Discussion Board

Just wondering if there are any barefoot runners here? Shod or not... I love running, though the weight loss isn't the speediest

I have run in vibrams for a year, not all the time though. I recently started running bare for real on trail and its addictive. Slow to increase distance snce bare foot gives great feedback when you go too far! Suggest you go real slow barefoot, check out sites like barefootrunninguniversity etc for advice, its really important to not try to do too much too soon. Kindle version of the book the guy from that site wrote is inexpensive.

In terms of weight loss and running, it can be challenging for folks like me who are slow. I figure I burn in range of 100 calories per mile so it takes a few miles to make a difference. Problem I have is I tend to get hungrier in greater proportion than I burn! I actually gained weight when I did marathon training. But that was eating sad. After trying various combos of running and food, diet plays more vital role IMO. With McD diet its nice to be able to eat basically as much as i want. also seems to be key to be consistent with running (if you stop and start you may continually be hungry or eat same amount as when running) and throw in some sensible intensity occasionally.

Yeah... the problem with running barefoot or barefoot style is it is more efficient! McD diet fits right in with that... Actually, my barefoot running is what got me researching diet. I felt horrible running after eating meat.. and the rest is history!

Are the vibrams comfortable? I have pondered trying them because I have a lot of issues with bunyons on balls of my feet.

I use the vibram 5 fingers and love em. I hesitate to call myself a runner though - a mile and a half a couple times a week is it for me!

Yeah I am more of a jogger than a runner!
I started with the KSO version and they were good for soft surfaces or walking around, quite frankly i thought i may as well not wear them and go barefoot. Now I have the Bikila version, no socks with a bit of lube on my arches (theres a seam there). I put on FLOs w Injinji socks when cold (bought FLOs a size up). They have slightly more sole thickness which I want to protect against rocks.
There are a bunch of new models I have yet to try.

I would n't necessarily call them comfortable as there isn't cushion, so if the bunions bother you barefoot, they will bother you in Vibrams. I have had Nike Frees before and they let your foot flex real well and have cushion, they don't meet the typical barefoot runner requirement that the sole have same thickness at toes/ball and heel. The barefoot runner sites do exhaustive reviews of many shoe, bet you could find a minimal shoe with some cushion that works. Another option is to check out chirunning/chiwalking, they promote running/walking form that's basically the same form as barefoot but you still basically find the best shoe that works for you. I talked to a couple trainers a while back and they liked Vibrams occasionally but mainly ran in those old Nike jogging shoes like I wore as a kid! Retro and minimal!

this is GREAT!! Barefoot runners AND McDougallers all in one! Thought I was the only one on the planet! I run barefoot on the beach here on the Gold Coast in Australia nearly everyday! FABulous...get to watch the humpbacks breaching as they are migrating north to give birth in the tropical waters while i run!! Have just bought a pair of Brooks Racers to run on hard surfaces..still too much cushioning for me so took innersole out and now feel like i have nothing on my feet..great!! I too am a slow distance runner..only manage 10 to 30 min runs..do mainly sprint training on the hard sand..100m to 400m repeats. I have found that while being on MWL I don't put on any weight anymore if i don't exercise EVERYDAY...Dr McDougall is right about that...so am sticking to that forever!! Happy Barefoot running to you all Wendy

My DH and I got into BF running after reading "Born to Run".. anyone who hasn't read it, should! It is an awesome book. Entertaining, thought-provoking, and informative. My Dh doesn't read, and he has been BUYING copies for friends that we love, and acquaintances that we know who love to run... everyone assumes that running means you have to be fast, and that you will have injuries.

That's just not the case.

I run anywhere between 13 minute miles to 9 minute miles. Running in Vibrams (which I have the bikilas to run in and I also have the Merrell trail gloves), or plain barefoot requires a SLOW break in period. I remind myself that when I get discouraged about being "slow". From what I have studied, it takes 2 years for your tendons and bones to get "caught up" with the rest of your body running this way due to all the years of being shod. Makes sense to me. Think of your arm or leg being in a cast for just 6 weeks and all the atrophy and weakness that comes about. And a shoes is worse than a cast, with all the "supports and motion control".

I am just thrilled that i have discovered this, for myself at the age of 28, and for my young children whose bones are forming!!!



And pocketrocket, I am super in awe of what you get to run and watch. I merely play a game and try to ran as fast as I can to have a breeze in 110* weather and run away from mosquitoes!!!

I totally agree you MUST go into barefoot running SLOWLY! I have watched the youtube videoes where the author gives a lecture on the book so know all about Born To Run....yes sooooooooo inspiring..I was already barefoot running on the sand but wasn't sure if i was doing the wrong thing...lots of naysayers told me I would get lower back problems etc etc...I have ended up with problems but that was because I had an anteriorally tilted pelvis, not because of running barefoot. I have a high hamstring tendonopathy (R) which slows my training for sprinting but i can jog with no problem..have had this for 10yrs...I just keep running..LOVE IT!!! I have found a physio who is an ultradistance barefoot runner and he has helped me heaps with rehab. He ran the gold coast marathon last year in vibrams! Does his trail runs in minimal shoes because of rocks. Keep on running!! Wendy

I've been running barefoot and also with Vibrams for the last 6 months. Don't think I could ever go back to sneakers again.

The most important thing IMO for making the transition from wearing sneakers to going barefoot/Vibrams is cadence. You NEED >180 steps per minute. Every race that's ever been won, from 5k to 42k, with or without sneakers, has been won this way.

The easiest way I have found is to count 45 steps per 15 seconds. I used to have do this every 1 minute when I 1st started, but now I only have to do it once every 5 minutes.

When we run "faster" we DO NOT take more steps, we simply lengthen our stride. With sneakers most runners take <180 steps per minute. This encourages heel striking which is to barefoot running what fried carcass is to McDougalling. I sincerely believe that 100% of the people that try barefoot running and don't like it are not practicing correct cadence.

Barefoot running is not just simply taking off your sneakers. It's a whole revamping of the running form... actually I should say a re-revamping, because when we were children running around we all had perfect form - as do the world's greatest runners, the Kenyans, who don't wear sneakers until they go to America and get paid by Nike to put something on their feet. (Not many people can benefit financially from a starch centered diet OR barefoot running - hence all the negativity in the media.

Before when I ran 5K's my legs were sore for up to a week! With barefoot running I can honestly say there is no more muscular soreness, though blisters still plague me sometimes. That's where the Vibrams come in handy.

I believe there is a direct correlation between becoming nutrionally educated and becoming cynical, insofar as trusting the mainstream medical community's motives. Our cynicism in the dietary arena easily transfers to cynicism in the running arena, making it easy to stop wearing sneakers for running.

I spent one summer running in minimal shoes -- Chuck Taylors, actually, because I didn't want to spring for Vibrams. I read the Barefoot running book and thought it was very intriguing, and I really did fix some knee and ankle problems I'd been plagued with.

But I run exclusively on hard surfaces strewn with rocks and acorns and it got to be a bit much. So I went back to sneakers and learned Pose running, which focuses on the fast cadence and mid-foot landing, and my knee and ankle pain hasn't returned.

I remember the cast metaphor from the book -- effective, but a little exaggerated, I think! My feet still move around a lot in sneakers and I definitely feel the ground.

Very cool to hear about all these barefoot runners! I am recovering from arthritis, and cannot run yet, but I have read all the books I can find on running barefoot and if I ever do run again, that is how I plan to try it out.

I'm working on getting to running and I got some vibrams and I love them. My back and hip don't hurt me like they used to with normal running/walking shoes.

I've been trail running five miles a day barefoot for about two years. In fact, the only time I ever wear shoes is at work. I've had no injuries, or any other problems yet, except that everyone thinks I'm nuts. Something about questioning the status quo really shakes 'em up.

I feel outnumbered. I still run in thick running shoes.