Tuesdays With Benn

Barefoot running is a craze that is sweeping the nation. With the launch of the book “Born to Run” many people have decided to take on the new style of running and run with it. The concept of barefoot running is very simple. What running barefoot does it that it brings you back to your natural way of running. With the way shoes are built today it promotes a more heel strike of mechanics. What this does is that it sends all the energy straight up your legs and into your upper body. Experts say the shock is like adding 4 times your body weight. This can cause many different injuries and cause problems in the future. With the style of running barefoot you have a more natural foot strike while running. The more natural way of running is hitting in the midfoot to ball of the foot. By doing this you allow the legs to be bent and all the shock from the ground is taken in through the legs and not the upper body. This also eliminates the need for added support in the shoe because you are already past the point in the stride for pronation.

Right now there are a few different types of barefoot shoes out there. The one that we carry at Run Away Shoes is the Vibram fivefingers. The glove for your foot.These shoes I feel are the most like running barefoot. There is only a thin sheet of rubber that is between you and the ground. This gives the most natural feel of barefoot running that I have discovered. There are many different styles that Vibram makes and they all have their own special purpose. For running outside I would recommend either the KSO or the Bikila. These both have protective covering for the foot all the way up to the ankle. The big thing to remember with this type of running is that you have to take it slow. I recommend running on grass to start off and try to limit the use on concrete as much as possible. Also start by only using them once or twice a week at first. It’s not that you cannot use them as a everyday running shoe its just that its going to take a bit to get use to it and build up new muscle groups.  So come on in and talk to one of our shoe experts here at Run Away Shoes to learn more about the Vibrams and how they will work for you.