Article: 'Barefoot Running Pros and Cons'

Check out Barefoot Running Pros and Cons, an article written by Heba Hosny of Run Addicts. The author claims to shed some light on the controversial issue of barefoot running. While the information shared is not news to many active barefoot runners, it is a decent preview to the possible benefits to the sport. Testimonials of a number of runners gone barefoot, including some famous barefooters, go up against a major opponent's testimonial. Some pro-barefoot scientific research is also sited. Enjoy.

Comments

[sage]

I have only a single con... I managed to break a toe while running a 25k trail race in my RunAMocs. An invisible stump by the side of the trail was the culprit and I broke the toe really good when I smashed into the darn thing.

[Nathan Smith]

Ouch. Broken toes are no fun, Sage. I hope it healed up okay. Those darn invisible stumps!!!

I would love to give the Soft Star RunAmoc a try sometime. I have heard some good things about them.

[S G STUDENT]

There are many pros and cons to running barefoot. One of the benefits of the physical advantage is reducing the risk of injury. The physical disadvantage would be to those with sensitive feet who want to avoid the surface pain of their foot striking the ground and the cracks or blisters that may occur. However, the five finger shoe helps to solve this disadvantage. Another advantage would be the agility that runners who have ran without shoes have experienced due to the foot striking the ground in the correct way. However, for runners who have been running with shoes their whole life, as many people have, their feet are used to the heel strike, which could potentially hurt worse without shoes. A little training and the runner’s feet can easily adapt to the correct method of barefoot running that they were designed for. Even though barefoot running can be better for the body of the runner, it could potentially be hard on the reputation. People who have not researched the subject may not be aware of the true benefits that running without shoes can offer. Therefore their initial response to seeing someone run barefoot may not be positive. Education is the key. By running barefoot, the runner not only get the information out by example, but it also give them an opportunity to teach people about the benefits and change the minds of runners everywhere one person at a time.