Barefoot running is for better or worse becoming a popular fad in the running community as an alternative to the usual running shoes. Depending on who you talk to, we were originally made to run without running shoes as we had to survive, to go hunting for food supplies. Since that time asphalt and concrete got invented and we then needed to protect ourselves from the impacts on those unforgiving surfaces. The longer term effects of this impact on our bodies is not clearly known. The size of the barefoot running community is very small but is claimed to be growing fast, but so is the negative anti barefoot running rhertoric comments from many sources is matching the pro barefoot running rhetoric.
Those who prefer to run without running shoes and tout it, do make a number of claims about the potential benefits of running barefoot. They claim that the barefoot running biomechanics is better than running in shoes. They also make claims that there are less overuse injuries in those that do run without runningshoes. There is absoltuly no research evidence showing that running without running shoes is any or any worse and running barefoot. Those who promote the philisosphy of barefoot running point to what they claim is evidence, but it never actually shows what they claim!. The barefoot running community is largely dominated by those who act very cult like and are very passionate about the principles of barefoot running. Barefoot runners have been likened to religious zealots.
All this discourse, debate and discussion, does not necessarily mean or prove that barefoot running might not have any of the benefits claimed, its just the evidence is lacking. It can probably be carried out in moderation and as part a training program. A number of elite runners include barefoot drills in their training programs.
More can be found on Barefoot Running. The barefoot running community do not take to well to anything negative bneging siad about them: negative about barefoot running – bit like the Church of Scientology. There are even barefoot running shoes! – how can there be such a thing?
No related posts.
Comments on this entry are closed.