Minimalist or Barefoot Runners

gemiwing

Hello all,

Does anyone here do any barefoot or minimalist running?

I'm starting out and would love to meet more people who are into it!

Thanks!

Chenoachem

My husband has researched it a lot but neither one of us do it. What do you think of it? Are you wearing the little padded feet shaped shoes or going barefoot?

gemiwing

I've been training my feet and so far it's amazing.

I can't afford any of the minimalist shoes right now- so I've taken a cheap pair of 'exercise' shoes from Target and removed the soles. There's maybe a few milimeters between me and the floor. I'm going to test them at the gym tonight.

I've been walking and running through the house and it's liberating. lol. I feel like I'm a kid again and I could run forever!

I can't wait until my endurance is higher so I can go for a nice long barefoot run


Oh and here's an article on it from Runner's World- just in case anyone else is curious:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-240-319--6728-0,00.html

annaliza

I've never heard of it but I love going barefoot!! Have always been a barefoot kind of kid when I was growing up.

Thanks for the article. I might try it one of these days but I don't have much of a place where it would be good. I run on the roads...I bet a beach or a trail would be great for that.

Good luck on it. How far do you go when you run barefoot? Where do you usually run?

chrissyh

Ouch! I am a whimp - I'll stick to my shoes!

gemiwing

I'm just starting out so I don't go very far lol

You don't land the same while barefoot/minimal as you do in heavily padded shoes so it doesn't matter what surface you run on. Most barefooters prefer running on a harder surface than a softer one.

I'm working up my soles and have been walking on the sidewalks/grass/gravel for about a week. It's great so far- no problems. I live downtown and haven't really had any issues with cuts/etc. I just watch where I step.

PunkinHeadsMOMMA

I don't exactly run barefoot, but my feet are so callused they would be a pedicurests' nightmare. No matter how much I scrub I can never get them clean cuz they are so callused. Mostly from being barefoot in the house and out in my garden. Too many rocks to go running though. (I live in the mountains, Rocky mountains, hehe:laugh: ) Happy barefoot running....:happy:

gemiwing

Minimal Running Update-

It Was Awesome! I went twice as far as before and it was tons easier.

Not saying this is for everyone- but boy howdy is it for me. I felt so darned free- I wanted to keep running but I had already burned 600 cals and honestly it was too late to eat more than that.

I can't wait until Thursday so I can run again! YAY!:drinker:

annaliza

How far did you run? Did you burn 600 cals barefoot running?

Holy cr*p! It takes me an hour to burn 600 cals just plain running on the road!

gemiwing

I wasn't barefoot- I was at the gym and they frown on that lol. I was wearing my minimalist shoes. I ended up running about a quarter of a mile in them. Walking the rest of the time because I don't want to do too much too soon.

I also did weight lifting while I was there- so the cal count is for the whole gym day lol. I WISH I could burn 600 calories by only doing a mile!

cherapple

:happy: Just the thread I was looking for, and recent, too! :happy:

I am just getting into barefoot running -- and weight lifting, and just plain living -- after watching my husband benefit from going shoeless over the last couple of years. (He has cured his back pain, and his race times just keep getting better and better.) I have a pair of Vibram Five Fingers, but have now chucked them off, too. (They gave me a false sense of being able to run "barefoot" too far, too soon. I'll keep them for the gym.)

My husband and father just completed a triathlon, both barefoot, two days ago. My husband shaved 8 minutes off his time from last year (which he also ran barefoot) and my father came in second in his age group. (They were two out of three total barefooters.)

I'm hoping to be able to run races barefoot myself at some point, but for now I am doing short (20-25 minutes) runs on grass (beach this past weekend) and trail. The road that I usually run on near us has too much gravel, so I may try a different road soon, and find some more trails. My challenge is that I've had bunion surgery on one foot, so have some scar tissue and lack of full mobility in that foot -- which is why I watched my husband run barefoot for two years before giving it a try. I didn't think it would be possible for me, but I'm now doing it! Even after the surgery, I was still struggling to find shoes that fit comfortably without squeezing my toes and giving me corns. No worries about those things (and no wasted money on shoes that don't fit right) with bare feet. It feels amazing to run shoe-free, as our feet were born to do!

Exciting to find other barefooters! Let's keep this thread going!

Cheryl

annaliza

Wow, Cherapple! Thanks for sharing that...your husband and father sound amazing!! I had never heard of barefoot running until this thread. And to hear someone doing a triathlon barefoot...WOW! Is it a special race (a barefoot race) or did they run with a bunch of shoe'd people?

Ok, I tried running barefoot this weekend. Just a little bit around my house on the sidewalk and in the grass. I agree that it was very liberating however I would have a long way to go before I could go anywhere else except around my house. I definately need to read more about it and proper form.

Anyways, thank you for opening my eyes.

annaliza

I WISH I could burn 600 calories by only doing a mile!

LOL, Me too!!!!!

Schaff

Nice to see others trying out barefoot running! I run barefoot at least twice a week, it is one of the most organic experiences I have ever had in my life, it has made me a MUCH better runner. I started (and still do) run on the inner turf of a track. The connection between your brain and your feet is incredible!

Few words of advice for those of you who want to give this a try, and I will also include a very helpful website for barefoot enthusiasts.

