What To Do

Categories

Social Bookmarks

Feeds

Runner's Forum: Barefoot Running Movement Discussion

Bottom of Page

1 to 9 of 9

  1.  
    • CommentAuthorFree Memberwillmtaylor
    • CommentTimeJun 30th 2008 edited
     
    willmtaylor

    All,

    I read a very intriguing article a while back in Men's Health, and as I recently began to get into shape again, I was reminded of the article. It's entitled, "The Men Who Live Forever."

    For some reason, it won't let me link, so I'll just have to put out the address here:  http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?site=MensHealth&channel=fitness&category=motivation&conitem=3b4b1ca01e91c010VgnVCM10000013281eac____#

    The article is about these guys down in Mexico that drink too much tequila and smoke too many ciagrettes, but b/c of what they eat and how they run, they can cover astronomical distances on their runs and regularly do so.

    The article touches on many different issues, but I would like to discuss the article's emphasis on barefoot running. It harps on: form (shoulders & hips above the feet), landing & running on the balls of your feet, and  using shoes that aren't over-padded/cushioned.

    • What do you think?
    • Are you a proponent?
    • Is it a total croc?
    • Are you now solely sponsored by Nike Free ?

    Let's talk it out,
    wmt

     

     

    • CommentAuthorFree MemberKDogg
    • CommentTimeJun 30th 2008
     
    KDogg

    what do you think about it?

    Fix your link and I'll read it and make a comment, for now its not clickable and I can't copy it because it is too long

  3.  
    willmtaylor

    Ok, hopefully everything is fixed up now. I apologize for the delays and confusion.

    My personal reaction? After reading the article and thinking about it, the philosophy sounds totally legit. If the whole thing were inspired/sponsored by Nike or someone, then I'd be a bit more suspicious, but it makes a load of sense.

    I've been trying the running form, but it's too early in the process to really have any serious results. I'm also considering the purchase of a pair of Nike Free's (I need new kicks for my road runs anyways, so it doesn't hurt to try.) We'll see how it goes.

     wmt

  4.  
    rpetreccajr

    Link isn't fixed yet, but I googled and found the article in question. Intriguing article. When I was in HS & college I went barefoot alot. Pretty much full time in the summers. In college I'd walk from my dorm to class barefoot then put on some sandals in the buildings. Very few injuries then, lots more now, but that was 30 years ago. I couln't tell you if it was the time or the shoes that was the deciding factor.

    Not sure that the article considers all aspects of the Tarahumara condition. I'd have to ask what their average lifespan is. Most pre-industrial societies have low average lifespans. Not beacuse everyone dies at 35-40, but because of very high rates of infant mortality - upwards of 40% of children dieing before the age of 5. The crone is an archetype becuase in most pre-industrial societies, most women don't live long past their childbearing years. Thus a gray-haired, stooped old woman is feared or held in high regard because she is very unusual. When you are looking at a 52 year old running you into the ground in the mountains of Mexico, you are looking at a very unusual person. A survivor. How many brothers and sisters did Alejandro (the 52 year old reffered to above) have? How many are still alive? Don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying that applying what is in the article won't help someone. I'm just saying that there is more to the picture.

    • CommentAuthorFree MemberJimArnold
    • CommentTimeJul 2nd 2008
     
    JimArnold

    For anyone struggling with the link,tinyurl'd it:

    http://tinyurl.com/63wqjc

     

    It sounds pretty cool, I'm certainly willing to give it a try. When I first took up running I pretty thoroughly screwed up my knees my wearing unpadded shoes, but then again my technique was abysmal. My current shoes are past their best so I might just invest in a new pair of Free shoes.

    Hope to see updates in this thread.

    J.

    • CommentAuthorFree MemberKDogg
    • CommentTimeJul 6th 2008 edited
     
    KDogg

    I'll say I read that article and it frustrated me a lot.

    Going out and starting to run barefoot isn't going to help you get rid of injuries. The reason that particular group can do it is because they have done it for so long their calf muscles have evolved in such a way as to handle that kind of lifestyle. In other words, their bodies have developed in such a way so that they don't need shoes.

    If the average American read that article and thought that they should take this up, they will probably get achilles tendonitis and/or plantar fasciitis.

    Do people run barefoot and not get injured? Absolutely. Do they have good biomechanics? Probably 99/100 cases do, the ones with bad biomechanics try this supposedly wonderful training method and then get injured.

    I will say that I work in a running store. At least 40% of the people we work with are referrals from podiatrists that send their patients to our store to get fitted for shoes and the most frequent causes of these people's issues are poor footwear (shoes that are too flexible through the midfoot - like Nike Frees) and poor biomechanics. If you combine the two issues, you get plantar fasciitis.

    I had a lot of other issues with the article, but I don't feel like articulating them at the moment (it would takes two hours - seriously). I'm up for a debate on this if anyone wants to try

  7.  
    willmtaylor
    KDogg, Thanks for the input! Good stuff. Good stuff. So do you suggest that this could be a good idea to be taken with proper supervision and "baby steps Bob, take baby steps,"? Or would you rather them just not have written anything b/c it could do more harm than good. The gentlemen writing the article was being trained w/a regimen and by the right guy, but let's face the facts, most of us don't have those kinds of resources. What do you think?
  8.  
    wvhillrunner

    If you use advice from barefoot running advocates it will keep you healthier, whether or not you actually run barefoot.  Heavily padded motion control and stability shoes and orthotics can treat the symptoms caused by bad running form.  There's nothing wrong with that but working on form goes to the root of the problem. 

    • CommentAuthorFree MemberCoyoteRun
    • CommentTimeJul 19th 2008
     
    CoyoteRun

    Check out Barefootrunning.com. They have loads of information on the subject.

    My thinking on it is this - we were born w/o shoes and lived for millenia w/o them. And we ran a lot. So that's the natural state of things.

    A lot of biomechanical problems are caused by the wearing of shoes since we were little kids. Our feet were not allowed to develop naturally and that's why many people need these super engineered shoes to run. And then their feet rely on these shoes rather than their own intrinsic strength.

     I think that some people can with time, patience, persistance and knowlege break the shoe habit safely. I'm sure that it is a very individual journey with lots of ways of doing it, only if you want to of course.

    I spend most of my time barefoot, so do my kids. I also run in Nike Frees most of the time and have done some barefoot running. I'm just a little squirrely of stepping on glass in the streets and such. I'd love to transition to running only barefoot...it would certainly save $$$s! Cool

1 to 9 of 9

  1.