Barefoot Running FAQ

How should I get started barefoot running?

Start on grass, pavement or dirt. Avoid pavement where there's much litter, glass, etc. and avoid dirt where there's rocks. Don't worry too much about the ground being soft. Running barefoot with good form will take care of that. You just don't want to shred the skin on your feed on abrasive material. That's the hardest part about getting started.

The second thing that will limit your barefoot running will be blisters. I have found the #1 thing that causes blisters is hot pavement. If you run barefoot on grass, I doubt you'll have any trouble with blisters at all. The same is true with dirt. But hot pavement will give you trouble. Don't shy away from it. Just take it slow and do what you can handle. Start with a quarter mile and go up from there. You'll quickly learn what you can handle.

The last important thing you must know to get started is form. Barefoot running will make running easier on your joints and body, but only indirectly. What barefoot running really does is helps you to learn good form, which will in turn make you a better runner and make your joints feel good. However, you won't learn that good form immediately. Therefore, in the short term, you might possibly be increasing the impact on your joints as you run with the same bad form, but with no padding.

How do I learn good Barefoot Running Technique?

Your body was made to run. You don't have to teach a rabbit how to run, do you? Your feet are very good at sensing if your form needs correction and will tell you in the form of pain. Slap some shoes on your feet and you block this messaging. You just need some time without shoes to learn good form again. It's not complicated. Just pay attention to how your feet (and ankles, knees, etc.) feel. You want to feel like you are smooth, light and fast.

Were you hoping for a more exact answer? If so, here's a few tips (but none are as important as just listening to your feet):

• Land about in the middle of your foot. You don't want to land hard on your heel, which you probably could guess, but many people think that you should be running on your toes which is also not correct. Doing this will be easy on your joints, but it will exhaust you.
• You will probably naturally pronate. This is good. Pronation has a bad name in the running community, but only because running shoes cause OVER-pronation. A little pronation is good. That motion is what causes the arch of your foot to flatten and your toes to splay out.
• Don't overdo it. Don't overtrain for some race and then sit on the couch until the next race. You want to ease into running and make it a way of life. Be consistent.
• Do what you need to do to have a good time. If you are running and hating it, don't just keep plodding along. Fix the problem. Maybe you're running too fast for your fitness level. Maybe you're not challenging yourself. If so, you might enjoy running more if you ran to a cool place instead of doing laps on the same streets day after day. Perhaps you're just too focused on the pain and being "in the zone" and you're not paying attention to your beautiful surroundings or the awesome feeling of the endorphins that are flowing through you.

Does barefoot running hurt?

Barefoot running should not hurt. Your feet were made to walk and run. They should generally do just fine without protection. However, use common sense. If you run on jagged volcanic rock, that will hurt. Many trails in the Rocky Mountains hurt me. That's why I use minimalist running shoes sometimes. My theory is that this should be fun. So I never run barefoot on terrain that I can't handle. You'll just have to try it yourself and see what you can handle.

I recommend starting on grass, perhaps at a park. After that, you could try running on trails, but only if they are nice soft dirt trails, not rocky ones. I actually find that pavement is a good barefoot running surface, unless it is severely hot.

Should I wear minimalist shoes? What minimalist shoes are best?

You have to run 100% bare at least once in a while to truly understand barefoot running. Nothing is quite the same as pure barefoot. However, I find it necessary on tougher terrain to wear shoes of some sort. My preference is the Vibram Fivefingers. I have a pair of the original version which leaves much of the top of your foot uncovered. I also own a pair of the KSO (Keep Stuff Out) model, which covers the top of your foot much better and generally is more secure. They are also a bit harder to put on. When it really comes down to it though, the difference between the two is minimal. Don't stress the decision too much if you can't decide which to get.

I have also tried Nike Free shoes. They are nothing close to the Fivefingers. They have a significant heel wedge. They claim to feel like you are barefoot, but it's only because they are flexible.

Another theory about shoes, which I subscribe to, is that old, worn down shoes are better. As you use them, they flatten out a bit, provide less support and generally put more strain on your foot (in a good way). So that's a great option too.

But what if I step on glass or something bad like that?

I'm not making any guarantees here, but I have run many hundreds of miles barefoot on pavement, often through city streets, and I have not once stepped on something that injured my feet. I have gotten hurt far more often by twisting an ankle running in shoes. I think when you run barefoot you just naturally pay a lot more attention to where you are stepping. Perhaps that's why I've never had problems. *shrug* -- So, I'm hesitant to make guarantees, but at least for me, it just really isn't an issue.

Are barefoot runners crazy?

Totally. That's what makes it so fun! Really, though. You take a risk by running barefoot. Sometimes the barefoot community makes claims that are a bit outrageous. I have heard of many instances of research being inappropriately used to support barefoot running. I am not very scientific about this. I just really like barefoot running. It feels good and it is fun. I try not to not get too crazy about "proving" that barefoot running is going to fix all running injuries or arguing that running shoes are evil.