running barefoot

[Yoda]

I found this at runningbarefoot.org. So very true. Quite liberating to just consider. I'll check it out.

 

-Yoda

 

Nearly everyone I meet who is, either interested in, or has started running, has many questions like the following;

 

 

"How far should I run?"

 

"How fast should I run?"

 

"How often should I run?"

 

"When should I run?"

 

"What should I be eating?"

 

etc...

Yet very few actullay seem interested in learning "HOW" to run. Invariably, How we run is what will, ultimately, make the difference of whether our running will be successful (as long as your running goals are reasonable, we aren't all going to the Olympics), or failures (chronic injuries, frustration, etc.). As Gordon Pirie suggests, if running is a lifetime goal, not just a means to physically and emotionally rip yourself to shreds, then it really is important to, FIRST, learn how to run.

 

My bias, is of course, to start barefoot. Our feet, after all, are our best coaches. They will remind us immediately, and persistently, when we are running badly. And, when we are running well, our feet will enjoy the run, as much as the rest of our body. It is possible to learn to run correctly, while wearing shoes. It is also possible to learn to speak and understand speech while deaf. But, if you allow your to feet join you in your running, along with the rest of your body, improvement will be much more obvious. Running with shoes is only more comfortable, if we habitually run badly. When we have learned to run well, shoes often just get in the way. Running barefoot, will almost invariably lead to better running form, and the possibility of running for several decades without chronic or serious injuries.

 

 

I had always planned to take my scrapbooks and just write about each race as it is recalled by me. This was to be when I broke my leg and couldn't run. Well I never broke anything badly enough to go to bed or for that matter to stop running, so I am going to do it now at the age of 60. -Charley Robbins (Charley Robbins has been running barefoot since 1935, and, in 2001, Charley was still running and racing at age 81!)

We Americans and Europeans can complain until we are blue in the face that Kenyans and Ethiopians have a genetic advantage over our runners. But, even if that is true, it's a little late to choose different parents. And perhaps competing with the top runners of the world doesn't interest you. But, we are not only failing to develop many potential world class runners. The path we choose in our youth may be handicapping us in our latter years. How can aged feet and legs remember how to walk, if they spent their youth propped up on footstools playing video games and watching TV? How can weakened legs and pampered feet be expected to carry our overfed bodies, when we didn't train them to carry our youthful bodies? There is so much in the way we live that we do have control over that will affect our health as well as our athletic ability. Because we choose to be lazy, we are not developing the natural efficient running technique of someone, who as children ran several miles a day to school, ran to the neighbors to deliver messages, then when their chores were finshed, ran just for the fun of it, and did all this without the "advantage" of Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Asics, or any shoe.

 

We try to make the answers seem complicated, out of reach. That way we feel justified in not doing anything about it. If we believe the Africans have a genetic advantage that we cannot control, then there is nothing we can do about it. But the answers are not that complicated. We must get off our ever-widening asses! Sure your back and your knees hurt when you run. You're probably carrying around a lot of extra weight. Besides that, you probably learned to run with shoes on. You simply aren't using your body the way it was designed to be used or for the load it was designed to carry!

 

Video

 

Dave Parsel warming up barefoot uphill on grass between the 10K and 5K Spirit Run, 2005 March 13 Play Low Resolution

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Learning to run with shoes on, is like learning a spoken language with ear plugs. You just can't hear the way the words sound. And with shoes, you just can't feel your feet touching the ground. And that is where the important part of running takes place! If you want to know how to run naturally, potentially for a century or more, without your body disintegrating from injuries, then look at the design of the human body, particularly the foot. Forget about the way shoes are designed. Most modern running shoes aren't made for running naturally without injury. They are designed with the mistaken concept that we are supposed to land on our heels. And therefore, that our bodies cannot run without some artificial contrivance to absorb the shock as the heel bangs against the ground. Some shoes are even designed with springs in the heels! If running naturally meant to land on the heels, nature would have put springs in our heels!

 

The shoe companies try to convince us that humans are not designed to run, at least not on hard manmade surfaces littered with sharp objects. The fact is that hard surfaces and sharp objects are not new. I have run barefoot in the mountains on slabs of granite that were miles long, and harder than any man-made asphalt or concrete. I have also run barefoot through forests, on beaches, and those same mountain trails covered with sharp stones, sticks, and broken shells. Our ancestors managed to run barefoot across those same surfaces. We are designed to run barefoot on hard surfaces and over sharp objects. However, we are NOT designed to run without feedback from the soles of our feet.

 

It is more comfortable on most surfaces and less dangerous to run barefoot, as long as we run the way we are designed to run!

 

Heel striking is uncomfortable in barefeet BECAUSE we are not designed to land heel first while running.

 

 

If we were designed to land heel first, we would have developed springs in our heels. No springs there! Instead we develop heel-spurs and plantar faciitis, even with shoes. The impact of landing on the heel damages the achilles tendon, then the impact force drives directly up the leg to the knee, and if the knee isn't allowed to bend, on up to the back, causing injury over time. The most padded, or spring loaded running shoes have less than 2 inches of cushion. By allowing my knees to bend, I have a full 2 feet of potential cushioning. It is true that I rarely compress my knees the full 2 feet. But, how often do your shoes compress a full 2 inches?

