Do shoes make you faster? If so, how and why?

[Matt]

I keep noticing something that surprises me, especially reading it here on the BRS forums. There are a number of comments that suggest that running in shoes is faster than running without shoes.

Personally, I find that for the running I do, which is mostly on streets and sidewalks, I can't run as fast in any kind of shoes as I do in my bare feet. Now I could understand rough gravel or trails, where a cushioned shoe might be helpful, but I don't have much experience with those surfaces.

Do shoes make you faster? If so, how? I'm stumped.

Shoes add weight. They cut down on road feel. They diminish elastic recoil. So for me at least, this all leads to slower running.

I'll be curious to hear your input on this.

 

[Barefoot Cassie]

I'm with you Matt, I run

I'm with you Matt, I run slower in shoes. The last time I wore shoes I was running a 15 mm, barefoot I'm at about 12:40 mm

 

[Jimmy Hart]

for the most part it is going

for the most part it is going to depend on the runner but on average shoes do help you run faster. for some runners invarying forms they can help the runner by assisting the form. heel strikers will have a large amount of impact taken away which allows them to push harder and faster without issue. In the long run it will wear down their joints but for a while it will help them.

for a forefoot striker they can take away impact forces in the forefoot allowing the runner to again push a little harder. they also take away surface tension issues so the ground does not have a chance to slow you down. things like friction and rough surfaces will be null and void allowing you to ignore a lot of things that a bare foot would struggle with and go faster.

some people will find faster speeds without shoes because they struggled with injuries and pains in shoes from issues caused by the shoes. get out of the shoes and those issues go away...you can run faster. in most cases this does not have to be thick old school shoes but something as thin and light as hurraches or vffs can help someone run faster because they are keeping the skin safe and the brain doesn't have to worry about protection as much.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

We won't really know until

We won't really know until studies are done, but most of the people I have talked to who have run barefoot for any considerable amount of time were either able to get back to the speeds they used to run or even surpass them.

 

[Mike]

I am much faster in foot

I am much faster in foot coffins, but at the price of severe shin splints/joint pain. I am noticing with my barefoot step getting more familiar, that my comfortable half marathon pace shod, is slower than my new comfortable barefoot pace. I have not tried to go any faster barefoot, or try a 5k pace yet. Going to wait for spring to try speed/hill work barefoot.

 

[Blind Boy]

Personally, I think Jack

Personally, I think Jack Daniels is on to something here: http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=21030

If you take shock absorption out of the equation you'll have more energy to spend on actual forward motion. Now, there is an efficiency loss with added weight, you just need to find the sweet spot where you have just enough cushioning to absorb the shock of landing without adding so much weight that you lose all the benefit. Sure, with proper form the shock is tiny compared to your typical shod over-strider but there's still something there. I'd say this isn't big enough to make a significant difference for a regular runner, I'd only worry about it on the elite level where they're already doing everything they can to run faster.

 

[Matt]

Now, my experience isn't at

Now, my experience isn't at all scientific, but the few times during the warm months I put on any kind of footwear, I feel a lot slower. First of all, I notice the extra weight. Secondly, I notice I'm breathing a lot harder. And thirdly, I feel less springy. It's like the shoes dampen the natural springs in my feet and legs. The muscles and tendons act as as a human spring, which absorb, then release energy in the act of propelling us forward.

My experience, at least, is that shoes interfere with that.

Sure when I first started running barefoot, I was slower than in shoes, but I don't think that lasted for more than 3 to 6 months.

 

[Barefoot Gentile]

This really depends on the

This really depends on the level of fitness and where you are as a runner. If you are an elite marathoner that averages around 2:09:00 marathons, you will not be doing that barefoot. If you are Usain Bolt you wont be sprinting barefoot.



But for the average run to the mill runner like myself, I am now faster running barefoot than shod. But I am faster shod (vibrams) when doing sprints.

 

[Matt]

Blind Boy wroteersonally, I

Personally, I think Jack Daniels is on to something here: http://www.runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=21030

Interesting article. I wonder if it makes a difference how long a person has been running barefoot in terms of the speed on a track vs speed on a harder surface.

 

[Barefoot Mary]

I feel less springy when I

I feel less springy when I run barefoot fast, more like speeding bullet. I feel like I'm bouncing around a lot less and conserving energy. No research here either tho. Just a lovely flying feeling when I really tear it up. Also, I can pass anyone going uphill now because it's so easy

 

[ajb422]

 I'm faster bf assuming nice

I'm faster bf assuming nice surfaces, but I'm relatively certain its a mind thing. I hate running fast in any shoes, even my zems. It seems like too much work. But I've been known to burst out laughing while running "fast" (quotes because I'm still really slow) barefoot. I feel like a little kid running around without shoes and its enjoyable so I can push myself harder without it feeling like work. If I was a more "trained" runner that it might not be true though.

