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What I'm not so sure about is doing this on asphalt and concrete, and taking the risk of stepping on sharp stuff like glass, metal scraps, etc. Several people have pointed out that we are naturally built to go barefooted. That may be true if we're treading on natural surfaces. I've done wind sprints on the lawn, and found that it feels good, but I'd hesitate to run on the street. Dwatted Wabbit points out that God designed us with no shoes on our feet. However, he designed us to walk and run barefooted across his good soft earth, not city concrete.
Wet sand is super hard. Dried lake bed is hard. Dried dirt is hard. The point is there is a lot of hard surfaces that occur in nature.
I like running barefoot on concrete because I can't get away with a lazy foot strike.
Jonnyald, your observation about there being some give, or spring, in most natural surfaces is a key point. My experience has been that this makes all the difference. In my previous post I said that I sometimes run wind sprints on the lawn barefooted and it feels good, but I'd hesitate to run barefoot on the street. My comment about running in the street was hypothetical, because I don't actually run on pavement, even with shoes.
Running used to be a staple of my exercise regimen until my knees went bad from all the pounding on the pavement. I wasn't happy to give up running, but I finally acknowledged that I would have to find other forms of exercise if I didn't want to become a cripple from the effect that running on the roads had on my knees.
Despite this chronic injury, I still occasionally do sprints on grass, or in the snow during the winter, and have no problem. I don't do this often, but I won't run at all on pavement. When I used to try returning to running long distances on the road, it would take only a few steps for me to realize that this was a bad idea. Yet I can still occasionally run sprints on grass or in snow without ill effects. That springiness found in a natural surface makes the difference.
We have an 11.26 acre property, back in the woods with 2.5 acres cleared (more or less) I sometimes wear shoes when I go into town. I have been running barefooted for almost 40 yrs.
I've been having this debate with one of my running friends. She's trying to transition to barefoot, or the Vibram shoes. I'm not sure it's not all hype. At the very least, I don't think it's for everyone. Just because the Kenyans and the Tarahumara Indians run barefoot doesn't mean it's good for someone with a different build. I don't see myself ever running barefoot.
The Indians and Kenyans and savage tribes running around in their loin cloths are running on dirt, grass, sand, and every other substance you can think of that exists in natural. Trust me....if an Indian or a Kenyan tribesman had to run on concrete, asphalt, gravel, pieces of glass, bubble gum, he'd probably sell his family cow for a pair of sneakers. This whole barefoot running movement and Vibram five finger movement is stupid and lacking total common sense. Five fingers are great if you are hiking in the woods etc. But to run on concrete in them? Stupidity and years and years of backpain and knee problems during middle age. The lack of intelligence in the American and industrialized consumer never ceases to amaze me.
running around in their loin cloths are running on dirt, grass, sand, and every other substance you can think of that exists in natural. Trust me....if an Indian or a Kenyan tribesman had to run on concrete, asphalt, gravel, pieces of glass, bubble gum, he'd probably sell his family cow for a pair of sneakers.
Its obvious you haven't read the scientific studies on barefoot running. According to the Nature paper published earlier this year, impact forces on the joints were lower with barefoot running....even on concrete/pavement. As has been explained, (over and over and over)....its not the running surface that causes increased impact forces, its the way the foot hits the running surface. Wearing running shoes makes a runner heel-strike, which increases the impact force.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SoCalCroozer
This whole barefoot running movement and Vibram five finger movement is stupid and lacking total common sense.
...and what is YOUR evidence for this?
Quote:
Originally Posted by SoCalCroozer
Five fingers are great if you are hiking in the woods etc. But to run on concrete in them? Stupidity and years and years of backpain and knee problems during middle age.
So how do you explain the fact that millions of runners STILL have knee/back pain despite wearing pricey running shoes?
Quote:
Originally Posted by SoCalCroozer
The lack of intelligence in the American and industrialized consumer never ceases to amaze me.
Which industrialized consumer are you referring to? The one that is buying into the current Vibram Five-fingers craze now, or the ones that brought into the cushioned running shoe invented by Nike 30 years ago (and continue to buy into it today?)
I saw some guy doing this on some of the filthiest streets in the city I would never in a billion years do this.
I do it regularly in Downtown and Midtown Detroit, as does my wife. The hydrocarbon residue washes off in seconds, and never as much as a scratch.
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I would never in a billion years do this.
