpress.com/
The basic reasoning behind barefoot running is that the human foot evolved for thousands of years to run, so it already is beautifully engineered to do so. Putting a man-made cushioning contraption between it and the ground only hinders the foot’s natural ability to do its job which is why running injuries are so common now.
Keeping in mind the warnings from those who had negative experiences with minimal style shoes, I purchased a pair of Vibram FiveFingers and began the slow transition into barefoot. My first pair of transition shoes were Nike Free 5.0’s. As an only slightly minimalistic shoe, they helped me strengthen my calves and change my gait to a forefoot strike. My first few runs in the Free’s left my calves so sore I couldn’t walk up stairs. After a while though, I worked my way up to the point that I could go for a full-length run in them with no soreness after. This is the point at which I began running in my FiveFingers.
Fresh out of the box!
A few tries with road-running showed me that such little support underfoot just wasn’t compatible with the unnaturally compact ground of pavement. When I tried trail runs in my Vibrams, it all came together. The soft dirt ground, the changing environment (both around me and under my feet), and the feeling of exploration made running fun. I loved the feeling of lightness of my feet gently bouncing of the ground and the sensation of the forest floor underfoot. My discovery of barefoot running (aided by arguments made for barefoot in the book Born to Run) really is what made the difference in my transition to loving running.
I’ve never heard of barefoot running before this, but this is really interesting! I’ve never thought how we were naturally enabled to do this. I think this is a really cool concept and maybe if I want to step up my game in running, I’ll try these! I do wonder though if these effect people with flat feet or bad knees? I think some research on that would also help! Overall very intriguing concept.
As someone with very flat feet, I can say from experience that barefoot running is not for everyone. My cross country team tried barefoot running for a while, just as an experiment, and it was the more pain I have ever felt in my life, and I dance on my toes for fun! After a week, any bones in my feet that weren’t already broken from dance were at least fractured. For anyone with flat feet or alignment promblem, I would not recomend this!
I definitely see your point here. I do have unusually high arches which makes my experience a bit different. My boyfriend, though, has very flat feet and has been into barefoot/minimalist running for years. I think a big factor is the running style (heel-striking does not work in barefoot shoes ever), the terrain (road running also does not work for barefoot), and the build up necessary (safely retraining your feet, ankles, and lower legs to run without support, if they’ve been used to it for years, takes a long time). But overall, I definitely do not want to make a blanket statement that it works for everyone as I am basing my opinion off of the experience of a small sample size.