Barefoot running info

(Image from the Mail article)


I've found a few articles on barefoot running that might be of interest to others.

Running barefoot is associated with a substantially lower prevalence of acute injuries of the ankle and chronic injuries of the lower leg in developing countries, but well-designed studies of the effects of barefoot and shod running on injury are lacking. Laboratory studies show that the energy cost of running is reduced by about 4% when the feet are not shod. In spite of these apparent benefits, barefoot running is rare in competition, and there are no published controlled trials of the effects of running barefoot on simulated or real competitive performance.

The above quote is from http://www.sportsci.org/jour/0103/mw.htm

There's an article from the Mail that's mostly an extract from Chris McDougall's book.

In the absence of the "perfect" shoe, barefoot running deserves serious consideration. The likelihood that all shoe-wearing runners will immediately abandon their footwear and take up full-time barefoot running is remote. Yet increasing the amount of time we run or walk barefoot should be beneficial. In their paper on running-related injury prevention, Robbins and Hanna concluded, "The solution to the problem of running-related injuries could be as simple as promoting barefoot activity."

FROM: TRACK COACH 168

And lastly a link to a blog (Dr. Ben Pearl). http://docforjocks.blogspot.com/2009/03/barefoot-running.html