New runner seeking some advice :)

[Barefootlife]

Hi everyone,

Just a quick background; I'm new here and also a new BF/minimalist runner. I'm currently alternating between bare feet and also my minimalist running shoes. To expand a little; I'm following a c25k program to allow myself to adapt over time.


My long term goal is to eventually work up to running in a marathon or ultra as running has been something I have become passionate about and find to be enjoyable for a number of reasons. I'm just afraid of being plagued by injury to the point I am unable to enjoy injury free running. I usually get niggles like shin splints etc quite easily when I wore my Brooks Glycerin shoes. I found these shoes to be quite unnatural compared to how my body wanted to run naturally.

I have heard from some friends that low arches or flat feet will find it hard to successfully run long distances (Marathon +). I have included some reference photos of my arches if anyone might be able to share some wisdom and insight to this matter as I'm still learning about these things.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Welcome, BL! Hopefully, some of our flatfooted ultra runners will respond.

 

[Barefootlife]

Thanks! Hopefully have some replies. I'm thinking my arches may be somewhere between low to medium maybe? Always after a second opinion though haha. Not sure if it really matters all that much if I work on foot strength?

 

[Barefoot TJ]

I personally think that there is no perfect or imperfect foot type for running barefoot or running barefoot long distances as long as your feet are strong and healthy.

 

[trevize1138]

I've got my first ultra coming up July 7th (50K). Prior to that I've DNFed a trail marathon at mile 18 in the ND badlands (I'm now realizing I was suffering hyponatremia BAD at that one. Keep up the salt intake!) and finished a full city marathon in Minnesota unshod.

If you're worried about injury prevention I'd say trust in unshod! Back in March I got a slight pulled calf muscle from doing too much too soon early in the year and I couldn't have done that without my shoes. I was running almost full-time in my Xero DIYs or Merrell Vapor Gloves because it was still cold and snowy here in MN.

I took a week off to let the calf heal and when I started up running again I stuck to unshod running as much as I could. There are a couple of things working in favor of injury prevention when unshod:

* The skin on the bottoms of your feet are an early warning system. If the skin hurts or is getting blisters or bruises that's evidence of you moving in a way that will cause injury over time. Figure out how to run unshod without damage or discomfort to the skin.

* The direct, tactile feedback immediately encourages safer form. I have an ankle tendon that acts up slightly every once in a while and mostly if I'm running in sandals. When that happens if I take off the sandals and run unshod the pain starts to go away. I don't know at all consciously what's going on but it's clear that putting something on my feet can occasionally aggrivate that ankle.

* Running barefoot frequently prevents bad habits for when you do run in shoes. This reduces overall chance of injury no matter what you are or aren't wearing on your feet.

* Figure out how to run long distances unshod without hurting your feet and you'll have mastered efficient running. That simple. I struggled to go more than 5 miles unshod because I was just "toughing it out" through the pain in my feet. Once I committed to just being gentle with the ground and running with finesse not force the long miles absolutely unlocked. 6 miles is now my easy distance. 10 miles is my minimum for getting in a decent workout. 15 miles is my weekend fun run because I've got more spare time. 20+ miles is certainly a challenge, it takes hours but very achievable and you meet some great people out there at events.