Too Much Too Soon, Patience, and Foot Development

[Sid]

While watching the recent Olympics, it was apparent that competitors in each event had well-developed bodies specific to that sport. Even runners in the 100m, 400m, and 5000m appeared significantly different from one another. Sprinters were muscular and explosive, whereas distance runners became relatively leaner as the length of the event increased. So, is there an ideal body-type for a barefoot runner?

Well, there doesn't appear to be a perfect body-type for a barefoot runner. We come in all sizes and shapes! (Although as in the Olympics, some are probably more ideally suited for specific events). However, there is one part of the body that does seem specifically adapted for our sport. It's the feet!

So, how long does it take for our feet to become adapted to barefoot running? (Some say never! You'll get injured!) Well, let's think about this, how long does it take someone to become gymnast? A powerlifter? Weeks, months? Perhaps years?!

“Wait, wait!”, you say. “I kicked off my shoes, and I'm running. I'm a barefoot runner now!” Then predictably, at some point the person gets injured. All the naysayers go, “I told you so! Barefoot running is bad for you!” When an inexperienced novice hurts themselves playing tennis or weightlifting, do we blame the sport? No! Clearly, it's too much too soon.

So, what should well-adapted feet look like? How about this guy? Ken Bob Saxton, an experienced barefoot runner. His feet look like Fred Flintstone's, muscular and strong. Do your feet look like that? What do you think are your chances of injury vs. his?

“I just want to run!”, you say. “I have goals for distance and speed”. Experienced athletes also have goals, and they are willing to spend years taking the time to hone their bodies into precision machines. They also rest and rehab when needed. Usain Bolt doesn't run a 9.58 every day. So, how quickly can one adapt? Add on a mile a week? A mile a month? Half mile a month? Well, are you still sore, in pain, limping? Are your feet strong and well-developed, yet? Perhaps, you need to back off and be patient.

Don't blame the sport. Any inexperienced novice can easily injure themselves. Let's not kid ourselves, barefoot running is not just about taking off the shoes. It's a serious sport which requires time, patience, and conditioning like any other. We would all prefer that someone stay in shoes, rather than get injured. For those who are willing to put in the work, barefoot running has many benefits and is great fun!

 

[Last Place Jason]

In my experience, the time needed to "become a barefoot runner" (I'll define as the point when you reach your goal speed and distance) varied dramatically. I've worked with people that ran very long distances in a matter of weeks after transitioning with no problems. I've also worked with people that took years. I used to think the variables were fairly predictable (non-running barefoot experience, age, level of physical activity, time spent in foot coffins, etc.), but the more people I see the weaker those correlations get.

Personally, my "transition time" was short. I went from zero to a fifty miler in about 6-7 months. Honing my form to elicit maximum efficiency took years, however. Hell, generalizing that efficiency to all speeds and conditions is still a work in progress.

I'm honest with people. There are some advantages and disadvantages to barefoot running, and our understanding of the connection to injuries is mostly unknown. It's a risk. For some, the risk pays off. For others it doesn't. There are things that can be done to reduce the risk, but even that is a bit sketchy.

 

[Bare Lee]

In my experience, the time needed to "become a barefoot runner" (I'll define as the point when you reach your goal speed and distance) varied dramatically. I've worked with people that ran very long distances in a matter of weeks after transitioning with no problems. I've also worked with people that took years. I used to think the variables were fairly predictable (non-running barefoot experience, age, level of physical activity, time spent in foot coffins, etc.), but the more people I see the weaker those correlations get.

Personally, my "transition time" was short. I went from zero to a fifty miler in about 6-7 months. Honing my form to elicit maximum efficiency took years, however. Hell, generalizing that efficiency to all speeds and conditions is still a work in progress.

I'm honest with people. There are some advantages and disadvantages to barefoot running, and our understanding of the connection to injuries is mostly unknown. It's a risk. For some, the risk pays off. For others it doesn't. There are things that can be done to reduce the risk, but even that is a bit sketchy.

