Running totally barefoot is for babies, hippies, and dilettantes.

-Anonymous anti-barefooter

The Barefoot Revolution- Minimalist Options

So you want to run barefoot, but just cant bring yourself to actually hit the city streets with those naked feet of yours?  This is probably the most common reason why there are

shoes marketed for being most “like barefoot”.  There is glass, garbage, gum, and generally nasty water and crap everywhere.  Whomever would want to touch any of that with their barefoot could be crazy.  We have compiled a list of different options for those of you who want to benefits of running barefoot, without all of the risks.

They are organized by type(including example pictures), with associated reviews(we paraphrased and condensed many reviews into one uber review), and recommended usage(which type of runner each type of footwear would work best for).

Type- Most Minimal

The Huarache Running Sandal

Review:

This is a great shoe (sandal) once you figure out the quirks of making them and tying them.  What is both an upside and downside is that these are handmade.  You have to buy the rubber sole material, and the type of lace (here a piece of rubber and a leather strap, respectively), trace out your foot, cut it out, lace it, then tweak it to make it work well for you.  All of this takes a little time, but once you get the fit right, it feels great.  It offers good protection from glass and gravel while still giving you the feeling that nothing in on your feet.  These have some problems though in extremely wet, muddy, or technical terrain.  Also not really a winter shoe for snowy locations.

Recommendation:

Great for the runner on a budget and for road runners, as well as anyone running up to 50 miles.  At less than $25, this sandal will last as long as the sole material holds up.  This could be over 1000 miles depending on the material!  It does well for road

runners, runners who do fire roads or dirt single track.  May not work well or hold up on extremely hilly rocky terrain without significant reductions in speed.  This is the official Growstronger.com minimalist shoe.

Type- Most Like Barefoot

The Vibram Five Fingers

Review:

With the separate toes, lack of any midsole, and thin rubber outsole, this shoe was most like being barefoot.  It comes in several models to fit each runners needs and fit the climate. However, due to the highly specialized design, it may not fit every foot, so you should try it before you buy it.  Vibram sole can last over 1000 miles, and the different models will also suit different terrains.  the upper material has been known to tear though after only a few hundred miles.

Recommendation:

Although this shoe needs to be tried on and fit precisely before you buy it, for those that can fit into it, it is the thought of as THE barefoot running shoe.  Recommended for all types of runners, running any terrain, and for any distance.  These can get expensive, anywhere from $75-$120, so they are not great for budget minded runners, but with a good stride these can last for 1000’s of miles.

Type- The Curious Runner

Nike Free-like Shoes

Review:

This is a great all around running shoe.  If you like the idea of keeping the look of a running shoe, but like the idea of creating a more flexible shoe for your feet, this could be it.  Some complaints were that it still had some significant support compared to being actually barefoot, and that the heel was still higher than the forefoot, making it easier to heelstrike.  These also aren’t as good for very technical trails as the individualized lugs have been known to break off.

Recommendation:

Great shoe for people who are interesting in seeing what barefoot running is like, but don’t want to invest too much time in rebuilding their training plans.  For all types of runners in all climates, though it may be best for gym use and road use.  At $85 the shoe may be minimal, but the price is not.  This would also make a good transition shoe for runners wearing very supportive shoes with orthodics.

Type- The Zero Cost Alternative

Modified Current Running Shoe

Review:

Although this is the cheapest option- being free- it is a little complicated to do.  Basically you cut a wedge out of the heel of the shoes you are wearing now.  The idea is to make the heel just as high as the forefoot, thereby removing the heel lift.  A brief example:  The shoe to the right has more foam under the heel than the forefoot.  You can see this with the white foam between the red colors and how it tapers down to all red in the toe area.  What you do is take a knife, and, carefully, cut off the white foam.  This leaves no tread on the heel so there is no traction, but a good stride should not necessitate needing a heel.  Though not having any of the barefoot feel, unless you are wearing a minimalist shoe, this setup seems to be able to allow for proper form.

Recommendation:

Great option for anyone who wants to work on their stride, or for runners covering very technical terrain over many miles, over 50 at least.  Can work for any climate.  Not for runners wanting a more minimalist or barefoot feeling shoe.  Cheapest option being that it is free.  Not for runners afraid to use knives.