 

[Last Place Jason]

I recently set a 5k PR in

I recently set a 5k PR in shoes; beat my barefoot PR by about 35 seconds. Gnerally speaking, I am faster at shorter distances when wearing shoes, faster at long distances barefoot. For me, shoes allow a slight margin of error in form, which allows me to push harder. Like Mike said, I pay a steep price the next day. I can't run in shoes without significantly more soreness.

 

[Matt]

LPJ -- I remember by last 5K

LPJ -- I remember by last 5K in regular running shoes. That was back in the mid 90's. I definitely paid the price afterwards. In fact, I think it was over a decade before I started running regularly again.

I wonder if when Zola Budd was in her prime if she could have run faster in shoes. She had grown up and trained as a barefoot runner. I have to imagine if she had wanted to, she could have gotten a hold of a decent pair of shoes.

 

[jschwab]

I think I am faster barefoot,

I think I am faster barefoot, but it's almost besides the point. I shed heat better, I run with more efficiency and I am not as beat up so I recover better, making my training easier and more effective which would all lead to better times. That's all good enough for me. On very nice roads, I go at least as fast. I go faster in shoes if it's bad terrain. I thought I was slow in my Protons (heavy, hot) but tonight on a training run I ran my fastest 5K ever. That stunned me.

 

[treeves]

For me it's about the same -

For me it's about the same - anywhere from a 12mm to 10.5mm, depending on distance.

 

[Abide]

I'm curious now, I'm going to

I'm curious now, I'm going to try a little experiment. This week I'll run 12 laps on the track barefoot and next week I'll do the same in my vff's to see what is faster. The track surface will eliminate an unfair advantage to the shoes due to terrain. I'm also curious to see how I feel the next day, they might also be affected by external factors such as my weekly mileage crossfit wods, but I will try to keep them the same.

 

[JosephTree]

Abide, I'd be surprised if

Abide, I'd be surprised if you get much difference between VFF's and BF. There's only 5 ounces of added weight. Conventional shoes are often twice that and more, and VFF's still encourage proper form, if not quite so rigorously as BF. Go for it, though, and let's see how you feel and how the numbers look.

 

[Matt]

Sounds like a good test. 

Sounds like a good test. I still have a pair of racing flat, two pairs of aquasocks, and a pair of Zems. I'm thinking that I should test them against each other and against bare feet. My experiences with speed have been totally subjective, with out any real measurements.

 

[ewheeldrive]

Matt, I've personally posted

Matt, I've personally posted something related to this recently. Here's where I'm at with it. Going barefoot has made me faster. I do speed work, distance runs, trail runs, all barefoot. It's made me way more effecient than my spongeboat days. Speedwork on relatively smoothe surfaces has had the most impact barefoot on my speed. My best times on a controlled surface are barefoot. If I'm racing on unfamiliar roads, I have to assume that I may encounter things that may slow me down, so I'm always on the fence about something that will offer minimal protection. I did an 8 miler in the spring that I'd never run and wore xc flats. Had I gone barefoot, it would have killed me. The whole route was on really old paved pea gravel roads. Bottom line: I'm faster barefoot if I know the terrain. If it's new territory, I may or may not be faster. I'll just have to run it to find out.

 

[Ken]

Depends on several

Depends on several factors.

A. For an all-out sprint, shoes help. Not running shoes like you and I think about, but racing flats. Some of those suckers are 3oz. And when you add the spikes....

B. For mid-distance on flat surfaces, my personal testing is that barefoot is faster/more efficient, at least compared to a standard 11oz shoe. I do all of my training with a heart rate monitor, and most of it at "easy" pace. 50-70 miles/week, so I'm well aware when I'm warmed up, how long I have to run to hit max efficiency, pace-effort correlations, blah blah blah. And, I run most of it in shoes. However, whenever I travel and am forced to use a treadmill, I often go barefoot and sometimes barefoot and shoes, swapped in and out. On a treadmill with a HR monitor, if you try to stabilize at a certain HR, then you can get precise feedback on speed at effort. At easy effort (steady HR), I run faster barefoot, and this is from a guy who does 95+% of his miles in shoes. Doubtful that this is a technique thing, as the reason I barefoot run sometimes is to hone my technique and ensure that I'm applying it to shod running). More likely a weight-of-shoe thing.

C. Rough trails or downhills: shoes much, much faster. Not even a contest. The speed you can keep up going down rough loose rocky tree roots and mud in shoes blows away anything one could do with bare feet.



As I transition to a light weight racing flat for my regular running (~ 7oz), I'll be interested to see if the efficiency gains I've seen on the treadmill running barefoot diminish.



However, it's really more about the fun than the speed, so I say if you love barefoot running, it doesn't matter!