Do We Run Better Barefoot?
Let’s start with a quick test. Try this:
- Stand up
- Run to the end of the room
- Note which part of your foot you strike the ground with and how much noise you make
- Take off your shoes
- Run to the end of the room
- Note which part of your foot you strike the ground with and how much noise you make
If you want to put a little more time into it, try filming yourself running on a treadmill then do another video in bare feet and compare.
A common result here is that runners will adopt a heel strike pattern with their shoes on, and a forefoot or midfoot strike with their shoes off. From this we can deduce that it is a little more natural to adopt a midfoot or forefoot strike pattern. Also, runners often run more quietly in bare feet, which is very important when considering your running technique.
Enter Born To Run
If you have never read Born to Run, go read it now. Come back and read this later. Born to Run took the running world by storm in 2009. Fast forward to 8 years later and it has now become seriously uncool to don the Vibram Five Fingers. So what happened?
Well, a couple of things. First off, we’re human. Humans like fads and fashions and trends and stuff like that. We like quick fixes and buying new things. Much of the reason minimalist running is not as popular now is that it’s just the way we are. We get all excited about something for a while and then we just… move on.
Injuries. That’s the other reason. I had a minimalist runner into my clinic just last week. She had bravely stuck to her guns. She had gone against the tide and remained faithful to her Xero DIY sandals while the whole running community swung back to the soft embrace of their cushioned Brooks. Her reward? Stress fracture in her metatarsal (a toe bone).
When the minimalist trend swept the running world in 2009 runners got very excited (me included). We got the Vibram Five Fingers or some Huaraches or at least some minimalist style shoes like Vivobarefoot. Then we hit the streets. A 40k week in cushioned Brooks became a 40k week in sandals. So what happened? Calf pain. Lots and lots of calf pain. If runners persisted through the calf pain for a month or two a metatarsal stress fracture or Achilles tendinopathy was often their reward.
“This can’t be right! Barefoot running was supposed to save us from injuries, but we’re getting injured more than ever! This was all a huge mistake! Let’s go back to the old shoes.”
Running shoe companies were quick to help out. Enter the phrases ‘Zero Drop’ and ‘Footshape™’ Now you could be a ‘barefoot runner’ AND buy shoes! Excellent. After a few years the pendulum has really swung the other way. Now we have ‘Maximalism’. Hoka put so much cushioning in their shoes I don’t even look short anymore.
Eight years after Born to Run, we are back where we started. All confused and buying lots of shoes. Ahh, capitalism.
Should you change to minimalist shoes?
So how do we make sense of all of this? Well, first off, don’t listen to the shoes companies. Secondly, remember the test we did at the start? Take off your shoes and have a run. You will probably run differently. You will probably land more softly. You will probably run better.
Now, add in a teaspoon of common sense. If you have been running around in cushioned shoes your whole life, don’t you think you may need to transition slowly to bare feet? And what about getting your feet all cut up and stuff?
Barefoot or Minimalist Shoes?
If you run better without your shoes, then barefoot is best. The more layers you put between you and the ground, the further away you will get from barefoot. The further away from barefoot you get, the less information your body gets about how to land softly. That’s why you run differently when you take off your shoes; your body has more information so it will change its behaviour. Shoes detach us from our environment one layer at a time:
- Layer 1 – Skin Protection – a thin layer of plastic or something to protect the skin
- Layer 2 – Cushioning – the thicker it gets the less information you get
- Layer 3 – Support – the more support the weaker your muscles, tendons and bones get
- Layer 4 – Stiffness – the stiffer the shoe the greater the change in foot mechanics
- Layer 5 – Constriction – the more you crush your foot into a weird shape the less you will be able to feel
Imaging wearing a thin pair of gloves all the time. Imagine the difference in your experience of the world. Now imagine a slightly thicker pair. Now imagine a full-on winter pair. Now imagine a full-on winter pair that are mitten shaped without fingers. That’s what we do to our feet. The more layers we add to the shoes, the thicker the gloves.
It’s totally fine to run in your bare feet. If you want to do that, go for it. If you don’t feel comfortable with that, add one layer – that would be something like a DIY Xero Sandal. Still feel like too big a shift? Try layer 2 – Altra One V3 would be a good example. Still too big a shift? Add Layer 3 – Hoka One Ones have more cushioning than you can shake a stick at. Not ready for any of this crazy minimalist stuff? Add Layer 4 – any traditional running shoes like the Asics Nimbus will do. Not interested in minimalist running? Add Layer 5 – something like the Brooks Adrenaline.