 

In order to land on the heel, we must have our foot in front of our body as it lands. If the heel hits first, it is pushing against the ground in the opposite direction we are trying to run. We are hitting the brakes every time we put our foot down! Worse yet, the impact of slamming on the brakes jams our knees. It often seems that nearly everyone who asks me about impact while running barefoot is wearing knee braces!

 

Third; Like they say at Pontiac, "Wider is better!" This point was brought to my attention by someone who sells running shoes, the forefoot is wider than the heel. Any side to side imbalances are amplified by heel striking because the heel is narrower and less stable. Landing on the forefoot, with it's wider surface, naturally promotes a more stable landing. A canoe is easier to tip than an outrigger!

Video

 

Though racing with shoes, Dave Parsel runs barefoot about 20 miles a week. Here he is finishing first in age division, and 10th overall, at the Spirit Run 5K. Earlier the same mornig Dave won his age division in the 10K. For these wins, Dave was awarded two pairs of shoes. Note the shoes he is wearing have very flat soles. 2005 March 13 Play Low Resolution

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As our foot lands, it should be moving back (in relation to our body), and matching the speed of the ground beneath us. Technically the foot will move forward above the ground. Then before it touches the ground, it should slow to match the speed of the ground beneath the runner. The foot should be directly beneat the runner as it lands. This is only possible to do comfortably if we land on the balls of the foot. Coincidently, this is the widest part of our foot! , The foot will accellerate out in front of our body, but does not land until after it has slowed down and the body has moved over the foot.

 

Again look at the design of the foot. It should have an arch. At least it would if you grew up without deforming your feet with shoes and orthotic inserts which prevented your feet from developing naturally. The arch is a natural spring, like the leaf springs of an automobile. The arch is designed to flex, not to be held rigidly in place by supportive shoes. The arch is located just behind the balls of our feet. Therefore the balls of our foot should contact the ground first. As the balls take on the weight of our body, the arch deflects, and the heel is gently lowered to the ground. The arch cushions this first part of our landing. Letting the heel touch allows the calf muscles to relax. Do relax! Don't fight to keep the heel off the ground, otherwise, you will end up with extremely sore calves and achilles tendons.

 

You probably will have sore calves, and possibly achilles tendons, at first anyway, especially if you are new to running, or have been a chronic heel striker (overstriding). After all, your calves will be absorbing the initial shock, instead of the cartiledge in your knee joint. But that's not a bad thing, the calf muscles and achilles tendons can grow stronger from exercise. The cartiledge in your knee joint will be damaged when it's used as a cushion. HINT: To reduce tension on the calves, first of all, relax, but also try taking shorter, quicker steps.

 

The purpose of the cartiledge in the knee joint is not, despite the opinion of your shoe manufacturer and podiatrist, to absorb the entire shock of running. Think of it like a thin layer of teflon, keeping the bones from rubbing together as our knee bends. The knee is designed to bend, when we run or walk. This is one of the greatest shock absorbers ever invented!

 

Let the knee bend. Keep on relaxing! NEVER LAND STRAIGHT or STIFF LEGGED! A bent knee is capable of much more cushioning than the most technologically advanced running shoe. If the knee bends as we land, the leg will not transmit the remainder of the impact through the skeleton to the rest of our body, so that our knees and spinal column might also stay healthy the rest of our life.

 

Speaking of our back, the torso should be upright, vertical with respect to the ground. Letting the knees bend, does not mean that our body should be hunched forward. Leaning forward will put a lot of strain on the lower back muscles as they fight momentum and gravity each time we land or push off. Being upright also, as Donald Sutherland, playing Bill Bowerman, pointed out in the movie "Without Limits", makes it easier to pick up your leg.

 

Now, our knee is bent, our ankle is bent, our body is upright, and if we lean forward, at the ankle, keeping the torso vertical, our body will fall forward. That is the direction we want to run. So why would any runner want to slam their heel into the ground in front of themselves, slowing themselves down, wasting energy, and destroy their knees and back?

 

Even downhill, or perhaps, especially downhill, we don't want to be braking. We should only be braking to make a hairpin corner, or on a very long steep downhill, or after we cross the finish line! When we run we should let gravity pull us. It's free, and it's everywhere we run. If we fight gravity, we feel a jogging sensation immediately in our feet. When we put shoes on to block this sensation, the jarring sensation is reduced in our feet. But the energy is transmitted directly to our knees and back, and often all the way to our head. I suppose that is why so many "joggers" run hunched over. Instead of letting the knees bend, they bend at the waist. This reduces the jarring sensation in their head. Running with this jarring motion is often referred to as "Jogging." Never jog! Never tell people you are jogging! Jogging gives running a BAD name; "JOGGING!"

 

Most blisters occur because of how your feet hit the ground not (necessarily) because of the surface. Imagine running through paint (just like in the old cartoons). You should leave perfect footprints. You should have no smearing of the paint. -Marc McLellan

 

 

Take off your shoes.

 

Stand up.

 

Bend the knee on one leg.

Notice the heel comes off the ground. It is practically impossible to land heel first, when the knee is bent and the foot is directly beneath the body.

 

Now let's try a bit of slow motion practice by walking. This is a little scary for most people, because we do have a natural fear for falling. And running really is just a continuous fall forward. So we'll start slow, just walking, for now. This should allow you to feel a little more in control to start with. Later when you get used to falling forward for miles and miles, you should enjoy running, I mean, falling downhill with hardly any impact at all!

 

 

Stand up.

 

Move your hips forward, under your body.

 

Keeping your hips beneath your torso, bend your knees and ankles.

 

by letting the ankles bend, let your hips fall forward.

 

Lift one foot and, keeping your knees bent, set it down directly under your body as it falls forward.

 

by letting the ankle bend, Let your hips continue falling forward.

 

Lift the other foot, and, keeping your knees bent, set it down directly under your body as it falls forward.

 

by letting the ankle bend, Let your hips continue falling forward.

Repeat steps 5, 6, 7, and 8 until you get where you want to be.

 

Don't try to reach out in front by extending your leg. Stride length will increase as we lean further forward, and consequently move faster, covering more ground with each step. NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. When we try to increase stride length by stretching our leg out in front, we end up doing a series of long jumps, with a stop at the end of each jump, as our foot smashs into the ground in front of us, and we slow down!

 

Our foot should match the speed of the ground under our body, as it lands slightly behind our center of balance. This allows us to continue falling forward with the next step. The ball of our foot should be supporting our weight on initial touchdown, as our heel gently touches to the ground. This gives the achilles tendon and calf muscle a short rest with each step.

 

The next step is simply to pick up your other foot and set it down as I have described, BEFORE landing on your face! As you pick up your rear foot, the heel will leave the ground first. Followed by the ball of the foot. Since we landed on the ball of the foot, we call this Ball-Heel-Ball running. To sum up, the ball of the foot lands, the heel is set down (gently), and as we pick our foot off the ground, the ball of the foot follows the heel.

 

As we learn to run barefoot, our calves may hurt at first. There are a few reasons for sore calves.

 

 

We our using our calf muscles in a way they haven't been used since we first became addicted to wearing shoes.

 

Trying to push our body forward, instead of simply falling forward.

 

Our calves are not relaxed.

 

We are trying to make long strides.

 

Our achilles tendons are straining, because, over the years, they have shortened from wearing shoes with elevated heels.

The calf muscles will build to what is necessary, as we learn to use them correctly. If we let them relax, they will stretch more easily, and build faster with less risk of injury.

 

Relax!

Relax!

Relax!

 

As our calves strengthen and our tendons are restored to their natural length, it will be possible to sprint by pushing off from the ball of the foot. This is where running becomes sprinting. Sprinting is not an aerobic exercise and we can not sprint for long distances, without gasping for air. Any running program, even if our goal is to be a great sprinter, must be based in aerobic exercise. That's why most trainers, professionals, and elite runners do about 90% of their running at a pace they can sustain comfortably, while conversing. A conversational pace, is something we can talk about, while we are running. It is not something we talk about after we catch our breath!

 

For now, save sprinting for that last 100 meters at your next Olympic event!

 

Discover how the ground felt to your ancient ancestors. Let your feet get conditioned to touching the rough, uneven surfaces of sand, dirt, rocks, even asphalt. When your feet are tired, walk on some nice green grass to give your feet a treat. Instead of slamming your feet into the rocks as if shoes will protect you, learn to gently set your foot on the ground (preferably between the big sharp rocks) so that you can move quietly and efficiently without jarring your skeleton. If we depend on our shoes to protect us from running, we cannot possibly be running naturally!

 

No sense using only our feet and legs to run. As our right leg moves forward, our left arm moves forward and visa-versa.

 

Trying to hold the hips and torso rigid during these motions is a waste of energy, and creates unnecessary tension. Let the body twist. It's kind of fun. Think of the song "Twist and Shout" while running. Be cool. Don't force the twist. Just let it happen.

 

Relax!

Relax!

Relax!

 

When our hips and torso twist, our legs act like they are longer.

 

Remember to LET the legs (don't force them to) stretch out BEHIND, not in front of, your body. This will not work if we run, as I see thousands of people doing, hunched over at the waist. Our hips should be under our body, supporting our body as we run.

 

Again, this takes the strain off our back, and lets gravity keep us upright, as well as pulling our entire body forward, not just our chest and face.

 

When can I run?

After several hours, days, weeks, or months, depending on our initial condition, of walking barefoot, we can start running. By this time we should be comfortable walking ball/heel/ball. And, our the soles of our feet should have begun to toughen up a bit.

 

Don't expect thick calluses to grow on your soles. If you are walking, running, and landing gently the skin on your soles will toughen, but not harden. The biggest problem many beginning barefooters have, is with sensitivity.

 

Our feet need to feel the ground so we can walk and run naturally. When we block this sensation by wearing shoes, our feet try even more to feel the ground. We develop an ultrasensitivity in our soles. After years of being blocked, we remove the shoes, and our feet are over stimulated. And we think, how did we possibly run around and play barefoot when we were kids?

 

It takes several years to get comfortable wearing shoes, assuming we ever really can be comfortable with our feet imprisoned! Watch any child after a parent puts on their first pair of shoes. Watch a cat or dog, after you put booties on their feet. After a few awkward steps without the natural feedback from their soles, they'll want to rip those shoes or booties off their feet!

