Barefoot Running

I have seen several articles come out on barefoot running within the last couple of weeks.  Here’s one about ‘Barefoot Striders.’  There is The Running Barefoot site.  And then there is barefootrunner.com.  Then there is Barefoot Ted.  From the Vibram Five Fingers Classic to the Nike Free which is made to simulate barefoot running, articles brag about the benefits.  Here’s one article, and another, and there is a barefoot running craze in Portland.  And the debate continues, from runnersworld.com…

Running Debate

BAREFOOT RUNNING

Two sides of a very hot topic.

By Amby Burfoot

From the February 2010 issue of Runner's World

In 1960, Ethiopian Abebe Bikila won the Olympic Marathon in bare feet. In 1966, Robert Parker recorded his hit song "Barefootin'." And in 1969, Paul McCartney walked barefoot across Abbey Road. No one noticed a trend; people in the '60s had other concerns. Three decades later, Ken Bob Saxton completed his first barefoot marathon in 4:12. Still, it wasn't until 2009 that barefoot running became a hot topic. The biggest impetus was Christopher McDougall's book Born to Run. While ostensibly the story of Mexico's Tarahumara Indians—who run barefoot or in tire-tread huaraches—controversial chapters in the book conclude that running shoes have done little to prevent injuries. The popularity of minimal shoes, such as the Nike Free and Vibram FiveFingers, has fueled the fire. "Barefoot Ken Bob" Saxton, founder of runningbarefoot.org, and sports podiatrist-biomechanist Kevin Kirby, D.P.M., a runner for nearly 40 years, agreed to discuss the merits—and drawbacks—of running barefoot. (McDougall declined.)

Read the whole article here.