Best Barefoot Running Books?

happysongbird

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Jul 1, 2011
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Is there already a thread with recommended barefoot running books? I searched, but couldn't find it. I would like to add a list of a few of the best books to the end of my book. Of course, I know what I have read, but would to add the suggestions of you nice people!

Here is what I have so far (no, I have not read Born to Run. Am I the only one?):

Barefoot Running Step by Step: Barefoot Ken Bob, the Guru of Shoeless Running, Shares His Personal Technique for Running by Roy M. Wallack and Barefoot Ken Bob Saxton

The Barefoot Running Book: The Art and Science of Barefoot and Minimalist Shoe Running by Jason Robillard

Running with the Kenyans: Discovering the Secrets of the Fastest People on Earth by Adharanand Finn

There is one book that I know I read, but can't find on my shelves or on amazon.com. TJ wrote an endorsement for it.
 
BTR was far more inspirational than the three you listed. Enough so that people go out and hurt themselves. You really should read it. It's a great story. I was underwhelmed with the three you listed, but I haven't read any better. There's a fundamental problem with learning a movement skill from a book. You don't ever see great dancers or martial artists or gymnasts who learned from books.
 
Fred Rohé in 1969 was running barefoot and what he says about running is very beautiful and inspiring
the only snag is what he says about technic, but its only one line in a whole book

run2.png

There are no standards and no possible victories except the joy you are living while dancing your run.


https://mytrailtosanfrancisco.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/zenofrunning.pdf


I love Gordon Pirie's book
He doesnt speak about barefoot running, but he is very very critical with modern shoes,
and gives very good elements for a proper technique
Gordon Pirie's Running Law n°1 - Running with correct technique (even in prepared bare feet), on any surface, is injury free.
http://files.meetup.com/299468/Running_Fast_and_Injury_Free.pdf




and, of course, my favorite is KB Saxton's book. I rediscovered my body and how to use it and understand it thanks to him. kind of revolution.

BTR is very exciting, but doesnt explain very well the concept behind barefoot running, it doesnt explain the difference betwen minimalist shoes and barefoot running, which is a big mistake I think. I mean, after reading the book I bought my first vibram and then broke my feet. Its very exciting book, but not serious enough, kind of "Indiana Jones and the Tarahumara"
 
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Born to Run was the book that got me in to bare-footing.

Ken Bob's book was the book that told me how to go about doing it :)

Ken Bob's book is excellent if the primary goal is to not get hurt. If you're concerned with reaching your full potential ... you won't be running barefoot anyway, so the whole thing is moot. But his ideas/imagery will work really well for some people because they won't actually do what he says to do ... did I mention how hard it is to learn a movement skill from a book?
 
Ken Bob's book is excellent if the primary goal is to not get hurt. If you're concerned with reaching your full potential ...

I ran 6 half-marathon in 3 years, with a very bad technique. The last and fastest one in 1h42.
4 months after reading KB' book, I ran another in 1h29.
6 more months and another half in 1h26
Dunno if its my full potential, but in few months I became much faster
 
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I really like Gordon Pirie (simple, good drills to start, inspiring, free), he kind of sums up in few words what ChiRunning and Pose running have elaborated in much more detail. For many, this may already be enough to run naturally. For barefoot running, Ken Bob is the best for me due to his focus on experimenting and going beyond your limits in a smart way. Not mentioned yet in this thread is Barefoot Running by Michael Sandler, Jessica Lee and Danny Dreyer - also a good book, with an interesting approach on how to get into barefoot running, and lots of background on the mental attitude to it.

As mentioned, to learn barefoot running from a book is kind of an oxymoron. You lean barefoot running by doing it, and listening to your body. That said, all of the above mentioned books can be useful and may help you along the way. Best to browse through them in a major book store and then decide on what suits you.
 
A quick search on amazon pops up a few that don't appear in the library ...
There are a lot not mentioned in the Library. If you or anyone else would like to volunteer to update the Library, we'll call it the Librarian's duties :bookworm:, then please let me know. There's a lot that needs to be done in the Library, and I just cannot do it all myself. The Library is one part of the site I have longed to have improved.
 
Ok
There are a lot not mentioned in the Library. If you or anyone else would like to volunteer to update the Library, we'll call it the Librarian's duties :bookworm:, then please let me know. There's a lot that needs to be done in the Library, and I just cannot do it all myself. The Library is one part of the site I have longed to have improved.
TJ, for us technology limited folks, where's the " library "??
 
You lean barefoot running by doing it, and listening to your body.

If you're good at listening, have a clue as to what you're listening for, and are very coordinated ... otherwise another pair of eyes is essential. Long ago, I taught group dance lessons. Tell ten people to do the same thing, demonstrate it, point out the important things to notice/feel, demonstrate it again, and then let them try it. You'll see ten different interpretations of the same move. Some will be very different. All ten will be convinced that they're doing exactly what you told them to do. If I were a serious runner, I'd hire a coach.

Edited to add: I think the most satisfying thing about teaching dance was the problem solving I had to do when I told someone to do X and they did Y. I had to figure out on the fly what Z to tell them to do to get them to X. Saying "No, no, do X" wouldn't work because the response was always an annoyed "I am, dammit!". Interesting problem.

Thinking about it, this is the best running book I've ever read, but it's not a "barefoot running" book: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/164-4430015-7045239?url=search-alias=stripbooks&field-keywords=art+slowing+down+yu
 
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Ken Bob's book is excellent if the primary goal is to not get hurt. If you're concerned with reaching your full potential ... you won't be running barefoot anyway, so the whole thing is moot. But his ideas/imagery will work really well for some people because they won't actually do what he says to do ... did I mention how hard it is to learn a movement skill from a book?
Although, I have to disagree with your conclusions about reaching full potential. For myself, I would not even be close to running as well as I am without barefoot running. From watching various competitive runners and my college age daughters, I can say that running barefoot hasn't slowed them down at all.
 
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Although, I have to disagree with your conclusions about reaching full potential. For myself, I would not even be close to running as well as I am without barefoot running. From watching various competitive runners and my college age daughters, I can say that running barefoot hasn't slowed them down at all.
I agree with Happy. My son runs much faster barefoot...and he has more fun too!

With that said, some people are going to run faster barefoot and some faster shod.
 
Barefoot running for me has helped me reach my full potential. As far as books, your own book is the best. I self taught myself to run barefoot the only resources I had at that time was youtube and a group of barefoot runners over at runnersworld.com where we exchanged information.

"Born to Run" great book! Still have no clue how people get barefoot running from that book though. I never saw it as a barefoot running book.

Ken Bob's book was cool, but not something i was expecting. I bought it expecting to read his stories and personal adventures on barefoot running, his races, weather, conditions, etc. It was more of tutorial book, good for someone just beginning.
 
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I agree that Born To Run is a great and inspiring book but not really a reference book at all. I got Barefoot Ken Bob's book and found that one to be excellent. You may not agree with everything he says but when I'm out there running I can recall his words on form (ex; bend knees! straight up from hips, lift feet just before landing them, etc) quite easily because he writes in a way that you will remember it. One cautionary note, at least for me; I would advise ramping up to a 180 steps per minute cadence. A sudden spurt in your cadence when all else is new (barefooting, minimalism, mid foot landing) can blow out your calf. I'm not saying if that happened to me or not :eek:
 
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