TRAINING: Barefoot Running

I asked my friend Mary to give some explanation on barefoot running since she herself has been blogging about her barefoot running progress on Barefootin’ It In Boston. Recently, I have been getting a few questions about barefoot running – both Ray and even more so Mary are quite fond of it. (I would like to become more invested in it once I am done marathon training.) Here’s how Mary answered a few questions that I asked her about barefoot running:

What is barefoot running?

I should start by saying that I’m certainly not an expert on this subject, I’m just a recreational runner with about six months of experience running barefoot. Barefoot runners generally don’t wear any footwear, as the name suggests. However, many people also talk about barefoot running when they are actually running with shoes in a “barefoot running style.” This usually means they wear some type of footwear with little or no support, referred to by barefoot runners as “minimalist” footwear. This could include anything from the Vibram Five Fingers or Terra Plana EVOs, to homemade huarache sandals, or even aqua socks!  There are also some people, including elite athletes, that can run in a barefoot running style – meaning they strike the ground with their mid- or forefoot rather than their heel – in normal running shoes.

Mary’s Invisible Shoes

What is the science behind it?

Again, I’m definitely not an expert here, but as I understand it, there is actually a surprising lack of research out there on how barefoot running compares to shod running.  However, the Harvard Skeletal Biology Lab has started to study the subject and their findings so far are summed up nicely in this video:

Basically, they found that barefoot runners, who tend to strike the ground with their mid-or forefoot, experience fewer sudden impact forces than shod runners, who tend to hit the ground with their heel first.  The only catch is that they haven’t actually proven that less impact leads to less injury – but it certainly seems like a reasonable hypothesis.  Hopefully more research will take place to explore whether the different impact profile experienced by shod runners actually leads to increased risk of injury.

How do the vibram Five Fingers work?

Five Fingers are designed to mimic the barefoot running experience, while providing some protection.  When you run barefoot, you’ll find that you can’t really strike the ground with your heel as you take a stride - it would hurt!  It’s only the built-up, padded heel of your shoe that makes it possible for you to do this in shoes. The Five Fingers don’t have a built-up heel, or any arch support, so they allow your foot to function similarly to how it would function barefoot.  There are some important differences however - the major one being that you don’t get as much feedback from direct contact with the ground as you would if you were totally barefoot.  This can lead new runners doing run much too soon – before they’ve properly strengthened the muscles in their feet and calves.  When you run completely barefoot, your soles will tell you when you’ve had enough.

How did you first get into barefoot running?

You were actually the person that got me interested in the subject Sarah! I first learned about barefoot running in the book Born to Run.  I was very interested because I had been dealing with a lingering injury since I ran a marathon back in 2007. I tried just about everything, including physical therapy, custom orthotics, etc. but without much success.  I thought a more natural approach to running might help me overcome the injury and get back into running.

How did it change the way you run/feel?

I feel much lighter on my feet, and I feel stronger. It just feels more natural. It’s particularly fun on rainy days when you get to splash through puddles and feel the wet ground beneath your feet!

How does one shift into barefoot running?

Start slow, and start barefoot.  When I first planned to switch to barefoot running I started with only a few minutes and then increased 10% per week. Even this turned out to be ambitious, and sometimes I had to pull back for a week or two (or three) and decrease my training. It takes a lot of patience and time to build up the necessary strength in your calves and feet, and to condition your tendons.  How fast you progress will obviously vary for different people, but it took me about 6 months to fully transition to barefoot running. Dr. Daniel Lieberman, of the Harvard Skeletal Biology Lab, spoke at a local barefoot running workshop recently and he said it can take up to three years to fully condition your Achilles tendons, so I think patience is the key.  I would also recommend starting completely barefoot - not with Five Fingers or other minimal shoes.  I think it’s very important to learn correct form through the feedback you get by running completely barefoot. After you learn to run barefoot, you can always add minimalist shoes for protection if you want to increase your distance or run on rough terrain.

Be sure to check out Mary’s barefoot video too!

Teaser Barefoot Running Documentary from Mary Ackley on Vimeo.

Besides running barefoot and making mean potstickers Here are other reasons why Mary is so cool and you should keep up with her. She just got a super competitive job with USAID and will be working overseas shortly. She doesn’t know where yet. She’s hiked most of the Appalachian Trail (left early to go do Peace Corps in Fiji for two years). She’s fluent in Fijian. She mathematically and musically gifted – engineer who plays the French Horn. (In grad school she would play with another friend on Church St. and they called themselves the “Horn Belles”.) She made a documentary – Rock of Gold – with her husband Kris about her thesis work on gold mines in Fiji. She’s fun, adventurous, and I think a genius.