 

Never jog! Jogging is how we learned to run while wearing running shoes. Shoes often do not allow us to run naturally. With their raised heels, it is difficult, if not impossible to run without slamming our heel into the ground. Human heels are designed for resting, not to absorb impact! I KNOW OF NO OTHER ANIMAL THAT LANDS HEEL FIRST!

 

If you feel some jogging in your feet, your body, or your head, don't panic. You didn't get comfortable walking with shoes in a day (if ever!). And you won't get comfortable running barefoot in a day. Pay attention to the jogging motion. Check your form frequently. Make sure you are doing all of the following;

 

 

Weight on ball of foot, or flat footed (on rougher surfaces or at slow speeds)

 

Let heel down gently

 

Bent ankles

 

Lean forward from ankles (not waist)

 

Bent knees

 

Hips under body

 

Torso vertical

 

Lift foot

 

Swing left arm with right leg

 

Allow torso to twist

 

Swing right arm with left leg

 

Elbows approximately right angles

 

Did I tell you to relax your shoulders?

Make sure you relax, not just the calves, but all of your muscles. Extra tension, is extra work, and increases risk of injury.

 

Start slowly. You should not start out any faster than you can run for 30 minutes while breathing comfortably. This is what we call a conversational pace, because you should be able to maintain a conversation comfortably. Do the conversation with a friend. If you do it alone, you'll look even more silly than just for the fact that you are running barefoot!

 

Soon you will be running smoothly, quietly, and efficiently, without jogging or pounding. By soon, I don't mean within a few minutes. Remember how long you have been wearing shoes! You are undoing a lifetime of bad training!

 

The most important thing to remember is; HAVE FUN! Have an adventure. Explore your world. Explore your body. Explore your running technique. Don't let running become routine. Don't just "do it!" Keep exploring. Keep thinking. Keep learning. Watch other people run. Watch other animals run. Enjoy running for a lifetime.

 

Explore the world beneath your feet!

 

-barefoot ken bob

 

 

by Ken Bob Saxton (2001July 29), How To Run, Barefoot or Otherwise, RunningBarefoot.org

[RedFox]

I found this at runningbarefoot.org.  So very true.  Quite liberating to just consider.  I'll check it out.

 

-Yoda

 

3169[/snapback]

 

Wild! Thanks for posting that, Yoda! So timely for me! As its finally warmed up a little around here, I've been playing around with the running method that Peter Falk mentioned not too long ago. I started with it last fall, and found I could run pain-free with it for miles in the woods on trails (and I am not built like a runner at all, so that's saying something).

 

On asphalt, though, I would still run into knee pain after a half mile to a mile. So I'm gonna give this a shot. In the yard first, though, my feet are still a little tender from the winter boot & shoe fest. But, how cool to be able to run a 5K without pain and without shoes! I love it!

[Yoda]

Check out the April 10, 2005 discussion on dragondoor.com forum--there's a great thread on the subject.

 

Here's what one barefoot runner says on DD:

 

"Most people as children ran in the summer months barefoot with the speed, ease and freedom that only a child can have. Running barefoot, you can at any age, have this regained youth. "

 

 

I did one mile barefoot on the pavement last night just to test it out. Surprisingly, wasn't hard on the skin, but it'll take a bit to get used to the technique and the muscles involved.

 

I'm glad our ancestors were able to run, btw. I always wondered about that! Every time I would run barefoot with my heels first, I'd wonder wtf was up back in the day--how did they do it?? Answer: they ran, not jogged. Jogging was invented by Nike.

 

I haven't run in a long time. If I'm not running with a pal, I felt that there was no point to it. Barefoot makes it the elemental activity that running was "intended" to be.

 

I'll do another 1 mile tonight.

 

-Yoda

[Yoda]

Here's another quote:

 

Today, few runners compete barefoot. However, in Asia and the Americas, entire communities live on their native lands without foot protection. In Northern Mexico, the Tarahumara Indians are well known for the amazing long distance running ability without shoes. In South Africa, Budd's native country, children are raised to run and play rugby barefoot.

 

Proponents of barefoot running argue that it is the natural way to run. It is pleasurable, safe, healthy and has many beneficial effects. Medical studies suggest that many foot problems that afflict civilized shod people are non-existent in barefooted populations. For example, athlete's foot, bunions, hammer toes and black toes rarely occur in unshod people.

 

In a 1990 article in Sports Medicine, Stevens Robbins examined the effects of athletic footwear on chronic overloading in runners. He observed that the system of soft tissues and bones that make the foot constitute an extremely complex machine optimized for locomotion.

 

When the foot hits the ground, feedback from the sole activates a series of muscle contractions to dissipate the shock. By insulating the sole from the ground, footwear diminishes sensory feedback and interferes with the natural function of the foot.

 

By absorbing part of the shock, the cushioned shoes deceive the foot into complacency, causing an even harder impact on the feet, resulting eventually in injury. Thus, state-of-the-art highly cushioned shoes create chronic overloading by interfering with the foot's shock-absorption mechanism. Robbins concluded that the ideal solution to foot injury in shod populations was to run barefoot.

 

Running barefoot also changes the characteristics of the underlying skin. Rather than hardening and cracking, the sole develops into a half-inch thick layer of leather. The thickness and smooth consistency contribute to protecting from puncture as well as providing some shock absorbency.

 

At the younger ages, pediatricians observed that shod children had a higher incidence of flat foot syndrome than children who went barefoot. They concluded that shoe-wearing in early childhood was detrimental to the development of a normal arch, and recommended that children under six years old partake in barefoot activities.

 

(end quote)

 

-Y

[Yoda]

I'm reading stories where runners run short distances barefoot every week or so just to heal injuries and keep their feet healthy.

 

Also many special forces soldiers in Vietnam tried and liked operating barefoot--heightens sensitivity.

 

Pavel recommends strength training while barefoot--it actually makes you stronger. Without cushioning, your feet can tell what's going on and send feedback signals to the brain that help recruit more muscle. Hence, padding in shoes is a thing of the past in the powerlifting community.

 

The barefoot runners make a similar argument that all that padding dumbs down our feedback and shock absorption systems--allowing for poor running technique and setting the runner up for being more injury prone.

 

I'm drawn to the special forces argument that it puts me in touch with the earth.

 

-Yoda

[thelerner]

The book 'Chi Running' is all about running 'safer'. The author has a different style and posture of running. The body is straight but angled forward. The foot movements are rounder/ more elliptical. You hit the ground flat footed.

 

I'm not a runner, but the book intrigued me enough to buy it.

 

Peace

 

Michael

[Yoda]

So I've done 2 barefoot runs and will take a day or two off to let my newly used foot muscles recover.

 

I used to run with my friends in college all the time, but haven't done any since.

 

It's an extremely powerful way to feel the earth--very uplifing. Both runs have been very positive experiences. All those nerve endings in the feet light up the brain!

 

Interesting about technique--you notice a shitload of sensitivity and nerve activity when running barefoot... I can't explain the technique but your body will instantly remember it and adjust per terrain, etc but it's ball of the foot first by an instant--it would look like a flat foot landing on camera and feel flat footed in shoes but it's not. I flipped through Chi of Running before, and the barefoot technique may be what he's describing--not sure.

 

They say it takes about 30 days to fully adapt to the groove, build the foot muscles, develop the skin, etc.

 

-Yoda

[HaPPyMaraXXus]

Very, very nice thread...

 

As I've read through some great memories surfaced. I was born and raised a hillbilly type o' gal...so one thing we always did on a daily basis was run through the woods, down the country roads, biking, and in the creeks all barefoot. (granted, the times were MUCH safer, then)

There are probably a TON of things we did to generate energy as a child that was completely unconciously. If only we could tag exactly what those things were and hone them in our daily regimens now! Just imagine...

 

Gonna have to kick the shoes off more often on my walks at night. Hmmm...wonder if my little M'geese will leave my toes alone if I do that...*smiles*

 

-Jessica

[RedFox]

Since Yoda posted this, I've been running barefoot a little bit each day. Mostly on the grass in the yard, but one or twice heading down the longer asphalt driveway. I've been trying to take it easy and build up tolerance little by little.

 

However, running in circles around a small yard, even mixing it up, kinda makes me feel like a hamster. And, it's still possible to run shoeless without good form in the grass. So I decided not to stop at the driveway today and see what the road felt like, and show my feet some new scenery. I paced somewhere between a jog and a run, and I was expecting pain in the right knee and hip within the usual half mile, but it never showed up. Woohoo!

 

I caught myself leaning forward a bit, and I did feel the heel strike first a couple times so I've still got plenty of work to do. The big thing I noticed was a brief stretch (not painful, just uncomfortable) in both calves/achilles tendons when the heel did touch down. Shoes seem to prevent that last little bit of range of motion from happening so there's something to get used to. I also found it considerably easier to breathe in the upright posture that barefoot running demands, and am experiencing no back discomfort. You know, I don't even feel my body demanding a prolonged stretching session, which I have had to do before and after any kind of running. I can feel where I could use some stretching in the hamstrings but I felt that way before the run too.

 

The only downside to the run is that I did too much too soon. I hadn't spent much time on the asphalt barefoot before now, so my feet feel rather tender at the moment. They don't look bad at all, but the balls are tender, and I can feel small blisters under the 4th digit on the ball of each foot. I'd much rather have that, though, than my knee telling me not to run at all for two weeks.

 

I can see how my range of motion in the feet and toes has noticeably improved after only a week. That's significant to me, because I've been watching it pretty closely and working on that since last fall, when a teacher demonstrated I had very little ability to rotate at the ankles or the balls of the feet compared to an athlete. Stretching never seemed to help beyond a small degree, however. I believe this is because I spent 99.9% of my day with shoes on and .1% of my day stretching and using those muscles, so the feet never got used to the pattern change I wanted to make.

 

Have to say I'm very impressed with this experiment so far.

[Yoda]

Red Fox,

 

Awesome results! If you have specific questions, you can post them on the dragondoor.com forum--there are several barefoot runners there.

 

On my 3rd barefoot, 1 mile run last week, the outside, rear edge of my calf cramped up and quit. So I've been barefoot walking since then with very short runnettes here and there. I'm expecting that there's carryover from the walking to the running.

 

Still, the walking offers a lot of the brain stimulation that the running does and I look forward for my feet and muscles to acclimate.

 

For me, the emotions I feel during barefoot running are very enjoyable and I look forward to running regularly and at greater distances.

 

-Yoda

[RedFox]

Red Fox,

 

Awesome results!  If you have specific questions, you can post them on the dragondoor.com forum--there are several barefoot runners there.

 

On my 3rd barefoot, 1 mile run last week, the outside, rear edge of my calf cramped up and quit.  So I've been barefoot walking since then with very short runnettes here and there.  I'm expecting that there's carryover from the walking to the running.

 

Still, the walking offers a lot of the brain stimulation that the running does and I look forward for my feet and muscles to acclimate. 

 

For me, the emotions I feel during barefoot running are very enjoyable and I look forward to running regularly and at greater distances.

 

-Yoda

3376[/snapback]

 

I didn't see a forum for barefoot running on the site, but I ended up writing the guy who wrote the article you posted, and he's been very helpful also. He and a few others just ran the Boston marathon barefoot! I'd be happy to run a 5k without pain.

 

As I understand the Tracker school perspective on it, you actually receive more information - or maybe, process more of the information you are getting - from your feet and the surrounding environment when you're walking that way, vs. running. You also have the option while walking whether or not to commit your weight to that lead foot, in case there is something sharp or noisy you're about to step on.

 

Undeniably, though, both are very meditative ways to move.

 

I am concerned, though... if I get really hooked on this, I'm going to have to move to a warmer state!

[Yoda]

just post questions on the general conditioning forum at dragondoor--but looks like you are in touch with the man himself.

 

One of the dragondoor guys runs barefoot in the winter, but order a catalogue from Tandy Leather Company and they'll sell you a pair of moccassins for $11-- something like that or just racing flats should take the edge off.

 

-Yoda

[...]

I have chronic running injuries. I dont want to attract that much attention to myself, running barefoot... so I'll be sure to get some of those racing flats you suggested, yoda...

[TheSongsofDistantEarth]

Time to bump this thread. Anybody here run barefoot? What about just walking barefoot outdoors as much as possible? I'm thinking of taking it up. One variable could be using some Vibram 'Five Fingers' shoes, although I really like the idea of absorbing earth energy directly through the feet with nothing intervening. Better for chi absorption.

[NeiChuan]

Time to bump this thread. Anybody here run barefoot? What about just walking barefoot outdoors as much as possible? I'm thinking of taking it up. One variable could be using some Vibram 'Five Fingers' shoes, although I really like the idea of absorbing earth energy directly through the feet with nothing intervening. Better for chi absorption.

 

Hm hey wow this was back in 2005. Just glad the info is spreading a bit now.

 

I started running barefoot a bit ago. I started with shoes just to give my feet a decent workout before I went running barefoot. Some foot stretches too.

 

When I first started running with shoes my achillies tendon and arches would slightly hurt for a bit, but go away during a bit of running.

 

Since running barefoot I've been completely fine.

 

Back straight, knees bent, and run like a bird walks

 

With your feet under your center of gravity.

 

I always feel there's a reserve left running like that also.

Edited December 5, 2010 by NeiChuan

[TheSongsofDistantEarth]

I love resurrecting interesting old threads.

 

How often do you run barefoot? Do you notice any chi benefits from doing so? It would seem that one would have to adjust the form of running away from the 'heel strike' style that running shoes encourage that are so hard on the joints. Here is an interesting book I found on Amazon about the 'Pose Method' of running. While it does not address barefoot running, it describes a different, 'natural' style of running that it seems to me would go well with barefoot running.

[NeiChuan]

I love resurrecting interesting old threads.

 

How often do you run barefoot? Do you notice any chi benefits from doing so? It would seem that one would have to adjust the form of running away from the 'heel strike' style that running shoes encourage that are so hard on the joints. Here is an interesting book I found on Amazon about the 'Pose Method' of running. While it does not address barefoot running, it describes a different, 'natural' style of running that it seems to me would go well with barefoot running.

 

Honestly as a kid I always noticed the running on the front of the foot. So when people told me heel toe, I just never "wanted" to run.. till I saw Christopher Mcdougle on the daily show, and his words really spoke to me. Was in an airport and bought his book.

 

Mm.. Well running barefoot I really just feel more myself, I run every week day I can wake up from 7 to 11 am. Run roughly 1 to 4 miles, I don't exactly know how to measure the mile accurately .

 

I run my max distance in sometimes half the time I did when I ran with shoes though. I also always notice at the end of my runs I feel like I can keep going and going.

 

More about the chi question. Honestly I don't see how it could'nt have benefited energy development. It helps "Everything". Blood follows chi right? Well your circulation is much stronger from running, I'd say my cognitive functions have gone up aswell.

 

Also I can say my energy reacts to things alot more easily. Running and meditation just makes me more of my core self, that's the best I can say it.

 

Everyone deserves the two, or atleast one of each of the healthy choices..

 

If you're gonna do either do it outside

 

God Bless.

