Barefoot running: New movement afoot
By Jim Krajewski • jkrajewski@rgj.com • April 28, 2010
Dr. Mel Magboo lost his shoes more than a year ago. On purpose.
And it was one of the best things he ever did.
For most people, running without shoes seems a little risky. There is debris in the form of rocks, glass and other hazardous material on the ground. And it goes against years of ingrained thinking, which is that more padding is better.
But for runners who have made the leap, there is no alternative to running barefoot. It's not sweeping the running world, yet, but practitioners are passionate about this "new" way of running.
They say it cuts down on injuries as a runner transforms his or her style, from landing heel first to landing on the balls of their feet. Barefoot runners can avoid potentially damaging impacts, equivalent to two to three times their body weight, that shoe-wearing heel-strikers repeatedly experience.
"Wearing shoes is very
inefficient. I want to enjoy running and I want to be efficient," Magboo said. "I did my homework, I attended seminars about running without shoes. I try to understand the biomechanics of the body."
Magboo, a 42-year-old from Reno, is one devotee. He will run either the half-marathon or 10-kilometer race at the Rock-N-River
Festival on Sunday in downtown Reno.
He is a big believer in the benefits of running without shoes.
But Magboo won't be completely barefoot. He will wear Vibram's Five Fingers on his feet. Vibram, which is known for making soles for shoes and boots, also make the Five Fingers, which is like a glove for your foot.
They come as close to allowing a runner to go barefoot without actually doing so, allowing flexibility and the mechanical benefits of being barefoot but with protection from road hazards.
Magboo swears by them.
The typical human foot has 26 bones, 33 joints, 20 muscles and hundreds of sensory receptors, tendons and ligaments, according to Vibram's Web site.
Keeping all that injury free is the big draw for barefoot runners, who also say their soles have hardened and their toes have gotten stronger.
"Basically, you avoid heel-striking, which isn't a natural form of running," Magboo said.
Although there are few practitioners, barefoot running is a central theme at this year's Rock-N-River.
Dr. Todd Lorenc will deliver a presentation on the benefits and drawbacks of running barefoot during the pre-race health expo (at 2 p.m. Saturday). The public is welcome to attend.
"Twenty thousand years ago, when we were hunters and gatherers, people didn't have shoes. They were barefoot," Lorenc said. "They had no foot problems. Everything changed in the early 1970s, when Nike hit the scene. They came out with more supportive shoes with a cushioned heel."
He said before that runners wore shoes such as Chuck Taylors, which offered a thin, flexible sole and minimal support.
Magboo said many of his running partners have not made the change to running barefoot, or with the Vibrams, but some are choosing shoes with thinner soles as a way of making the transition to barefoot running.
"It's very awkward at first. It's a big change. The thing is to have a positive mind-set," Magboo said. "You're getting away from the modern invention of shoes to using a more natural movement."
Magboo started going shoeless in January 2009. When he wore shoes, he suffered various maladies, including plantar fasciitis (swelling on the bottom of the foot) and shin splints. When he ditched his shoes, those problems subsided.
He advocates making a gradual move to barefoot running by attempting only short distances so your feet and body become accustomed to the style, which does not look awkward but appears a little more bouncy and springlike than conventional running styles.
Glass and gravel can be hazardous to your feet, though Magboo and Lorenc said they have not encountered any problems. Magboo suggested wearing socks for added protection and peace of mind.
The doctor, who works in geriatric medicine, says he has gotten faster since tossing his shoes.
"You get the perception of feeling when your foot hits the ground," he said.
He added that energy is lost when absorbed by shoes, energy that he uses to run faster.
Lorenc said people have better balance without shoes than with them.
"If you stumble (with shoes on) your body is not able to correct itself as effectively," he said. "You're subjecting yourself to sprained ankles and other types of injuries."
Lorenc thinks barefoot running will become more popular. He brings up South African distance runner Zola Budd, who competed in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and was one of the best-known barefoot runners.
"When you look at exercise in general over the past three to five years, there are now many different types, such as yoga and Pilates, that 15 years ago weren't even thought of," Lorenc said.
Todd Byers of Los Angeles has run 83 marathons barefoot (out of 264 total), a number he said is more than anyone else. Byers ran the Lake Tahoe Marathon last fall barefoot but had other obligations and is not running Saturday in the Rock-N-River.
"You build up different muscles when you run barefoot. It helps so you don't get any injuries," Byers said. "So many people say they can't run because their knees hurt. I liken it to wearing high heels. The mechanics of shoes make you do the wrong thing."
He said runners can wear shoes but alter their running style to mimic being barefoot and thereby become more efficient and less prone to injury.
Byers said people become more sensitive to glass and other dangers when barefoot and can react more quickly than with shoes and avoid injury.
"People have different thoughts, but I think they should give (barefoot running) a go," Byers said. "What's the first thing people do at the end of a race? People take their shoes off. People say their shoes were hurting. When they look at me, they see it can be done. I say, that's why I quit wearing shoes."
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