Article: Barefoot vs. minimal "naturalistic" running: the blurbs show the difference

[Smelph]

well said Stomper!

This reflects my experiece as well, as the only barefoot runner who participated in a marathon training group of almost 300 people over the winter. Everyone else was so focused on goal paces I had a really hard time relating to most of them as I was just there because I enjoed running and wanted to build a longer base mileage. It got really difficult towards the end as what I'd been doing for months -keeping up with my pace group, building mileage relentlessly, etc.- conflicted severely with my attitude towards running in general. Anyway, the point is that while everyone else, who were all in shoes, was looking for some edge to improve their performance I was simply there to go for a run and enjoy myself.

personality differences indeed!

 

[Matt]

Personally, I'm of the belief that I can't run as fast in shoes as I do barefoot. But given that running in shoes doesn't feel quite as good, or even half as good as running barefoot, I'm not willing to test this theory.

I do believe that it takes a good decade or two to become an elite runner. Ideally, a runner grows up running barefoot to and from school, and basically runs whenever feeling the need to gofrom going from point A to point B. If you look at elite Kenyons (or at least what we've been told about them), they fit this description.

But if a runner-want-a-be, like myself finally wakes up and tosses out his shoes at the age of 41, chances are good that he will never reach the upper eschelons of running, even though he or she is no longer limited by running shoes.

But regardless of my speed in comparison to others, I believe quite strongly that I'm much, much faster as a barefoot runner than I ever would have been running in shoes.

 

[Joshh]

Great read Stomper.

I find myself between the two personalities. At 40.5 years old (catching up to you Matt) I am getting interested in competitive running and I'm finding it really stimulating to have a goal to work towards. It has made me commit more to running and to doing so in a safe way. I haven't competed in 22 years and am very curious as to the answer of the question of it being possible to run faster barefoot. My feeling is that it might not be and that in some cases like races on very rocky trails (like the one us OR Chapter folk will be doing at the end of the month) it might even be slower due to the need to avoid momentum on the downhills. But... we'll see about that.

 

[stomper]

My personal feeling is that the effect of going barefoot on race speed very much depends on the event. No question that for rugged trail downhills (I'm talking very rugged, not just the occasional rock) barefoot slows me down as my body adjusts to minimize abuse. For shorter road races (5 or 10k) I'd be faster in shoes because I can abuse my legs more that way. (But why would I want to?)

On the other hand, I'd say longer distances (>10k) I go faster barefoot, because at my weight it is not good for me to be abusing my legs. Though 10 miles is about the farthest I've ever run in one session, I feel like I could do nearly distance short of a full marathon barefoot and still be comfortable.

That's for me. While I'm not sure all runners have done the same calculus, my gut feeling is that minimal shoes allow you to push the rest of your body more. Which is what competitive runners want to do, I think.

 

[Matt]

My thoughts are similar to yours on this. I've only done road races. A bunch of 5K's, and one 10K, and another 10K coming up later this month. One race was on crushed gravel, which is a pretty good surface barefoot. For me at least, hard surfaces are ideal for racing barefoot. The footing is sure, the return of energy is excellent, and no extra weight slowing me down. And my PR's are all barefoot.

 

[fredvp71]

This year I am running all bare races. I am averaging 13% slower barefoot than in vibrams, which makes quite a difference. Times dropping from 20:30 to 23:10 in 5K's. But.... I've gained a lot of weight since last year, as I switched to only barefoot mileage, which over the winter was practically zero. Now I'm up to 25 miles a week barefoot, and am regularly doing 7 and 8 mile runs with no issues, and am confident I'll be doing 30 and 40 mile weeks by end of June.

So, if I get back down to "race" weight it might be a different story.

Luna sandals are the "closest" shoe I've used, and even in those I struggle to maintain 90 bpm, which is my absolute minimum barefoot. Form is just not the same as soon as you introduce any cushion to the foot at all.

The percentage of barefoot runners to the overall runner population is still so low that there's really no way to compare. I'll keep running my experiments, and see what's true for me!

It's fun having "new" pr's to try and hit - only 10% slower, awesome! - but I don't really obsess over it. Definitely in the fun and spiritual camp!

 

[dunetraveller]

Good post Stomper. I am a newbie to barefoot running. Indeed, running in general is new to me. Every time, whether as a child or in adult life, I have *had* to run (school and Air Force basic and yearly tests), I hated it. Once, in school, I had just gotten to the point of liking it, and then we switched to a different sport, and "that was that" as they say. I could have kept it up on my own, but I still thought of it as drudgery and who wants that?

Once I read about the fascinating idea of running barefoot, it seemed like a challenge to the core of a person. A dare. A "Do *I* dare do this kind of thing?" Can it be done? Sure, you could walk barefoot on sharp gravel, but that seems easy, if kinda pointless. Like walking red hot coals, *running* barefoot just seems too crazy when you first think about it. I think so far the real challenge of getting used to the mechanics, the art, of barefoot running is taking my focus off the potential "drudgery" involved.

Later on, it may be seeing how far can I go? How long can I run this way? *Maybe* how fast, but since I'll never be truly fast, I may never care. By then running may just be something I do, and I do it barefoot cause I like it that way. Then I'll probably be one of those old salty types who ridicule kids on forums who want to argue about performance issues because "I just like to do it for FUN" and why get riled up over something fun, right? Now you kids get off my lawn! ;-)

John T.