The guys over at The Running Clinic have devised a system to categorize shoes by ‘Minimalist Index’. Which is to say that, the more minimal a shoe is the higher it’s Minimalist Index. It’s a wonderful tool so head over there to see how your shoe scores (when you finish reading this!). The higher the Minimalist Index score, the less layers between you and the ground.
Should I change to Minimalist Shoes?
Well, there are lots of benefits to running in more minimal shoes. First off, you are likely to run better. Remember the test we did at the start? Also, the more minimalist your shoes are, the lighter they will be (bare feet weigh an impressive 0 grams). That’s less weight to carry on your next race.
There is a trade off though. Running in bare feet or minimalist shoes may improve your running technique and thus reduce your risk of injury in the long-term. However, in the short term, your chances of getting injured are going to rise. That’s because the muscles, tendons and bones in your feet and lower legs are not used to the demand you will be placing on them. If you are going to change, you will have to do it slowly.
How to Transition to Minimalist Running Shoes
Here’s how you do it. 1 minute at a time. It’s that simple.
Take an imaginary runner, Jodi. Jodi runs four times a week. She does about 30k per week at the minute wearing very supportive cushioned shoes. Something like the Brooks Adrenaline. She has decided to transition to the extremely minimal DIY Xero Sandals as she feels like she runs better barefoot but still wants some skin protection (1 Layer).
Jodi is allowed to run 1 minute more per run in her minimalist shoes. It’s Monday and Jodi has a 5k recovery run scheduled. She puts on her sandals, steps outside and starts the stopwatch. She runs 30 seconds and turns around to run 30 seconds back for a total of 1 minute. She goes inside, changes into her Brooks and goes out to finish her 5k run.
On Tuesday Jodi has a 5k Tempo run. She puts on the minimalist shoes and steps outside. She starts the stopwatch and runs for 1 minute. She turns around and runs the 1 minute back to the house for a total of 2 minutes. She changes into her Brooks and goes out to finish the 5k Tempo run.
On Thursday Jodi has a 7k easy run. She puts the sandals on, steps outside, starts the stopwatch and runs 1.5 minutes. Then she turns around and runs the 1.5 minutes back to the house for a total of 3 minutes. She changes into her Brooks and heads out to finish the 7k run.
On Sunday Jodi has a 15k long run at an easy pace. She puts the sandals on and runs 2 minutes out and 2 minutes back for a total of 4 minutes. She changes into her Brooks and finishes the 15k run.
On Monday she has a 5k recovery run, 2.5 minutes out and 2.5 minutes back in the sandals. She changes into the Brooks to finish the 5k run.
By now you should see the pattern. 1 minute extra per run.
Eventually some of Jodi’s 5k runs will be entirely in the minimalist shoes (sandals).
When to Plateau
After 5 weeks Jodi is up to 20 minutes in minimalist sandals per run. She is starting get pain in the arches of her feet and calves after each run. At this point Jodi needs to plateau. Jodi continues to run only 20 minutes per run in minimalist shoes. She does this until her feet and calves adapt and she no longer feels any pain/discomfort after the runs. This takes about three weeks. At this point she increases to 21 minutes per run, then 22 the next run, 23 the run after.
When she reaches 30 minutes per run her right foot starts to bother her a little after every run. She drops back to 27 minutes in the minimalist shoes and stays at 27 for 2 weeks. When her foot adapts and the pain goes away she increases to 28, then 29, then 30, then 31….and so on.
Jodi continues in this manner for about 9 months. She has to plateau roughly every 2-3 weeks and stay at the same amount of minimalist running until her feet/lower legs adapt. After 9 months Jodi is doing all of her running in her sandals. She also has a pair of very minimal New Balance Minimus for the winter as it is too cold for the sandals. She has some Vivobarefoot running shoes that she wears when she runs with her running club as she is a little self-conscious in the sandals.
(Often, for the first couple of weeks, I advise people just to do one extra minute a day in minimalist shoes as a separate exercise from the running. This allows you to get up to about 15 minutes in your minimalist shoes before you have to start switching shoes during a run.)
Conclusion
There you have it. A full transition to minimalist shoes took 9 months! During that time Jodi’s running form improved and her feet and calves became gradually stronger and stronger. Now she runs better and has reduced her injury risk for the future. She managed to overcome the short term increase in injury risk by making an extremely slow and gradual transition to minimalist running. Do you have the patience to make the switch? Let us know in the comments!