START SLOW!!! You should NOT be logging considerable mileage barefoot. I started out running a mile, walking a lap of the track, repeat one or two times. If you feel sharp pain, then you should stop. What will probably happen is you will have most of your muscle soreness in your calves. This pain can be intense, and can last a few days when you start out. I promise that the calf muscle pain will completely go away in a about two weeks.

You should also be running at a comfortable, easy, conversational pace. You need to get your body used to running this way, I cannot stress this enough. There are a lot of advantages to barefoot running, and a lot of runners and doctors swear by it. But the risk of injury is also high if you are not careful and don't listen to your body.

Good luck trying it out! Here's the website I mentioned: http://runningbarefoot.org/

gemiwing

START SLOW!!! You should NOT be logging considerable mileage barefoot.

You're not kidding! I pushed too hard (I got so darned excited and it felt soooo good) and now I'm on the DL for a week. Bah.

I'm so glad to find other barefoot runners on MFP!

It truly is an amazing experience. I feel so connected, natural, free and just.. whole, I suppose. It's all part of learning that my body is not the enemy professionals and the media would have me believe.

I don't need 200 dollar shoes, 100 dollar inserts, special equipment or anything but what my body came with- feet! There is nothing wrong with my body's design- what's wrong is how I've been using it.

I've been blessed with this body and through barefoot running I'm learning just how amazing it is. Really opened my eyes.

Okay enough gushing and mushy stuff :blushing:

Schaff

Lol, I feel the same way about it! A friend of mine got me into barefoot running, and the way he explained the concept and rationale just made perfect sense to me.

If you have ever broken a limb (or known someone who has) what happens after the cast comes off? Your muscles have atrophied from non-use. Same concept with shoes and your feet. Since you had the first pair of shoes put on you, its as if your feet have been trapped in a cast. There are tons of muscles, nerves and tendons in your feet, they were never intended to be trapped inside rubber!

When you run barefoot, you run naturally, the way humans were intended to run, on the balls of your feet. The best running form should not be forced, it should be natural, and that is what barefoot running has given me, I have MUCH better form since running barefoot.

gemiwing

I couldn't agree more.

I've always dreamed of being a runner. Everytime I would try it just didn't work. My shins would burn, my knees would cry in pain. So I tried to Run Like Everyone Else and slam the hell out of my heel and shove my legs as far as they would go.

Damn I was stupid. :laugh:

Then I researched on better form (who knew you had to research running??) and that helped. Started running on the balls of my feet. Just one problem- my nice expensive running shoes wouldn't let me do it. The heel was so padded I couldn't naturally land any higher on the foot without some serious downhill action.

Then I found barefoot/minimal running and wow. Just wow. I tried it out and felt RIGHT for the first time. It sounds cheesy to say that it changed my life- but it did. It opened up my mind and reconnected me to my own body.

Having been in a wheelchair I had this lingering sense that my body was 'wrong' or that I would never feel capable of moving under my own natural power again. BFR changed that for me. I'm learning that my body is just as perfect as it can be. I wasn't designed wrong, I just wasn't using what had been given me in the right way.

cherapple

My husband and father ran with a bunch of shoed people. They were two of a total of three barefooters (out of 215 total racers) in the triathlon. Barefooters are still too rare to have entire barefoot races. Usually there are only one or two of them in a race at most. I think our numbers are growing, though!

I run barefoot mostly around my house at the moment -- in my yard, driveway, and on the road out front -- and only every two or three days. Tomorrow morning I hope to find a good field or trail to run on!

I definitely recommend starting out slow and letting your feet get used to their new freedom.

Cheryl

Wow, Cherapple! Thanks for sharing that...your husband and father sound amazing!! I had never heard of barefoot running until this thread. And to hear someone doing a triathlon barefoot...WOW! Is it a special race (a barefoot race) or did they run with a bunch of shoe'd people?

Ok, I tried running barefoot this weekend. Just a little bit around my house on the sidewalk and in the grass. I agree that it was very liberating however I would have a long way to go before I could go anywhere else except around my house. I definately need to read more about it and proper form.

Anyways, thank you for opening my eyes.

Sara2525

I started reading this thread last week and decided to give it a try this weekend. I ran on my treadmil barefoot and went a lot further than usual without getting winded. I was on the treadmil for about 40 minutes mostly running and only stopped because my toes were getting a little sore!

I ran again yesterday with some socks on and was able to run a mile, walk .25, and then run another mile. It's amazing how much shoes weigh you down. It felt liberating to run like that and once the Texas heat settles down, I'm going to try it outside!

LeanLioness

Ouch! I am a whimp - I'll stick to my shoes!

Don't feel bad, you are not the only one!!! I can't even walk in the house with my socks on and flip flops outside hurt my feet if I have to walk on rocks............

gemiwing

I started reading this thread last week and decided to give it a try this weekend. I ran on my treadmil barefoot and went a lot further than usual without getting winded. I was on the treadmil for about 40 minutes mostly running and only stopped because my toes were getting a little sore!

I ran again yesterday with some socks on and was able to run a mile, walk .25, and then run another mile. It's amazing how much shoes weigh you down. It felt liberating to run like that and once the Texas heat settles down, I'm going to try it outside!

Don't go too far too fast- your calves need to build up. Plus ligaments and tendons and and and..

Long story short- don't do what i did :laugh: I'm out of commision for a week because it just felt too good to stop.

Isn't it amazing? Once you try it you get it- It's the most freeing thing I've done to date. It's amazing how our bodies are perfect just the way they are :flowerforyou: