Guest Post: A Passion For Barefoot Running by Matthew Kyle
Jan 15
Later in December I got an email from Mathew Kyle a representative from Altra Running, a company that specializes in zero drop footwear, asking if I’d be interested in doing a guest post on my blog. Mathew was kind enough to share some of his knowledge of some of the benefits of barefoot running and some of the things that you should be concerned about if you are interested in trying barefoot running.
Enter Mathew Kyle.
A Passion For Barefoot Running
Hundreds of thousands of Americans run, either for fitness, pleasure or competition. Running is one of the things our bodies were designed to do—originally we ran from predators and towards food. Nowadays, it’s a culture. You see running groups out on Sunday mornings, and marathons are more ubiquitous than ever before, with some major cities hosting more than one per year.
There are clothing lines and fitness accessories dedicated to the running culture, trainers to help you go from couch to 5k in 3 months, and sports physio therapists on hand to help with knee pain.
One would think the running market was already saturated. Then along comes Barefoot Running.
Barefoot running is meant to take us back to our very basic selves, when our earliest ancestors ran barefooted through grass, bush and stony paths. From a fitness standpoint, it is a more natural run, which engages the right muscles the right way, and doesn’t “lie” to us the way thick-soled shoes do. We feel everything, know when we’re comfortable or facing injury, and can make more informed split-second decisions as we run.
Though as toddlers we ran barefoot everywhere, over the years our bodies have adapted to shoes. Our arches require the support given by commercial footwear, and our soles are too tender to accept the harsh terrain beneath our feet. This means that even though we want to get in on the barefoot running craze, we need to start slowly in order to prevent injury.
Aside from the pain of stepping on stones and other debris in our paths, there’s a real risk of long-term damage if our arches tear and collapse. This can cut short a runner’s love of the sport as quickly and permanently as an ACL tear.
Shoes for barefoot running are becoming de rigeur in the movement. Generally having a thin sole and five “fingers” for your toes, these are literally gloves for your feet. Some runners are opting to go completely barefoot, but most are choosing the shoes as a compromise. After all, our ancestors never had to deal with broken glass and dirty needles while they ran. Better safe than sorry.
Those with higher arches are fine with the true shoes for barefoot running. Their feet can handle the shock and absorb it adequately with less risk of tearing. Those with flatter feet often opt for “minimalist shoes,” which are thin-soled, but offer more support and are similar in structure to a regular running shoe.
In either case, don’t just wake up one morning and decide to go barefoot running. Like the “couch to 5k” training, it’s important to break into it slowly. Lace up those shoes and walk for a bit. Run for short periods—as short as 5 minutes at a time. Let your body become accustomed to not wearing modern shoes with thick soles. Over time, your arches will build resistance and ligaments will toughen to handle the strain, lowering the risk of injury.
Who would have thought that getting back to nature, getting back to what was once normal to us would require training? Alas, it does. But once you’re there, you will wonder why man ever put on his first pair of shoes.
I began training towards a barefoot style in January of 2011. In the beginning it was torturous, crippling, and I wondered if this could ever be done. I very gradually increased my training over the course of that whole year, getting V5′s around July of that year. By the end of the year I was running in V5′s exclusively and have been ever since. Last year I ran a total of 1290 km and this year 63 km. My longest run was 50 kilometers of highway asphalt in my V5′s. Of those total kilometers, 179 have been with naked feet, most of which in known safe home territory which consists of hard packed earth. I would never race with naked feet, there are too many hazards out there. One needs to keep sharp thistles, slivers of rock and many other things from penetrating the soles of your feet. Apart from natural hazards, there are man made ones like broken glass, and chipped wood debris that they sometimes cover trails with. Even the toughest feet will still be penetrated by debris, and even the smallest seemingly insignificant sliver can cripple your run at worst, or at best you have to waste ten minutes digging it out.
Not worth it. The shoes that come closest to the true barefoot experience are Vibram 5 Fingers. I now wear my running shoes for daily work and walking around but I use the V5′s exclusively for running. I will never go back to shoes.
Thanks for the comment John, and though I really don’t do an true barefoot running I think there is definite benefit in moving towards the barefoot style or end of the spectrum.
That’s correct, Jordan. Without saying anything about running, I think that the most important benefit from switching to barefoot is the rearrangement of your foot bones to a more natural position and the foot stability that comes with the re-recruitment of long forgotten foot muscles. Everyone is different but I will wager that if you were to make the switch, you also would never go back.
Good article on a very controversial topic at the moment, I have been involved in some very heated debates with some passionate people who swear by barefoot and those who have a more cynical approach to its practicality. I am a believer in natural processes in everything I do and try to stay as close to the way it “should be” as much as realistically possible – I have written more on my thoughts here in this article – http://www.lovefitnesseducation.com/2012/03/28/barefoot-running-–-fad-or-functional/