MUST READ!!!! Seriously!

[Barefoot TJ]

Check out the article on the home page:
“Asics Have Really Dug in Their ‘Heels’!” Shared with us by our friends at www.zero-drop.com

 

[TheRealRandy]

You just wait until the

You just wait until the japanese, come take over the running scene, its actually a surprise from this article they dont.

And you watch, when minimalist running gets bigger in the US, they are going to start releasing these other shoes, and make a lot of money.

I myself would not mind putting out some reviews on a couple of there puppies.

 

[Paleo]

Interesting stuff.Especially

Interesting stuff.

Especially in the "Heels" blog entry (2 June), it becomes clear that the shoe companies are really fighting a battle among each other. They are looking to position themselves in the minshod market. They pay no attention to barefoot runners. From a business point of view, this makes sense, since BF runners are small in number and there is no shoe technology that they will buy.

The most telling Bartold quote is as follows: "The minimalist movement works on the premise that by reducing heel height, i.e. the overall gradient,by maybe 6 mm, it induces a midfoot or even forefoot strike pattern."

He is getting his causality backwards and he is confounding the "minimalist movement" with minimalist shoe producers.

As near as I can tell, midshod runners are looking for shoes that will effectively allow them to run forefoot or midfoot. Thus, they want to run this way, and look for a shoe that accommodates it. This is the opposite of the lowered heel "inducing" the forefoot style.

The shoe producers are, in fact, be reducing heel height to accommodate the demand. But, they only care about inducing minshod runners to by their shoes rather than a competitors.

The hypocrisy (or sheer closed-mindedness) here is thicker than the heel of an asics Gel-Kayano.

That said, we should note that they are responding to a demand from runners. They may well still be trying to shape the debate in their favor, but this is a far cry from the days when we all bought over-engineered boat anchors because some Nike inventor had goofy ideas about stride length.

Cheers,

Paleo

 

[Last Place Jason]

FWIW- there's at least a

FWIW- there's at least a handful of shoe companies that are supporting actual barefoot running. Why? Simple- they recognize it's the best way for people to learn good form so people don't get injured when they begin sing the shoes.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Most (not all) barefoot

Most (not all) barefoot runners put something on their feet when it gets too cold or too hot, or the terrain is too extreme, so we are still a market for them.

 

[dunetraveller]

I just slogged through the

I just slogged through the "heels article" I ought to get a medal for fighting through that much back and forth. There was a comment towards the end by simonm that seemed, to me anyway, to be quite sarcastic:

"Oh and minimalism IS a fad. There are already whole books written – some plugged on this very page – to “teach” people how to run barefoot. Yes really. We have “barefoot running” coaches, and even some clever fad-spotters who are going to certify people to become barefoot running coaches. Crazy but true. Apparently, running barefoot or minimalist is NOT as simple as taking your shoes off like millions of people do every day at the beach. No, they’ve got to be taught how to do it."

I kept on reading and it kept bugging me as it seemed to go unnoticed. I felt the need to post something, maybe to get my two cents in for punishing myself by reading most of the whole thing; or perhaps I just wanted to add to the length of it and punish others for getting that far to see my post :evil:

Anyway, for what it's worth here is what I posted... I like everyone here so I won't force you to read all the way down to where it will exist. :innocent:

"I read most of the comments here in their entirety. I skipped the last few inches of posts to get here, so sorry if this was already covered.

There seems to be a perception that no one needs to be taught how to walk or run. Just a few minutes observation at a mall or supermarket anywhere in the world will see people with flat feet or people walking pigeon toed. The worst offenders and incidentally the best observed are those wearing flip flops.

Walking is not perfect for most people. We get along okay, but nearly everyone could use some education and improvement to their walking gait. If you can’t even expect people to walk correctly, with proper form, without education or training, then why is it a point against the barefoot/minimalist movement that they educate and train people how to run barefoot (or even minimally shod) correctly?

We all know the answer. Education IS key, but as others have pointed out, the average joe or jane could give a care less that they don’t walk or run correctly, and if you tried to educate them or train them, even for free, they’d look at you with pity or disdain and go away. Guess that even if we could find the perfect balance between shod/unshod, if we need to train people to run correctly, much of it will be for naught since too many are looking to just buy the equipment and will ignore the manual that came with it."

John T.

 

[Last Place Jason]

Good post, John. In regards

Good post, John.

In regards to the need for eduction- I frame it as "re-education." We innately run with pretty good form. Watch kids run barefoot. They do it naturally. Then we put them in raised heel cushioned shoes and they learn to run with a heel strike. After years of doing that, they must re-learn to run with good form.

All of s that teach barefoot and good form would be out of a job if we didn't put kids in foot coffins. I look forward to the day when I become obsolete.

 

[dunetraveller]

Just watched some video on, I

Just watched some video on, I think it was Socrates, who used an analogy of people being kept prisoner in a cave watching a shadow play on the cave wall, believing it to be the "truth", and the problems that would occur should someone eventually get free, leave the cave, find out the actual truth and then try to return to "free' those still kept prisoner in the cave. All throughout I kept thinking, this is why it's so hard to sway such ingrained notions as you need thick soled shoes to run comfortably. Even if you could get the truth (hard data supported in multiple long term studies), as you return with truth in hand you will find fear and organized resistance every step of the way, pardon the pun.

John T.

 

[Matt]

Last Place Jason wrote:....In

....In regards to the need for eduction- I frame it as "re-education." We innately run with pretty good form. Watch kids run barefoot. They do it naturally. Then we put them in raised heel cushioned shoes and they learn to run with a heel strike. After years of doing that, they must re-learn to run with good form. All of s that teach barefoot and good form would be out of a job if we didn't put kids in foot coffins. I look forward to the day when I become obsolete.

Or maybe "un-education". In any case, I agree with what you are saying here. If we can ever get to the point where we stop puttting kids in such restrictive shoes, we will be doing well. It was actually watching kids run around barefoot back in the Spring of 2007 that got me thinking about the possibilities of running barefoot myself. We can learn a lot by watching kids play.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

 We have barefoot

We have “barefoot running” coaches, and even some clever fad-spotters who are going to certify people to become barefoot running coaches.

Dabnabbit! That was my idea! ;-)

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Since when were feet a fad? 

Since when were feet a fad? I thought they've been with us for thousands and thousands of years, unlike shoes.

 

[dunetraveller]

You know those fads... like

You know those fads... like houses instead of caves, indoor plumbing, horseless carriages, skateboards, and heavilly padded heel running shoes... you know, anything that was once new and took off in popularity. I know they think that fad = Paris Hilton (oops!) bad, but I don't think barefoot running is going the way of the pet rock and the hula hoop.

John T.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

I don't either.  I think our

I don't either. I think our bare feet are here to stay! ;-)