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Mackenzie [Visitor] in response to: The Silent Majority and the Barefoot Running Debate (Or the Runners Who Never Were)

Mackenzie [Visitor] — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:48:54 +0000

Right on, Justin!

I think you're absolutely right in your hypothesis: there are so many would-be runners out there who aren't part of this debate because they simply aren't running. I too was one of them. I first became interested in the VFFs because I love being barefoot -- I'm one of those people who would thrive in cultures where shoes are always left at the door when entering a building :D -- and didn't have any particular thought in mind of running with them. I gave up on running a long, long time ago, as the older I got, the more painful it was. I had at one point gotten a great deal on a pair of expensive trail runners and had tried to get back into exercising again, but couldn't even make it around the block at a brisk walk without my shins and knees starting to hurt.

When I got my VFFs, I just started doing everything in them: walking the dog, kayaking, working, running errands... I just plain don't wear shoes anymore (okay, except muck boots when I'm out with the horses ;)), because it is profoundly more comfortable to just use what nature gave me. And I only started running in them because I couldn't *help* but run in them. I defy anyone to take an excited and energetic dog for a walk in VFFs (no, YOU in VFFs, not the dog! :D) without doing at least a few stretches at a nice steady trot.

I have a friend who became a real addicted runner some years ago, and who runs marathons and whatnot, and I wanted very badly to get into that with her, but all I heard (and experienced) every time I tried running was how running would leave you with ruined knees and a host of injuries, and that it was just the price you paid. It amazes me that so many people would sooner just accept the common wisdom -- that they WILL suffer serious, crippling, lifelong injury -- than try something different, something that logic and science tell us may eliminate all the downsides of running.

I love my VFFs. In fact, I dropped by today to see what the latest buzz is on best places to buy Treks, because I think the extra tread will help me in my wintertime muddy treks through the local redwood forests, and in fact the more I run in these shoes, the more fun I have the more I'm seeking out tougher, longer and more complex challenges. My only problem with running now is finding places to run where the trail just keeps on going!

I do get a lot of "wtf are you wearing on your feet?!" comments, but I've also met a ton of people who are REALLY interested in the VFFs and who seem to be looking for something more (or less, I suppose, if you want to be literal ;)) than their conventional shoes are giving them. And I'm seeing a lot more VFFs around town, and hearing about them too (people spot my shoes and I invariably hear, "Oh, I saw a guy at [the supermarket/the pier/the marathon/wherever] in a pair of those; what are they?" Change may be slow, and there may be people and industries who fight it all the way, but I do think it's coming on regardless.

Justin Owings [Member] in response to: The Silent Majority and the Barefoot Running Debate (Or the Runners Who Never Were)

Justin Owings [Member] — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:39:39 +0000

@Ann,

Your experience is interesting, and I have to say, different than what I usually see. For example, I've seen people with flat feet develop arches after getting into Vibrams.

I do think there is a vicious cycle at play with regard to overly supportive shoes and/or heavily cushioned shoes forcing bad form and causing injuries and weakening feet, ankles, and knees, resulting in needing more cushioning and more support and on and on. But you are correct: we are not perfectly built and the process by which we were designed is necessarily one that is never at any "final product."

Thanks for sharing --

Ann [Visitor] in response to: The Silent Majority and the Barefoot Running Debate (Or the Runners Who Never Were)

Ann [Visitor] — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:35:12 +0000

@Justin:

I was actually wearing thin-soled, minimalist shoes for a long time before I found out I had bad knees. They were part of the problem---without arch support in my shoes, my feet have no arch. When I started wearing corrective insoles, going for an hour without them caused my arches to collapse and put me in a lot of pain. Now that I've been wearing them for a while, I can wear unsupportive shoes or go barefoot for a day or two with no ill effects. This was not the case with minimalist shoes.

The problem is that our bodies are not error-free. Our ancestors didn't have glasses when they were primitive hunter-gatherer tribes, but that doesn't stop me from putting on glasses in the morning so that I can see. I see my insoles as something similar--not everyone needs them, but if some people do, that's not a part of some vast marketing conspiracy (mine were recommended by a physical therapist who wore Vibrams), any more than glasses are part of a vast glasses-industry conspiracy to make us think our eyes are fundamentally damaged.