[surfingbudda]

Great thread. Ya I've actually recently become really interested in the barefoot running. An important note when starting out is to slowly build up to where one can run great distances while barefoot. It takes time to relearn and retrain the feet to run barefoot, people get injured when they rush the learning process and jump right in, as with anything. Heres a nice website I found My link, I don't know if its already been posted. The guy from the site says the most important thing to barefoot running to practice "listening" like what Ya Mu always says; the article says your feet are your best teachers and just listen to them and go at the pace they are willing to do. The article also says that shoe like Vibran Fivefingers are great, but one should first learn to run barefoot and then transition if one wants to, on account shoes give one a false sense of support which can lead one to overdoing it and injuring themselves. The article says its better to start out barefoot and learn how much one should be pushing themselves. I'm really interested in barefoot running to better reconnect my self to the earth chi below us

[TheSongsofDistantEarth]

Honestly as a kid I always noticed the running on the front of the foot. So when people told me heel toe, I just never "wanted" to run.. till I saw Christopher Mcdougle on the daily show, and his words really spoke to me. Was in an airport and bought his book.

 

Mm.. Well running barefoot I really just feel more myself, I run every week day I can wake up from 7 to 11 am. Run roughly 1 to 4 miles, I don't exactly know how to measure the mile accurately .

 

I run my max distance in sometimes half the time I did when I ran with shoes though. I also always notice at the end of my runs I feel like I can keep going and going.

 

More about the chi question. Honestly I don't see how it could'nt have benefited energy development. It helps "Everything". Blood follows chi right? Well your circulation is much stronger from running, I'd say my cognitive functions have gone up aswell.

 

Also I can say my energy reacts to things alot more easily. Running and meditation just makes me more of my core self, that's the best I can say it.

 

Everyone deserves the two, or atleast one of each of the healthy choices..

 

If you're gonna do either do it outside

 

God Bless.

 

NeiChuan, you're my new hero.

 

It makes sense to me that the Taoist runner would run barefoot.

Edited December 5, 2010 by TheSongsofDistantEarth

[TheSongsofDistantEarth]

Yoda also posted this in a separate thread on barefoot walking. I found it very inspirational too. It is an article written during Victorian times in England.

Found some good stuff re: barefoot walking in the articles section of barefooters.org

 

This was written in the early 1900s in England perhaps--full article entitled 'barefoot league.'

 

Fun to see a Victorian Taoist!

 

The reason for this is, of course, that through the soles of the feet, which are the best absorbers of the finest of solar energy, these young bodies had been drinking in the very strength of our sun's body while his heat was being radiated from the asphalt or Downs, which were simply charged with it. And so it came to pass that very soon their bodies were charged through and through with the most potent of all physical vivifiers; every call was alive with its virtue, and, through the intensity and swiftness of these vibrations, the activity of the whole economy of their nature was so heightened that really wondrous effects in the beauty of health were soon evident to all who had seeing eyes.

"Oh, the joy of touching the earth! Oh, the delight to feel your tread, your grip of earth!" was the invariable utterance of every initiate after the first assay.

And so it truly is, for the earth loves the tread of the human foot, and the foot loves the contact of the earth. For here, I feel, there is a very serious service of Love. Ay, every tread of the bare foot of man or beast is to the body of Demeter, our good Mother-Earth, as a kiss of filial love, and is grateful to her. And through this tread we give to her of our human virtues or magnetisms and she, in return, gives us of her virtues even in her kiss.

For she loves those who love her body. Ay, she loves and blesses them well. And she gives them all the choicest good they are able to receive from her rich bounty. And they are blessed indeed.

Thus do we receive through the bare foot, not only the finest of the sun's energy, but also the virtues of the body of our earth in all its manifold richness and power. Much would I now say concerning this were I qualified. But I am no physicist in the ordinary sense of the schools, and I leave it to those who are qualified to do so. But the physicist who can so discourse must be, first, a free lover of Nature, and, also, an open- minded student of the finer forces of her life, both occult and manifest. To such I can surely promise in this realm an inexhaustible wealth of beauty whose sane sweetness will never cease to fascinate and satisfy.

Such are the rewards Truth offers to her lovers. And only such lovers are worthy of the name of Scientist.

 

 

The soles become so tough, not necessarily hard, that you can walk over stones, thorns, and other broken surfaces with impunity and even with pleasure. Yes, it is a positive pleasure for me to walk over a roadway of crushed rock, the gritty feeling being just as a delicious spice to the appetite of the foot. Why, as children, we could run over the dry channel-stones of the bed of the river Tummel, and even now I walk as comfortably on the gravel of the Brighton beach as on the paved street.

 

 

Now this is saying much, is it not? And surely a hardihood, a sweet health of body, soul, and mind, is something worth possessing.

We Need Hardihood

Yes, we need hardihood, sweet, strong, sane, chaste, noble hardihood. Ay, we sorely need it even now, hardihood of nerve and muscle, of flesh and blood, of heart and brain, ay, more hardihood of mind and soul, of will and desire, even hardihood of our whole nature, animal, human, and divine.

And that this great and holy hardihood is very greatly increased and intensified in us through barefoot walking must be so evident to all who have had this chat with me, that I need not now tell you why is should be so.

The Manifold Nutriments Obtained for the Body through barefoot Walking

All the parts of the earth's surface on which we tread will fulfil a particular service of life for the health of the body. Thus if we walk on the young and living grass we shall receive of its fresh and living, yet soothing, virtue. If we walk on the mountain turf, hot in the sun's rays, we shall receive of the very strength of the mountain, ay, of the power of its soul or genius and of the sweetness of the airs of the mountain side. And, if we only have the incorruptible, deathless vitality in us so that our flesh fail not, we can, by walking even in the deep of winter over the dry, grassy braes, swept by the north wind, win from Boreas his hidden and potent heat.

