Barefoot running

A barefoot runner on asphalt in a 5-kilometre (3.1 mi) race

Barefoot running is running while barefoot—without wearing any shoes on the feet. Running in thin-soled, flexible shoes such as moccasins, VivoBarefoot and Vibram FiveFingers is biomechanically similar, and often equated to barefoot running. Running in modern running shoes is quite different, and contrasted with barefoot running.

In early human history, barefoot running was widespread, but this became increasingly less so following the growth of footwear usage. Barefoot running is near non-existent in modern-day populations of industrialised and wealthier countries, although it remains relatively common in many poorer nations. In terms of competitive running, virtually all modern athletes use running shoes. However, a small minority of runners have achieved success running barefoot, including Olympic champions and world record holders Abebe Bikila and Tegla Loroupe, as well as Zola Budd. (Although Bikila won the Rome Olympic marathon barefoot in 1960 in 2:15:16, at the Tokyo Olympic marathon in 1964 he wore shoes and set a world record in 2:12:11.)

The human mechanics of running are changed quite significantly when shoes are used – with natural, shoeless human running, the balls of the feet are the part which strikes the ground with the most force. Running in padded shoes typically alters this as more emphasis is placed on the heel and the area towards the back of the foot.

Proponents, such as those identifying with the barefoot movement, argue that barefoot running is healthier for feet and reduces risk of chronic injuries, notably repetitive stress injuries due to the impact of heel striking in padded running shoes, in addition to other purported benefits. These health claims of barefoot running are supported by some research and advocated by some authorities, but the research is not conclusive or widely accepted in the medical community. Barefoot running is not generally advocated by medical or sports organizations, who, in the main, recommend that padded running shoes be worn, with particular consideration to foot type (type of pronation in heel strike gait).

History

Following the evolution of the human foot, human running was universally barefoot or in thin-soled shoes such as moccasins, which continues to this day in some parts of the world, such as people in Kenya or the Tarahumara people of northern Mexico. "For most of human evolutionary history, runners were either barefoot or wore minimal footwear such as sandals, or moccasins with smaller heels and little cushioning." In the 1970s, new running shoes were introduced, coincident with the interest in jogging, which differed significantly from previous shoes.

The popularity of barefoot running goes back to 1960, when Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia won the Olympic marathon in Rome barefoot. British runner Bruce Tulloh also competed in many races during the 1960s while barefoot, and won the gold medal in the 1962 European Games 5,000 metre race. During the 1980s, another British runner, Zola Budd, became known for her barefoot running style as well as training and racing barefoot. She won the 1985 and 1986 IAAF World Cross Country Championships and competed in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California. Kenyan runner Tegla Loroupe began running barefoot 10 km (6.2 mi) to and from school every day at the age of 7. She performed well in contests at school, and in 1988, won a prestigious cross country barefoot race. She went on to compete, both barefoot and shod, in several international competitions, marathons, and half-marathons. She won the Goodwill Games over 10,000 metres, barefoot, and was the first African woman to win the New York City Marathon in 1994, winning again in 1998.

In the early 21st century, barefoot running has gained a small yet significant following on the fringe of the larger running community. Organizers of the 2010 New York City Marathon expect to see an increase in the number of barefoot runners participating in the event. The practice saw a recent surge in popularity with the 2009 publication of Christopher McDougall's book, Born to Run, promoting the practice. In the United States, the Barefoot Runners Society was founded in November 2009 as a national club for unshod runners. By November 2010, the organization claimed 1,345 members, nearly double the 680 members it had when it was founded.

One barefoot runner, Rick Roeber, has been running barefoot since 2003, and has run more than 50 marathons, 2 ultra-marathons of 40 miles, and over 17,000 miles (27,359 km) all barefoot. On December 8, 2006, Nico Surings of Eindhoven, Netherlands, became the fastest person to run 1100 meters (325 feet) on ice while barefoot, completing the task in 17.35 seconds. And on June 5, 2010, Todd Ragsdale, of Talent, Oregon, set the world record (pending confirmation by Guinness World Records) for the longest distance run barefoot as part of the Relay for Life fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. He logged 102 miles (164 kilometers), or 413 laps on the South Medford High School track, barefoot.

On December 12, 2010, the Barefoot Runners of India Foundation (BRIF) is organizing a 21 km (13 mi) barefoot half-marathon at Kharghar near the Indian city of Mumbai. The run is expected to have around 300 participants. The aim of the foundation is to promote the native art of running. Anand Anantharaman, BRIF's managing trustee, said "Barefoot runners are in demand these days. In the US, they are looked at with immense respect. Indians can easily attain world acclaim in this as we have it in our blood."

L-Shaped Double Pendulum Model of Impact via Barefoot Running

While there is equivocation regarding shod running and the type of shoe to wear, work reported by Lieberman et al 2010 helps to clarify the biomechanics of barefoot running and why it may be prone to ~20-80% fewer injuries in comparison to shod runners. Specifically, the authors develop the collisional bipedal model of barefoot running called 'L-shaped double pendulum' and document foot angulation in shod and unshod runners in the laboratory and on native running surfaces. The major conclusion from this work suggests that shoes that mimic the biomechanics of barefoot running may lead to less running injuries due to differences in collison/impact of the foot-ankle-leg on the running surface.

Health and medical implications

Closeup of a person running barefoot.

Many runners have switched to barefoot running for relief from chronic injuries. The structure of the foot and lower leg is very efficient at absorbing the shock of landing and turning the energy of the fall into forward motion, through the springing action of the foot's natural arch. It is only by placing large amounts of padding under the heel that humans are able to land on the heel rather than the ball of the foot. In doing so, the foot's natural motion is impeded and the arch and lower leg are not able to absorb the shock of the landing. Instead, the shock is sent up through the heel, to the knees and hips.

Barefoot running uses gravity as the main contributor to the forward propulsion, lightly letting the ball of the feet touch the ground to prevent a fall forward and lifting the feet straight up, avoiding friction which would otherwise injure the foot. "The force to drive you forward should only be applied after the foot has settled on the ground completely. Striking the ground, especially with the heel, causes trauma and makes the runner susceptible to injury." When running barefoot one should land on the ball of the foot (as opposed to heel-striking). It follows that running shoes with heavily padded heels will impede this natural motion. One study shows that compared to running barefoot, running in conventional running shoes increases stress on the knee joints up to 38%, although whether this leads to higher rate of heel injuries is still not clear. Correlation between pronation and barefoot running with proper technique (landing on the ball of the foot, among other things) has not been tested.

Michael Warburton's 2001 review of barefoot running in the journal Sports Science concluded that

Running barefoot is associated with a substantially lower prevalence of acute injuries of the ankle and chronic injuries of the lower leg in developing countries, but well-designed studies of the effects of barefoot and shod running on injury are lacking. Laboratory studies show that the energy cost of running is reduced by about 4% when the feet are not shod. In spite of these apparent benefits, barefoot running is rare in competition, and there are no published controlled trials of the effects of running barefoot on simulated or real competitive performance.

This study reviews much of the scientific literature that connects shod running to both acute injuries, such as ankle sprains, and chronic injuries, such as plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinitis, shin splints, etc.

In an article entitled "Is your prescription of distance running shoes evidence based?" in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, Craig Richards et al. determined that there is no evidence to support wearing "distance running shoes featuring elevated cushioned heels and pronation control systems tailored to the individual’s foot type." Richards found no studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals that showed that running shoes either reduce injury rates or improve performance. In fact, Richards issued this challenge to running shoe manufacturers: "Is any running-shoe company prepared to claim that wearing their distance running shoes will decrease your risk of suffering musculoskeletal running injuries? Is any shoe manufacturer prepared to claim that wearing their running shoes will improve your distance running performance? If you are prepared to make these claims, where is your peer-reviewed data to back it up?"

Also from the British Journal of Sports Medicine, S Robbins and E Waked's article, entitled "Hazard of deceptive advertising of athletic footwear" described their study of the effect on a runner's foot strike of the runner's perception of how much padding there was under the foot. The more cushioning runners believe to be under the foot, the harder they strike.

“People who don’t wear shoes when they run have an astonishingly different strike,” said Daniel E. Lieberman, professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University and co-author of a paper appearing in the journal Nature. “By landing on the middle or front of the foot, barefoot runners have almost no impact collision, much less than most shod runners generate when they heel-strike.

The official position on barefoot running by the American Podiatric Medical Association states that there is not enough research on the immediate and long term benefits of the practice, and that individuals should consult a podiatrist with a strong background in sports medicine to make an informed decision on all aspects of their running and training programs.

See also

• Vivobarefoot
• FiveFingers
• Locomotor Effects of Shoes

References

• Supplementary info includes videos of foot strikes.
• Hersher, Rebecca (January 27, 2010). "Perfect Landing: Study Finds Barefoot Runners Have Less Foot Stress Than Shod Ones", summary of (Lieberman 2010). {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)CS1 maint: postscript (link)

Further reading

• Rodgers, Bill; Douglas, Scott (2003). Complete idiot's guide to running. Penguin Group USA. p. 347. ISBN 0028644662.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Richards, Dr. Craig; Hollowell, Thomas (2011). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Barefoot Running. Penguin Group USA. p. 352. ISBN 1615640622.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Barefoot Running: How to Run Light and Free by Getting in Touch with the Earth. RunBare Company. 2010. p. 298. ISBN 0984382208. {{cite book}}: Cite uses deprecated parameter |authors= (help)

External links

• Biomechanics of Foot Strikes & Applications to Running Barefoot or in Minimal Footwear
• Barefoot Running, a website overseen by experts in the field dedicated to barefoot and minimalist footwear runners
• Barefoot Running laced with Health Benefits, a webMD article referencing the Jan 2010 article of Nature; discussing strike impact differences between shod and barefoot runners.