Type- Best All-Rounder

Racing Flats

Review:

This is a great all around option.  Racing flats have been around for many years.  There are cross country versions that give added traction and protection for trail runners, and they are already some of the lightest and most minimal running shoes you can buy.  Although they are incredibly light and flexible, they still generally have some heel lift, again, allowing for heel strike, and are still not minimal enough to give the barefoot experience.  However, this option seemed to work best for many different types of runners.

Recommendation:

Best shoe for anyone who still wants to wear a more traditional looking shoe.  Also best for anyone who want more protection than the few millimeters of rubber that a true minimalist shoe delivers.  Recommended for all runners, on all terrains, all climates and all distances.  Also, as many of these can be bought for $20-50, this is a great shoe for all types of budgets.

Type- Most Minimal While Still Looking Like a Shoe

Water Shoes/Feelmax Type Shoes

Review:

With a similar amount of material between you and the ground as the Five Fingers or the Huarache, these shoes will give you good protection, excellent ground feel, a fairly long life, as well as warmth.  The Feelmax shoes seem to wear through a little quicker than the water shoes.  Also these are both very minimal shoes.  They have some traction, but may not be the best for extremely technical trails with lots of steep angles.  These both look enough like normal shoes that they can be worn around town, but are also so minimal that they give you great ground feel and also feel quite a lot like being barefoot.

Recommendation:

For the runners who want very minimal footwear and also don’t want people staring at their feet.  The water socks are perhaps the cheapest of any product if you want to purchase a shoe.  Anywhere from $5-40 means you can go in many directions and have many options.  The Feelmax shoes are a little more expensive, around $70+.  These two options will work for any runner at any distance, in any climate, but you may not want to use these on the most technical of trails due to the thinness of the sole and the lack many of the models have of traction.

Type- All Around Minimal Shoe

Yoga and Martial Arts Shoes

Review:

These are great options.  As you can see from the example shoe to the left, these have no midsole, and no heel lift.  Many will have a little more grippy outsoles than our previous type.  Being lace up they have a good fit, and seeing as how they are still formed around a last-meaning they are molded to the shape of a foot-gives them some upsides and downsides.  The downside is that they dont seem to fit every runner the same way, and they tend to be cut to give some arch support.  The upside though are those very traits.  If you run on more undulating terrain, that support seems to hold your foot in place inside the shoe better than if it wasn’t there.  Many of the name brand shoe companies make these shoes so they can be very stylish as well.

Recommendation:

This is for runners who want to look good while also having as many benefits of going minimalist as possible.  For any runner who finds the shoe comfortable, in any climate, and on most terrains.  You may find traction a problem on very loose terrain.  Moderately priced, these shoes run around $60, so they are not great for the most budget minded.  The glue holding the shoe to the sole has also been a point of contention for some people so this shoe may only last in the hundreds instead of 1000’s of miles.  However, they should work well for anyone racing any distance.

These options are but a few of many out there.  We tried to give you a good example of where to start though, and these seem to all be the most popular options among both barefoot and minimalist runners.  Remember that when starting any barefoot running regimen, that you need to start very slowly.

If anyone has any questions about different options, where to find or buy these shoes, or how to make or modify some of the shoes shown in a couple of the above options, let us know and we will be happy to help out!  Happy Feet Mean Happy Running!

Running barefoot on rolling fields of grass, vibrant green and soft from a recent rain, is like running on velvet, who doesn’t want to run on velvet? No one, that’s who.

-unnamed notorious barefooter

The Barefoot Revolution: Part 4

With yet another successful week under my belt, there are a few lessons that I feel I should share.  The goal of this post is to group all the advice, lessons, and tips that I have shared and learned since going barefoot, and put it all  in one place.

So, my advice will start with how I feel one should start going barefoot, whether running, or walking.

*Just do it.  Start right now by taking off your shoes and socks and walking   around the office or your house barefoot.  When you can, run errands, go for walks, and if you feel like it, going on hikes barefoot will also help the transition.

*Listen to your sole(s).  Judge how far to push yourself each day by the soles of your feet.  When they get tender and raw, stop, that’s it for the day.  You may need to bring along another type of footwear on any walks, runs, or hikes until you are confident you can tolerate all the time it will take to complete these outings barefoot.

*No More Athletic Shoes!!  Unless you want to modify your shoes by cutting off the heels, try to use non-supportive footwear any time you need to wear something on those feet.  There are dress shoes that have flat soles with no heel lift for the office, and there are many versions of athletic looking shoes that also give you minimal support and no heel lift.  Wear sandals when you can, but if you have to wear flip-flops, go for the least cushioned varieties.  Learn to make your own huaraches.

*Learn what to wear for those times when you cant go barefoot.  Whether huaraches, moccasins, racing flats, Vibram Five Fingers, a racing flat, or a water sock; sometimes going barefoot just isn’t possible.  Right now in much of the country it is getting colder and running barefoot in the snow will not be a feasible option.  This winter I will be running in a pair of water socks that I got off the Internet for $10.

Ok, so now you know what to do, but how do you do it?  Well, here are a few tips for a smooth transition that I have learned so far:

*For runners, run only as far as your soles tell you to run, and NO MORE!  If you start to move towards barefoot in the colder months, move down from supportive footwear slowly.  If you run in Brooks’ Beast shoe, you may want to step down to something like their Adrenaline before you go to a racing flat.

*Learn to run with proper form.  Barefoot runners don’t land on their heels.  They cant, it hurts too much.  In fact, landing heel first was something that was only possible with the invention of the modern running shoe.  Learn to run barefoot by starting to land on your mid-foot and forefoot.  Land with your foot directly underneath your body, and with significant knee bend.  Learning to run this way will cause a bit more work for your quads, Achilles, calves and feet, but they will adjust quickly.

*Do Not Push Through Pain.  Leave this mentality for races.  In transitioning and training, this mentality will lead to certain injury.  Notably in your feet, Achilles tendons and calves.  Almost across the board, beginning barefooters suffer very tight calves and Achilles.  Stretch these prodigiously and massage as often as possible.  Don’t run if they are painfully tight.  Similarly, your feet will feel the adjustments next.  The tops of your feet, shin muscles, arches, and plantar fascia will all feel tight and sore as these muscles and ligaments and tendons all start to work as they should.

*Forget sticking to a training plan.  Just set guidelines for your training.  Shoot for a certain distance or time to run each day, but don’t push it just to finish those last couple minutes if it means pushing through tightness or discomfort.  That discomfort will just be there stronger the next day.  Better to call it quits for the day and walk home to run again tomorrow, than try to be macho and sideline yourself with a pulled muscle or sprained foot.

*Run on the hard stuff first.  There is no better judge of proper form than concrete.  Learning to run or walk on the least forgiving surface will ensure that your mechanics are solid, meaning you will suffer less injuries later because of these perfected mechanics. Also, in the beginning its easier to avoid debris on concrete than on a trail.  After a while, it wont matter, you can just run over it all.

The number one lesson I have to give people though is this:

*RELAX.

When you find it to be tough going, or when your feet start to feel sensitive or feel abraded, when you feel yourself tightening up, Relax.  Don’t tense up more then needed.  Don’t forget to land with short quick strides, knee bent, on your forefoot, and back straight.  Relax your shoulders, relax your feet.  The best runners in the world, from Usain Bolt to Haile Geberselassie all look smooth and relaxed, no matter what the pace.  Tightening up will not only make your run uncomfortable and tire you out sooner, but it will cause unnecessary pain.  A tense barefoot runner is more likely to land with too much impact force.  They are more likely to pull a muscle. More than anything though, landing on seeds, gravel, twigs, even glass will be painful and demoralizing.  Landing relaxed allows you to smoothly float over these obstacles.  Focus on putting your foot down and picking it up with not kick-back.  Land softly and lightly.  Kiss the ground with your foot.

Well, that about sums it up for this week.  Next week I will address all aspects of proper bio-mechanics in a totally barefoot running stride.  That topic alone will be quite intensive and was beyond the scope of just one article.  I have laid out here and now though some basic guidelines to follow in order to grow stronger and healthier feet.  As the first things to hit the ground, it is only fitting that they should be just as strong and healthy as the rest of your body.