Hey Jason, a little off topic, but as someone who has had his progress held up by top of the foot pain, off and on for a year and a half, I would ask you and anyone else coaching barefoot running to emphasize the importance of stretching out the feet, as well as rolling/massaging the calves and front of the leg for trigger points. I think it could be hugely beneficial for a lot of people making "the transition."

 

[Lomad]

Psssshhhhh...just run and listen to your body. It worked for me*, and this other dude who posted about it on another forum, so it must be valid life advice.



*No, it didn't; and my feet nearly fell off as a result. Please, novice runners, use your brain and ability to think rationally before blindly accepting the advice of internet chipmunks, regardless of apparent qualifications. It's an open source world and even the crazies can sound like experts

 

[Sid]

In my experience, the time needed to "become a barefoot runner" (I'll define as the point when you reach your goal speed and distance) varied dramatically. I've worked with people that ran very long distances in a matter of weeks after transitioning with no problems. I've also worked with people that took years.

Definitely agree that everyone's different.

I used to think the variables were fairly predictable (non-running barefoot experience, age, level of physical activity, time spent in foot coffins, etc.), but the more people I see the weaker those correlations get.

What about the overall level of conditioning of their feet? Do you see a correlation for people with strong, healthy feet?

While I dislike "n of 1" anecdotes, I'll share mine in hopes of promoting discussion. When I started out 3 years ago, not only was I obese and in bad shape, my feet were, too. The left had a bunion, and the right was fairly flat, causing my gait to be off. My legs adapted fairly evenly over time (I ran regularly for a year after college). My feet took FAR longer, and seemingly individually, one at a time.

a little off topic, but as someone who has had his progress held up by top of the foot pain, off and on for a year and a half

No worries, I'm taking this off topic, too! I had TOFP in the right foot for about a year. That was unpleasant, and a lady at work even noticed I was limping a bit. In retrospect, I overdid it. I was fortunate, as my mileage was low and eventually my feet adapted without injury.

Initially, my right foot's extensor digitorum brevis muscle became hypertrophied like golf ball (Hey, it's normal-sized, now). The toes began to spread out, and my right foot also began developing a longitudinal arch. These were just some of the changes, as each part of the foot, even each toe, appeared to be adapting.
(It seems that TOFP may be due to weak arches)

The left foot changed a lot, as well. Over the last two years, I've also been working on straightening out the bunion with toe spacers, night splints, YogaToes, etc.

As I've gotten down to goal weight, I've focused less on mileage and burning calories, and more on form and pace. My feet are fairly well-adapted, and my gait is pretty even now. However, as I'm picking up the pace, I'm getting a bit of TOF soreness in the R foot, and I suspect that my arches are strengthening again. So, even now, they're still adapting, and nowadays I'm taking it slower. I'm letting my feet adapt and strengthen, before I try to push the pace again. (Eventually, I'd like to get my 5k time down to the low 20's and do some local races to help represent BFR!)

Many sports and activities require specific conditioning (like a concert pianist's hands). So why not the feet of a barefoot runner?

 

[Last Place Jason]

"Strong feet" is a fairly subjective thing to measure, though Mark Cucuzzella and Jay Dicharry have some good tests to measure barefoot/minimalist preparedness.

Things like foot strengthening exercises, rolling, and just spending time barefoot certainly help. Still, we don't know enough about the process to develop a predictive model.

 

[Sid]

More great points. I suppose if running was intuitive (like people tend to think it is), less people would get injured.

 

[Tristan]

Don't blame the sport. Any inexperienced novice can easily injure themselves. Let's not kid ourselves, barefoot running is not just about taking off the shoes. It's a serious sport which requires time, patience, and conditioning like any other. We would all prefer that someone stay in shoes, rather than get injured. For those who are willing to put in the work, barefoot running has many benefits and is great fun!

