Fresh from a lengthy vacation in Mexico, I have now returned to the bitter cold of Minnesota and am geared up for another year — and decade — of unlearning. There is perhaps no better place to begin unlearning than one of my other passions — running.
As some of you may recall, I vowed to begin running barefoot after I completed the Twin Cities Marathon this past fall. To date, I have made good on that pledge and have logged about 15 miles a week in my Vibram running gloves. (Because I live in Minnesota, most of these miles have been logged inside on a treadmill.)
To encourage others to unlearn their reliance on running shoes, I offer you this article from Christopher McDougall, the author of "Born to Run" (which was #2 on my annual list of 10 best books on unlearning in 2009.) What's most striking is the scientific evidence against running shoes. In a 2009 review article in The British Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers reviewed 30 years of studies and were unable to find a single study demonstrating that running shoes made runners less prone to injury — not a single one!
Now some of you may say that doesn't prove that barefoot running is any better but this past March a study published in The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness found that barefoot runners experienced significantly less impact than runners in shoes.
The reason is quite simple. When running barefoot, the human body instinctively modifies its running style to run lighter by coming down on the forefoot with toes spread and bending the ankles and knees to absorb the shock. Running shoes, by offering too much cushion, can cause the opposite effect by encouraging runners to land hard on their bony heels with their legs straight.
It may sound counterintuitive but running barefoot could lead to fewer running injuries.
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