Barefoot Running

 Hey everyone – this is officially my first foray into the world of blogging (ooooh, very exciting)!   And what more exciting a topic to blog about than the world of running and shoes.   Okay, well maybe not the most exciting thing to everyone but most of us do spend a large part of each day in some sort of footwear (and most of us on this website do enjoy running).   In the next couple of weeks I will write about some common footwear mistakes, how to pick the correct shoes, how to know when it’s time for a new pair and what’s new in the world of running shoes.  I would definitely welcome any questions and will do my best to get answers up quickly!

So, in the spirit of a blog about shoes, my first blog is going to be about barefoot running!   The current issue of iRun magazine (out today)  is about picking the proper footwear for you so I thought I might add a little aside about a very popular topic in running these days – barefoot running.  I wrote this for another forum a few weeks ago and have posted it here:

I don’t think many experts will disagree with the potential benefits of moving towards a more efficient running style. However, we do have to be cautious with making these changes too quickly without the proper foundation.

We base many of the barefoot, ‘simplistic’ (although it is far from simple!) styles of running from tribes in South America and Africa that do run many barefoot miles each day with a significantly lower rate of injury, and typically at a much greater speed. This is certainly a model that we would all aspire to be like for our running. However,  most of us live very differently from those types of runners. For many of us, we sit all day at work which can cause certain muscles to shorten and tighten. As well, we may have certain strength imbalances and/or other genetic predispositions (fallen arches or high, rigid arches, leg length discrepancies, etc.) that may put us at greater risk of injury. Often the problem with immediately ditching our regular shoes and going out for a run barefoot or with a minimalist shoe is that we haven’t yet addressed some of these underlying problems.

That being said, there are many potential gains to be made from transitioning to a better running technique and getting away from overly cushioned running shoes. (It is the over cushioning that is often much more of a problem than the motion-control features of a shoe.) By improving our running efficiency, we set ourselves up to run both faster and likely with less injury. We associate swimming with technique and will spend a good portion of each workout doing drills, and yet we don’t attribute the same gains with running technique and running drills. Many runners who are able to run with minimalist shoes or barefoot either have been blessed with good genetics or more likely, have run track as a kid (or as an adult) and have done drills to ingrain proper technique.

Here are a few suggestions that I would make for those looking into improving their running technique:

(1) Find out where your weak spots are and fix them. It’s not just muscles in the foot and lower leg that cause injuries, but more likely it is the larger muscle groups in the thigh and hip. For example, if a runner is weak through the hip, especially on one side only, it can cause all kind of issues down below. Unfortunately, in most cases no amount of barefoot running will fix this. Going through a proper strength assessment with a professional and working on your weak spots is a great place to start.

(2) Flexibility, flexibility, flexibility. We do often sit a good part of the day and things get tight. We then expect our bodies to adapt to high mileage, intensity and new techniques which is often a recipe for injury. Improving flexibility through better stretching, yoga, and deep tissue work (i.e. sports massage, ART, etc.) means that our bodies will be so much more accommodating to change. Once strength imbalances are taken care of and flexibility is improved, we already have dramatically increased the odds of being successful with any kind of change in technique.

(3) Find a good running coach or go to see a professional who can help with proper technique.  One of the keys to proper technique is doing it properly. This sounds straight-forward but many people will read theory and incorporate it improperly which can cause even more problems. Adding insult to injury, if strength imbalances and flexibility issues aren’t first taken care of, many runners won’t be able to perform the technique properly anyway. Video analysis can be very beneficial for this so that you can actually see what you are doing and track changes over time.

For those willing to put the proper amount of background work in, a gradual change towards better running technique can be very rewarding for both reducing injuries and for gaining speed. For the lucky some (generally those with the right genes and the appropriate lifestyle) it may require very little background work. For the others, it can take years, if ever, to be able to run barefoot or in minimalist shoes. Regardless of whether we are able to run barefoot or with minimalist shoes or not, by improving flexibility, strengthening, and technique, we’re still much better off in the long run (no pun intended!).

Thanks for reading!

Ryan