Justin Owings [Member] in response to: The Silent Majority and the Barefoot Running Debate (Or the Runners Who Never Were)

Justin Owings [Member] — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:01:45 +0000

I agree -- (see the parenthetical in the second to last sentence of my last paragraph).

I mostly see running as the easiest in to spreading awareness b/c it's so prevalent and the case for it is intuitively easy to make. You can barefoot walk with a heel strike but you can't barefoot run that way. As a species, we've been barefoot longer than shod, hence we must have run barefoot hence we shouldn't heel strike when running.

There's probably a better way to say that.

Anyway, I agree!

Matt [Visitor] in response to: The Silent Majority and the Barefoot Running Debate (Or the Runners Who Never Were)

Matt [Visitor] — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:58:24 +0000

Justin -- This also extends beyond running. Other shoes that people wear are just as detrimental to natural movement. It's very tough to find shoes for walking, working, or hiking that allow one's foot to just be a foot.

Justin Owings [Member] in response to: The Silent Majority and the Barefoot Running Debate (Or the Runners Who Never Were)

Justin Owings [Member] — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:17:08 +0000

@Michael,

That's actually the main point of this article -- that it's not just "to each his own" when the prevailing paradigm (the default position) is that you run in thick-heeled shoes. Thick-heeled shoes = heel-striking = pain/discomfort running for many, many people (the majority in my opinion). If you are in pain when you run, you simply won't run!

And if you're not running, you're not going to ask the question "Ok should I heel strike or forefoot strike? What kind of shoes should I wear, if any?" Thus, the "movement" is important because it can overturn the prevailing paradigm and re-open running (and all natural movement, for that matter) to the masses. The movement is about restoring a healthy paradigm around footwear -- not just keeping the discussion limited to the people who already run.

Michael Genovese [Visitor] in response to: The Silent Majority and the Barefoot Running Debate (Or the Runners Who Never Were)

Michael Genovese [Visitor] — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:13:19 +0000

Why does this have to be a "movement." This all sounds way too political. Everybody is free to put what they want on their feet. Just get out there and run :).

Brian [Visitor] in response to: The Silent Majority and the Barefoot Running Debate (Or the Runners Who Never Were)

Brian [Visitor] — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:41:58 +0000

Justin - nice post. I was in your last category. A serious runner who bought into the lore that exercise as a person gets beyond college is just going to hurt no matter what. So I quit. I came back with a passion and interest in getting it right and finding a pain free solution (barefoot and VFF). There are relatively few of us out there that won't give up because of the pain, and so we're passionate about the solution we found. With your and others' efforts the debate HAS gone mainstream, so at least the information is out in the open. Hopefully it will captivate some of those runners that never were and will help prevent that situation in the future.

Claude diamond [Visitor] in response to: The Silent Majority and the Barefoot Running Debate (Or the Runners Who Never Were)

Claude diamond [Visitor] — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:56:08 +0000

I just love it when CV (conventional wisdom) is wrong. All we have heard about for the last 25 years is that we need more protection, bigger, heavier,controlling style shoes;in reality for many of us the opposite is true.
I groan when I think of all the shin splints and knee injuries that could have been avoided if I just kept running in my Keds™ and PF Flyers™ .

Joggling Joe [Visitor] in response to: The Silent Majority and the Barefoot Running Debate (Or the Runners Who Never Were)

Joggling Joe [Visitor] — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:32:47 +0000

Protect thy feet! Insulate, correct, avoid, pamper, and shield from all the modern dangers out there (insert sarcasm). Especially in running :) Love that initial gut reaction that people have when they consider how less could be more.

Overcoddling our feet; a nice gesture to our bodies, but it is just a slap in the face to our bipedal ancestry.

Winning over the mainstream american psyche of "more is better" protection is quite a challenge. I think it's great that minimalist works for so many, and that more are gaining appreciation and experience in what it can do for them.

I got to go joggle in my KSO's. Need to get some fresh air. Keep the posts on running coming Justin :) It's a hot topic.