And dont worry, your feet will not get rough or callused.  They will get tougher and the skin will thicken, yes.  However, running on concrete is great for buffing out any rough spots and leaving only smooth soft skin.  The one common misconception is ugly feet, but your feet will become more muscular, defined, the soles will toughen, become remarkable softer, and plus, they will be tanned.  In the end, barefoot running makes for beautiful feet!

Dude, take your shoes off and live a little!

-Barefoot Ted

The Barefoot Revolution: Part 3

These last two weeks, up through today, Sunday October 4, 2009, have finally given me a taste of what it will be like to run for hours on end without shoes.  Imagine being able to leave you house, wearing only a pair of shorts and a shirt, needing no shoes, and being able to run through the rain, through rivers, on trails, and on road without any thought to what shoes I need for today, or what socks would be good for wet weather.  This fantasy is now becoming my reality.

Two weeks ago I was running a steady 40-45 minutes barefoot, all on concrete and asphalt.  I was able to finish all of these runs no problem, but after a few of them, namely certain runs that would not be on the baby soft concrete of my sister neighborhood, but on the older and rougher asphalt of the jogging trails, would leave my feet feeling a little tender by minute 40.

That Saturday, September 26th, I hiked for 6 hours with my huaraches, then completed my last 40 minute run of the week barefoot.  After 6 hours of walking my feet were plenty sore, but I finished.

This past week however, was a different story.  Not only was it the start of the month of October, but it was also the start of what I feel is my own future with this barefoot running.  To start, I upped my times each day to 50-55 minutes of barefoot, but this week, my feet felt completely different.

I would like to note at this point that my idea to go completely barefoot has been the best idea and best path, I feel, for people who want to go with more minimalist footwear.  I say this because up until this week, I was able to run barefoot for my set time with no blisters, but it was slow going.  With nothing protecting you from the ground but your own skin, your stride and bio-mechanics will get in check really quick.  I tried to speed up several times during my initial building phase, thinking I could pick up the pace a little, but each time I did either my calves and Achilles would start to tighten up, or the soles of my feet would not land right and would scrape the ground at toe-off.  This would of course cause me to slow back down to where running was comfortable again.

This past Tuesday, I had one of the best runs ever though.  I started off slow as usual, but decided to go for a run on the asphalt walking paths in my area, they are more scenic, but also rougher.  I was able to keep the same pace no problem.  My feet felt like there was a layer of leather protecting them!  I clocked myself for a stretch of road that I knew to be a mile, and at my normal lazy pace I completed it in about 10 minutes flat…not too bad for no shoes.  I passed into a neighborhood that was all smooth concrete, and tried the same distance, but this time I would go as fast as I could.  I clocked it off at about 6:45 for that mile!

The next day I went down to Purdue Campus and ran on all sorts of surfaces new and old, rocks, pebbles, stairs, even treading lightly over some small pieces of glass, all without problem.

Today, Sunday, I did another hike, this one 7 hours, with an additional 1hr 40mins of barefoot running in the middle.

After 2 full months I would like to report that my feet are changing for the better.  The soles are thickening, but not callusing, it is more like a soft layer of leather.  They remain quite smooth, but the cushioning of my feet themselves is now growing to disperse some of the shock and pressure of running barefoot.  My only regret so far is not starting this sooner because it is starting to get cold and I will soon have to put something on my feet to handle all the snow that will surely come this winter.

At this point my advice to anyone would be to listen to your body 100%.  If you get tired and your stride starts to break down, take a break or call it quits for the day.  If you get sore or stiff while you are building up, do the same, stop completely and call it a day, or take a break.  So far I have run only as far as my body will let me each day.  Some days the 40-50 minutes of running is not enough, so I will either go for a long hike barefoot or in my huaraches, or I will go for another run in the evening of about an hour with my shoes on.

I will leave you with a cool tip I have heard to do, and did myself with much satisfaction.  If you must run in shoes for some reason, and you don’t want to spend money buying a pair of racing flats or something with minimal cushioning, this is what you do.  Take your pair of trainers you are using now.  Look at them from the side.  You will notice that the heel foam and cushioning is about 2x as thick as the forefoot.  Well in order to run more easily on the forefoot, take a strong serrated knife or a small saw, and cut a wedge out of the heel so that the heel foam is the same height as the forefoot.  The wedge should run from the back of the shoe, towards the middle where the foam becomes a consistent thickness, tapering down as you go.  This will leave you with no tread on the heel, but if you are running with proper technique, you should be landing on your forefoot anyway, so the heel tread is useless.

Let me know if you have any questions and Ill guide you through it.  Take care and Happy Running!!

The Barefoot Revolution: Part 2

All good things come to those who wait.  That should be the motto of barefoot running. On Thursday, Aug. 20th, I started to develop some pain/tightness in my right foot.  I thought nothing of it, after 10 minutes of running it ebbed enough that I finished my hour long run without any other thought about it.  Little did I know that this decision would lead to injury.

This post will be the second installment in a series of posts about my journeys into barefoot running.  Again, I do not advocate going to or not to barefoot running above what you are already doing.  I like the idea of paying less on shoes every 2 months.  I also like the idea of strengthening my feet and lower legs and working on my stride.  I also personally feel that running shoes keep going more and more towards support and cushioning that in the end doesn’t seem to help people keep from getting injured.  So these series of articles will explore my own experiences.

The next morning after my last run, I woke up, stood up, and my foot immediately was in pain.  Sharp pain that radiated throughout my midfoot.  I tried to go for a short run, thinking maybe it was just a catch or it was me just still being tired and not really focused and I just stood up wrong or something.  I made it 100ft and turned around.  I waited until Monday to run again, but the same thing happened Monday morning.

Feeling depressed, I researched my symptoms on various podiatry journals and found out I had most likely sprained the second toe at the tarsometatarsal(TMT)joint.  This is a classic mid-foot sprain apparently, caused by excessive torque on the foot while up on the balls of the foot.  I followed the advice given, and took a week off, and iced and taped my foot everyday.

The following Monday, foot still taped, I ran in my huaraches for 1 mile.  No pain during or after the run, so that was a positive sign.  I ran 1.5 miles the next day in shoes, and a 5k in the sandals on Wednesday.  Still no pain had returned.  I noticed that running in the sandals felt better than in shoes, and was easier and more fun. That was interesting.  I alternated between sandals and shoes for the rest of the week.  I discovered that I was beginning to hate my shoes, they wrecked my form, and it always felt like I was trying too hard in my shoes because they were so inflexible compared to an almost bare foot!

When I run barefoot (or in sandals), I have to pay attention to my body, I am made to focus on how I am running, and on my stride at all times.  With shoes its the other way around.  I don’t have the same feeling of the ground and can easily drift off into not paying attention at all to what I am doing.  This leads to bad form.  Running without the shoes is almost like a forced meditation, you are perfectly in sync at all times.

At this point, I decided to go totally unshod, and not use my shoes at all, but how could I do this without getting injured, I wondered?  A common complaint when transitioning among barefoot runners is pain in the calf, Achilles, and foot.  After reading up a little on barefootrunning.org, I found my answer.

I would have to go totally barefoot.  The reasoning behind not using a transition shoe or a sandal or anything else in the beginning is sound.  The idea is that the soles of your feet, not yet being tough enough to handle running for as far as you could in shoes, should act as your mediator, telling you when to stop running for the day.  My soles would have told me to stop before I got too sore, too stiff, or pushed as hard as I did.  Running in a transition shoe had allowed me to push all those newly stressed muscles and ligaments kept safe in my shoe too hard too soon.

So, that Monday, September 7th, I ran a 5k barefoot.  My feet felt a little tender, but not in pain.  I ran a 5k again on Tuesday, and the rest of the days that week through Friday, and each day was fun and pain-free.  I ran a 10k on Saturday, also pain-free, and it was FUN!!  So, what had I learned then?

The key is the beginning.  I am now thinking that the way to go is totally barefoot for beginners until you build up to being able to run around what your normal daily mileage was with shoes-not counting any long runs obviously.  If you want to eventually wear some minimalist footwear, do that after your initial phase of totally barefoot.  Go only as far as your soles will let you each day.

So far I feel good about this barefoot thing. My feet and legs are getting stronger and my stride never felt better.  Next week, I plan on going out for 40-45minutes/day instead of the 30 I did this week.

