Running barefoot

lamai

(CNN) -- Terry Chiplin didn't need a Harvard study to tell him what he's known for years.

"Barefoot running, for me, is a lot less painful than wearing running shoes," said the 55-year-old Brit, who competed in high school in thin-soled leather shoes and would run shoeless whenever he could.

After taking a break in early adulthood from the sport, Chiplin returned to it by buying a fancy pair of running shoes.

"I'd come home with blisters, my feet killing me," he said. "So one day, I just said to myself, 'Who cares what anybody thinks? I'm putting sole to earth.' "

Chiplin now teaches running and outdoor fitness in Estes Park, Colorado, and does it shoeless as often as possible.

He's among many runners on blogs and list-servs who've been debating new studies about the most efficient running form. Should you go barefoot Video? Land heel-first or on the balls of your feet? Are those fancy shoes hurting more than helping you?

The study stirring the most buzz was led by Harvard evolutionary biologist Dr. Daniel Lieberman.

It's the first to compare how much impact the body takes when a runner is wearing shoes or is barefoot. Using high-speed video, the study revealed barefoot runners strike with their forefoot and suffer less jarring to their bodies. When you're barefoot, you're going to land with the portion of your foot that is most springy. And think of the barefoot run as a game of hot potato -- if you know you have rocks and glass on that surface, you're going to move more carefully and pick your feet up quicker.

Shoe wearers strike with their heel and deliver a shock to their overall body that is two to three times their body weight. Lieberman's test subjects were Kenyan runners who had spent their lives running barefoot and the Harvard track team, which runs in shoes.

Watch the difference between barefoot and shoe running

"Runners are responding because they are always interested in the latest science of their sport, and they have a personal reaction to being told that they're shoes are going to be taken away," said D. Leif Rustvold, a Portland, Oregon, runner with a masters in anthropological biology who works for a health care provider.

Though he switched to barefooting a few years ago and saw an improvement in his efficiency, he predicts barefooting will remain a practice of a minority.


http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/12/barefoot.running/index.html?hpt=C2

robinph

The winner of the ladies BHAA race at the airport today was barefoot. Not sure I'd risk it in amongst the crowds further back though, but if you tend to be out in front on your own probably worth a try.

Raighne

There is a very balanced article on the recent discussion on this here: http://www.sportsscientists.com/