Barefoot Running

For those of you who don't know (all one of you that read this), I have been doing this barefoot running thing now for about a year. I first started when we had a treadmill in our house over the winter of 2009-2010. I kind of actually started by accident. You see, I was adjusting the belt on the TM because it was making this horrible squealing sound before Mrs. Messenjah decided to go for a run on it. I had just gotten home from work and was still in my khakis, dress socks and dress shirt. As I was adjusting the belt I realized that it wasn't making the noise until someone got on it. As my wife was somewhere doing something else I didn't want to go up and get my shoes and I was only going to take a few strides anyway. I jumped on and started going. What the heck was going on? This actually felt kind of good. This is weird!!!

As you know, I am an uber-dork and ran upstairs to do some research. I found out that there was actually people around the world doing this crazy thing and I was hooked. I took the advice of many people that have posted on the subject and took it VERY slow. I started out with 1/2 mile, then over time a mile, then 2, then 3 and it kept going.

Now to clarify, I am one of those people that has primarily done my BF runs on the treadmill. I am kind of a weeny. I have done probably a dozen or so runs outside without shoes, but the primary source is on the TM.

I love it!!! Yes, I get the looks from people in the gym as I only run on the back treadmills. They are forced to walk behind and stare at the guy not wearing shoes while he is running. I have read peoples lips and read "What the f*** is he doing?" I have seen the looks (and I know it's not because of how hot I am because the good Lord knows that I'm not getting looks for that). My running buddies don't get it. I haven't converted completely because let's be honest, I love my running shoes.

People don't understand it but I am so much stronger and much more efficient of a runner than I have ever been. I know that it may be crazy but just think about it. You have an inch of cushion in the back of your shoe that forces you to hit your heel every time you take a stride. Most people when they hit with their cushioned heel have a straight leg out. Now think about this, have you ever played basketball, volleyball, jumped rope, jumped off of a retaining wall, etc? How do you land? With your knees bent. Landing with a locked/extended knee hurts and that is part of the reason we have bad knees, bad hips, bad backs, etc. Don't believe me? Watch someone who is a heel striker run. Most of the time it looks like this

If you are landing like that, it is working like a braking system and sends huge shock waves through your body and THAT is the reason why so many people say that running hurts. It took one run barefoot to make me realize that the way I ran was the reason why my knees hurt so much.

BF teaches you to run more on the ball of your foot and use your arch as a natural shock absorber. God created your foot to work that way. Shoe companies have been spiraling out of control to add more cushion, more support, more more more and it has made our feet and bodies weak. People all over the world run in very little shoe. The book "Born To Run" is about a tribe in Mexico where the people can drink beer all night, throw on some sandals that are basically made out of the rubber from tires and go out for 300 mile runs. Now, granted. You may be saying "I can't just go out and run 300 miles just by switching to BF running". True. You can't. But, if you do your homework you can learn to run relatively pain free by using some of their techniques.

Now this is not going to be for everyone. I am definitely not suggesting that. I use it as an additional training tool. It is like lifting weights or yoga. I don't like to do them, but they have huge benefits for running. We have our feet cooped up all day at work in shoes that are really uncomfortable. Wearing ultra cushioned running shoes have made the muscles, ligaments, & joints atrophy with inactivity. Why don't most people wear flip flops when walking around the fair? Because their feet hurt afterwards. That is caused by our feet not being worked out enough.

I know that this whole thing sounds crazy but there are proven reports that show the use of BF running as a training tool and incredibly help your endurance, speed, efficiency, comfort and on and on. Again, I am not advocating that everyone run a marathon barefoot. I don't think that I even want to. My threshold currently is about 8 miles without shoes. I still do my long runs in shoes. I still do my hill or speed repeats in shoes. But it can be so liberating letting your toes fly and running barefoot. It will strengthen your feet, your arches, your ankles, your calves, your Achilles, everything. Don't get me wrong though there will be some aches and pains associated with the switch initially, but most of those go away after the first few runs.

If you are considering it, PLEASE DO YOUR RESEARCH!!!! I am including just a few places that you can check if you want to look into it more.

Barefoot Ted's Adventures - One of the premier authorities on everything barefoot

Runner's World Barefoot Forum - A great place to answer questions. Before posting questions though, read some of the question/responses that have already been asked. Most of the questions that you may have have already been asked.

Barefoot Running University

The Running Barefoot Site

Vibram Five Fingers - Yes, these are the "toe shoes" that you may see people wearing. If you have some money to drop and want to buy these they are great for transitioning outdoors if you are afraid of sticks, rocks, dog poo or other things

Or you can always just go to Google and type in "barefoot running" and see what you get. There are going to be some people that say it's bad, but most people believe in it. Until the last 30 years or so people did it all of the time :)

Enjoy and thanks for reading

Stay Strong, Run Long,

Tha Messenjah