Since I work in a large office with a few hundred people around and barefoot running apparently is so crazy, word spreads and people are always asking about it (lots of runners here too). I always say I think bfr is better and something that any runner should consider but I also mention its something they have to put some dedication into and be willing to start over cutting mileage and pace way down and gradually working into it. If I can tell the person is lazy and not to willing to do these things correctly, and perhaps runs just fine without injury in shoes, then I suggest they stick with what is working for them.

 

[JosephTree]

I'm sitting here reading this and 650 miles into my third year of BFR.

I'm still very much a work in progress both as a runner and as a happy Barefooter. Except for a couple runs in the fall of year one, as my calfs were just beginning to realize that I wasn't going to let up on them and rebelled for a week, I haven't missed a run for injuries.

I still have to focus keenly on my BF form, especially as I am working on including tempo sections in my runs a couple times a week. In the next month I want to be running a bit faster than I ever have, a bit more often, and to plateau for the year about the beginning of November when I have a nice HM scheduled. In October, between now and then I have a 10K on streets that will be my longest BF race yet, and a 10K trail race (in VFFs) that I firmly intend to win or place in my age group. All this is the most aggressively I've ever approached my running, but I believe my feet are about ready. The rest of my "instrument" seems ready to run, too.

Are my feet Ken Bob level? Ha! I don't expect to ever have feet that competent - his have decades of superb conditioning invested in them. My feet are, however, quite good enough for what I want them to do. My kids think they're scary and ugly. That will have to do for now.

 

[Sid]

"Strong feet" is a fairly subjective thing to measure, though Mark Cucuzzella and Jay Dicharry have some good tests to measure barefoot/minimalist preparedness.

Things like foot strengthening exercises, rolling, and just spending time barefoot certainly help. Still, we don't know enough about the process to develop a predictive model.

I'll start off by saying that I'm a complete novice/amateur when it comes to BFR, so anything I say may be completely off base. After all, even with 3 years, my feet are still in the process of conditioning! I'll leave the actual recommendations to the experienced professionals, while I muse on.

It's rather amazing that so little is known about the biomechanics of barefoot running. I still get this feeling that a lot of barefoot injuries are due to poor conditioning, weak muscles, bones, etc, which may or may not be due to a lifetime being cramped or coddled in shoes. Our own highly variable or lack of ability to intuit our own condition seems astonishing as well. Unfortunately, I suppose that most new barefoot runners aren't going do those tests for barefoot preparedness, much less get a bone scan.

I do wonder if the existing knowledge of the foot might be biased towards a shoe-wearing population. I was looking through Sarrafian's Anatomy of the Foot and Ankle, where it details common angles between bones of the foot. I noticed that some of dissections were of cramped (likely shoe-wearing) feet. Well, if modern medicine developed concurrently with the prevalence of shoes, how could we ever assess true barefoot functioning without resurveying and studying the human foot sans shoes?

 

[Tristan]

So, what should well-adapted feet look like? How about this guy? Ken Bob Saxton, an experienced barefoot runner. His feet look like Fred Flintstone's, muscular and strong. Do your feet look like that? What do you think are your chances of injury vs. his?

​

Those are some serious feet! Dang, now my feet look like Cinderella feet.
Well the camera is helping out a little in that view with his feet much closer making them look bigger, but even still as long as there is no other size editing those things are seriously wide.

 

[Zetti]

Things like foot strengthening exercises, rolling, and just spending time barefoot certainly help. Still, we don't know enough about the process to develop a predictive model.

Sure we do Jason, its important to do just enough or just a little but more than enough and you'll never get hurt.

Its a very precise science, lol

 

[ThomDavid]

I'm a total newbie, so I probably don't have much to contribute to this discussion EXCEPT...I met Ken Bob a couple of days ago at one of his BFR workshops, and asked him if I could touch the soles of his feet. I know, only a rude newbie would ask such a thing. But he was gracious and allowed me to do so, and I found his feet to be amazingly soft...like well-worn leather. Ken Bob has the best pair of leather "shoes" around, permanently attached to his feet. Maybe I'll never reach his level of strength and suppleness, but that doesn't mean I can't try!