My eventual goal has changed now somewhat.  Instead of 10 weeks to shoeless freedom, it is just to get to my old daily mileage of 15-20 miles.  Once I make it to that totally barefoot, I will start using my sandals and resume building up to a 50 mile run, it just may not be the 50 mile run that I wanted to make by Halloween.

The Barefoot Revolution: Part 1

Well, I know what you are all thinking, “Is he talking about barefoot running? What is he crazy!?”  Well, yes, and that remains to be seen.  There is growing evidence, though much of this subject still remains controversial, that running barefoot is better for you.  If anything, not spending $80-100 on running shoes every 1.5-2 months would sure be nice!

As part of a series of articles, I will be documenting my transition time from running with shoes (shod), to running shoeless (unshod).  I am not going to get into great depth with regards to the research behind this.  There is a lot out there, and as it is such a heated topic, I am just going to leave that section alone.  Should you feel that you would like to do some research on the topic, look for articles that are published in scientific journals and not ones published in newspapers.  Above all, I do personally feel that since we were not born with shoes on our feet, and that we existed fine for 10s and 100s of thousands of years running either barefoot, in sandals, or in shoes with no cushioning, that this is good enough anecdotal evidence for me to at least try it out.

Lastly, before I begin, I would like to clarify that my barefoot running will be done not technically barefoot, though at times I will be running completely free of anything, but with a minimalist sandal called the Huarache.

OK, so now to discuss my first couple weeks of transition, and let the madness, literally, begin!!

After reading some scientific evidence to suggest that my leg and foot health could be improved by running barefoot, I decided, like all things with running, that perhaps I just had to try it and see if it was for me.  Thursday, July 30th, I went for my first barefoot run.  For the previous month I had been suffering from shin splints that had caused me to take 4 days off from running and then greatly reduce my training plan so as to ease back into my previous mileage of about 100 miles/week.

That Thursday, I ran for 25 minutes, mostly on paved roads and sidewalks, and what a different feeling that was!  For days after this run, my calves remained very tight.  I had to stretch, massage, and apply heating pads multiple times a day, through the weekend to loosen them up.  If this barefoot thing was going to work, I wanted to make sure I did things right to give it a proper shot at success.

That weekend, while massaging my calves, I came up with a tentative, 10-week transition plan.  This post will cover these first 2 full weeks.  The first of those weeks, the week beginning Monday, August 3rd, would hold two 30 minute barefoot runs.  The crux of my plan would include a weekly addition of 1 barefoot run, and 10 minutes added to each of the runs that week.

So, that first week had me at 2 runs at 30 minutes each.  My first 30 minutes was fantastic.  It had started to rain, which I always enjoy running in, and running barefoot in the rain was so primal, I felt like Daniel Day Lewis in Last of the Mohicans.  By Thursday, I had bought a sheet of 6mm thick Vibram Cherry soling, and some latigo leather laces to make my huaraches just like the Native Americans in Copper Canyon use to run their 100+ mile races.  That Thursday run in the sandals was definitely an experience, those sandals would take some getting used to.  Already I was wondering what types of things I would have to deal with in by barefoot transition and I had just finished my first official week!!

My next week consisted of three 40 minute runs, which I ran in my huaraches.  My calves still required frequent heavy stretching after these runs, and now my feet, especially my arches, started to feel it as well.  However, after one particular run, the 3rd of the week, I started to feel what I hoped was a taste of the bounty that the future might hold.

I had just completed a 40 minute loop shod, and was now lacing up my huaraches for their 40 minute portion of my run.  As soon as I started I noticed how light my feet felt.  With no shoes, my stride seemed to be much more free to be natural as it wanted.  I finally stopped noticing the laces on my feet, and could run as if the huaraches weren’t even there.  I completed this loop only 1 minute slower than with shoes on, and a 1 minute difference over 40 minutes is really next to nothing when you aren’t paying attention to the time!!

So, 2 weeks were down, 8 more to go.  I want to wear my huaraches for at least half of the 50 mile run I want to complete on Halloween, so trying to make the next 8 weeks go by smoothly will be key.  Little did I know that I would partially sabotage my own efforts early in week 3.  Stay tuned for the next installment of this adventure to find out what happened!!