Avoid leg injuries. Run barefoot (or at least learn how).

by OCBlazerFan1 on Jan 29, 2010 12:05 PM EST Comment 6 comments

Interesting research (and very nice little video) on how we were designed to run without shoes. Turns out that running in nice comfy padded shoes causes us to land on our heel when we run. We are supposed to be landing on the ball of the foot. Running without shoes will force your body to run in the correct position that it was designed to run in. Lessen your aches and pains by running the right way. I remember not learning how to sprint until I ran in track. Track shoes have almost zero heel padding. They force you to run on the balls of your feet.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123031997&sc=fb&cc=fp

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Oops. Here's the link again.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123031997&sc=fb&cc=fp

My favorite teams are the Blazers and any team that is playing the Lakers.

by OCBlazerFan1 on Jan 29, 2010 12:05 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

On the research side of things...

http://www.barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/index.html

kindov confirms intuition but its nice to see.

by vman on Feb 2, 2010 1:35 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I was always impressed how some marathon runners

could do it bare footed. I guess that’s the way we were designed to run. Seems like some of the guys from Kenya used to do it.

My favorite teams are the Blazers and any team that is playing the Lakers.

by OCBlazerFan1 on Feb 2, 2010 2:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Vibrams

My son has gotten into running in these “shoes”. Said he likes them a lot, even though they don’t have much in the way of padding. They were designed for bare foot runners. Haven’t had the guts to try them yet myself.

http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/barefooting/barefoot_running.cfm

by BinSC on Feb 18, 2010 1:43 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I’ve seen these — my sister and one of my cousins got them at Christmas. They’re transitioning to them slowly (doing some of their runs in normal shoes and then some in the Vibrams, and gradually increasing the “barefoot” part)

I’m probably too risk-averse to try them myself.

by BrianS on Feb 22, 2010 3:07 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I may end up in them.

I’m not really a “heel striker” anyway, so it shouldn’t be a huge transition. Think I will wait for my son’s 50 mile review though. Kind of pricey for something I may not like.

by BinSC on Feb 25, 2010 4:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs