The Death of Barefoot Running

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The Death of Barefoot Running
By Steven Sashen

Imagine for a moment that you did extensive research into something, only to conclude that you need more research before you could make a meaningful statement about that something.

Is that news? I don’t think so.

Would any newspaper publish a headline: Scientists discover: We’re not sure yet!

Nope. No news is not news.

So, I’m once again dumbstruck by the latest article from the New York Times, “Is Barefoot-Style Running Best? New Studies Cast Doubt”

Let’s cut to the end of the article first, where it says:

To continue reading, please visit: http://xeroshoes.com/barefoot-running/the-death-of-barefoot-running/
 
The Death of Barefoot Running
By Steven Sashen

Imagine for a moment that you did extensive research into something, only to conclude that you need more research before you could make a meaningful statement about that something.

Is that news? I don’t think so.

Would any newspaper publish a headline: Scientists discover: We’re not sure yet!

Nope. No news is not news.

So, I’m once again dumbstruck by the latest article from the New York Times, “Is Barefoot-Style Running Best? New Studies Cast Doubt”

Let’s cut to the end of the article first, where it says:

To continue reading, please visit: http://xeroshoes.com/barefoot-running/the-death-of-barefoot-running/


People need to stop arguing over this,I can't see why there's scientist contesting barefoot/minimalist running.Man we were born barefooted,have run barefoot for I don't know how long...no point in arguing with nature!
 
Well, you know, who cares. I run barefoot because it's more fun and my knee hurt less.that's enough for me. If it burns more fat, that's fine with me.
 
The main culprit here is the headline writer. The article itself doesn't strike me as being horribly unfair. If anything it suffers from the journalistic penchant to not "bury the lead," and going to excessive lengths to generate one. I can only imagine some editor badgering the writer with an endless barrage of "is-that-all-you-got" sorts of questions.

I may catch a lot of flack for saying this next thing. I think some advocates of barefoot running may have overstated the scientific case, to the point of creating a defensive posture on the part of scientific/medical community and the media when they report on it.

I think it's an important subject for scientific study. I also think it is one that will be next to impossible to study accurately. The reason for my belief is that is seems that a truly valid scientific study would be very intrusive, difficult to verify, expensive and possibly dangerous to the test subjects. I figure it took at least three years for me to adjust to barefoot running. So, when a study says it only spent a few weeks or even a few months, I just shrug my shoulders, and think, "come back after you've studied it a few more years."
 
[beware, my English is bad but my French is better]

Running barefoot is a personal process. I do what I want with my own body. I live my own experiences and I don't care about scientists or journalists. Science is funded by business, like media.