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FOOT RACERS
Horse feces and a dead possum are just a couple of things Chase Williams has stepped on while running barefoot.
Williams, 27, wouldn't have it any other way, though.
After suffering a number of injuries, from shin splints to tendonitis in his ankle, the Lumberton man almost gave up running completely.
Instead, he took up a friend's suggestion to run barefoot - which Williams has done in the past 16 months.
"The way it feels, there is freedom, no restrictions - you get instant biofeedback," Williams said. "To be honest, I ljust never found a pair of shoes that I like."
Williams is part of a growing trend of runners hitting the pavement barefoot or with minimalist footwear - shoes that are almost glove - like for feet.
The idea is intriguing. Most people have fond memories of running around barefoot as children. Some of the fastest distance runners in the world, the Tarahumara Indians, of Mexico - who were featured in the 2009 book "Born to Run" - run barefoot or in lightweight sandals called huarachese.
Barefoot runners, like Williams, say that running barefoot lessens the risk of injury because it forces runners to land on the middle or the balls of their feet rather than their heels, which is a more natural movement.
A number of physicians also support that claim.
But orthopedic surgeons like Dr. David Teusher of Beaumont Bone and Joint caution against barefoot running.
Tueshcer said the risk of injury is much greater, particularly when it comes to a stress fracture to the heel from the impact of landing repetitively on a hard surface.
"A conventional running shoe theoretically gives better support, better shock absorption of the force from being transmitted to bones and joints," Teuscher said. "(Running shoes) always have an arch in them for a reason - runners need that support."
Dave Dial, 51, a Nederland native who has logged more than 158,000 lifetime miles, said he runs barefoot to supplement his workouts but never as a main form of training.
"You have to realize that we don't run on surfaces like we did when we were cavemen," Dial said. "We run on pavement and its pretty hard and unforgiving."
Teuscher said those who want to run barefoot should work at it gradually rather than trying to run a full race sans shoes. He also said barefoot or minimalist running should be done on a surface softer than concrete or asphalt, although sand at a beach might not be the best place because of uneven surfaces.
"It might be fun to try, if patterned after someone who has done it successfully," Teuscher said. "I've never done it, though."
William Fermo, 34, of Lumberton started running barefoot a year ago after he saw Williams run the Gusher marathon with no shoes.
Fermo took off his shoes for the last quarter mile of one of his training runs and gradually started running longer and longer distances without them.
He said in the beginning he had blood blisters and sore calves, but those went away after a few weeks.
"You are working muscles that you don't normally work (while wearing shoes)," said Fermo, who is studying for his board exam to be a family practice physician.
He said it took him three months to run a 5k (3.1 miles,) six months to run a 10K, eight months to do a half--marathon and a year before he did a full marathon, the 2012 Houston marathon, barefoot.
Jackie John, manager of On the Run shoe store in Beaumont, recommends taking a similar approach with minimalist footwear.
"You want to incorporate that shoe into only 10 percent of your workout and keep on incorporating it until you can do a full workout with it," John said.
Fermo says he has had no injury problems while runnign barefoot but has gotten some snide remarks from people. "Things like 'Where are your shoes?' or 'You should get a tetanus shot,'" Fermo said.
Fermo plans to wear shoes at Ssaturday's GUsher Marathon because he thinks the course's surface is too rough.
Williams said rough surfaces do not bother him. He ran a 50-mile ultra-marathon in Huntsville barefoot on a trail and regularly runs barefoot on trails in Village Creek State Park, he said, adding he has gotten to the point where he can step on sharp pine cones and not feel any pain.
"People seem to think the streets are lined with broken glass and hypodermic needles," Williams said. "That isn't the case."
For those wondering what Williams feet look like, he said he has no calluses or blisters and the his wife says his feet look better than hers.
"I think some are surprised when they see my feet do not look like Bilbo Baggins," Williams said, referring to a fictional character in "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings."
MINIMAL OPTIONS
Jeremy Fermo, 32, William Fermo's younger brother, isn't as comfortable with his bare feet being exposed, so he runs in Vibram FiveFingers shoes, a typo of minimalist footwear.
Jeremy Fermo said he has been running in them for about a year and a half and has put more than 1,000 miles on the shoes which he said cost him $100.
"I used to buy (Asics Gel-Kayanos) every three months for 140 bucks and I'd get horrible shin splints," Jeremy Fermo said. "When I started running in these, the shin splints went away."
According to the ST. Louis Post-Dispatch, sales for Vibram FiveFingers grew from about $450,000 in 2006 to an estimated $50 million last year, while barefoot-style running shoes in general were a $1.7 billion industry last year.
Dial, the Nederland native who doesn't particularly care for barefoot running doesn't think these shoes should be made or sold, though.
"Sometimes I get aggravated with the shoe companies," Dial said. "Do you really care about the runners or do you just care about making money? And I think it's the latter because they know that's the flavor of the month."