If we walk in a pine wood, an oak wood, a birch or a larch wood, we shall surely receive of the peculiar virtues of these fragrant creatures of Life; and we may become so sensitive that we may taste the difference to the tread of the foot in each of these woods. If we walk on the sands of the sea we shall, in like manner, taste the various qualities of the virtues of the salts therein. Thus, if we walk on dry clay or mud, we shall at once recognise that the nutrition thus imparted to our nerval body is finer or more comforting than that conveyed through rough sand or fine shingle. And I would say here that I know of no finer physical exercise for the toning of the jaded nerve than quiet and deliberate walking on dry sea mud or sand if we are in the hot days. If you walk on the mountain's rocky sides you will absorb of her various elementary virtues, and they will nourish your finer body. If you walk in a hill-burn you will taste the life of the trout of the hill-burn; and what taste is more exquisite? It is only to be compared to that of the mountain lamb, whose joy you will taste over the grassy braes. And I you wish to know even for once the fine intoxication of the radiant energy of the sun, you will soon get it by walking over the sun-baked pavements of any city, how grimy soever it be. Wondrous is the bounty of Nature! And these are the ways by which we can taste the fine sweetness of the life of her children. Surely such ways are preferable to killing them!

 

Now I do not profess to give here the innermost rationale of this most subtle process of reinvigoration, and a hint at it must now suffice. I believe that what is known to the occult physiologist as the etheric body is affected, being both quickened and nourished by or through the finger energy of the sun's heat. But, as this theme would lead us into a realm with which I have no need or desire to familiarize myself at present to any special degree, I shall not ask you to follow me into its mysterious ways, even did I feel qualified to guide you therein, which I cannot say I do. Yet shall we say what we do know to be fact.

 

The Curative Powers of the Sun's Heat

 

And now for a few words on the curative powers of the sun's heat. Of these I have already written more than once, but it may well be repeated here that there is no regime, so far as I know, for the cure of ordinary rheumatism to compare with the absorption of the solar energy by the soles of the feet.

The heat of the sun is the drier up of all damps, ay, often psychic damp as well as physical damp!

For does it not then stand to reason that a prolonged flooding of the fine cells and tissues of the body with the radiant stream will assuredly dry these acrid damps out of the tissues and cells? For the virus of rheumatism may well be spoken of as an acrid damp. Of this I feel sure, though I am no physiologist; and I have learned from much experience.

For I tell you that I have been allowed to bring about the cure of very severe rheumatism through getting the patient, after pledging him to a fleshless diet, to walk barefoot on the hot ground or grass or pavement.

Not only for ordinary rheumatism is there here a simple, safe, and pleasant cure, but also for those much more serious nerval disorders classed as neurasthenic, so manifold in their modes of expression in our day.

I consider this to be a more serious service of the sun for our health than the cure of rheumatism, for who is more to be pitied than the victim of this most subtle disorder? But this subject is too vast for me to do more than merely hint that in the judicious use of uncooked, especially fresh rain-water, fruit and other live foods, combined with this use of the sun's heat, Nature hath put at our service the best means for the restoring of these fine nerval bodies to their normal condition of sweet life. And of all this I have spoken fully in Corpus Meum.

In short, we can well say that, for the general health of the body, nothing is more vital than that we care well for our feet, even unto the simple habit of washing them every night before we retire to rest. For in them is the physical basis for our understanding, and it is well to enter the holy place of the recreating Presence with a clean mind. And so much is implied in this that we may now close by saying: If ye would be well in your whole body, see well to your feet.

 

Let us Go in Peace

 

And now we have had our little tete-a-tete as we have walked barefoot together over this fair land of our nativity.

Literally, our shoes have been off our feet; literally, we have been in the continuous contact and gentle embrace of the good body of her love, our gracious, our beautiful Earth- mother, Demeter.

And in this constant and most vital contact we have entered into and enjoyed the most holy, most natural, most sweet, and most real communion with the Innermost o' our cosmic Being.

Thus have we broken the Bread of Life together; thus have we eaten the Body of our God. Thus have we drunk of the one Life- stream, even in the radiant energy of our own living sun.

And this living sun is the most true and most beautiful symbol of the Holy Sun of our life, even the cosmic Presence and Nearness of the Absolute, the Incomprehensible, the Unnameable.

And this radiant energy is the most sacred symbol of the strength of the Holy One of our blessedness whom we name, for the very sweetness of the sound, the Christ of the Ages of our Race.

Thus, having eaten of the Holy Substance, we have received into our innermost the very Essence of the One. And thus have we, in the several degrees of our human nature, and in accordance therewith, become divine.

 

ADDIO

I HAVE for some time past been daily tasting the delight of working the fallow land. I have been trenching the "lye," i.e., the grassy field in which situate "Kelmscott," the Vegetarian Home for Destitute Children at Wallasey, by Liverpool.

I have thus been preparing the fallow land both for the growth of their vegetables and for the little gardens which I had long promised they should each have. Thus truly delightful work has given me much to ponder. And out of this reflection has arisen a desire to write a treatise on the values of all useful and productive labour for the health of our whole nature.

This truth was first brought truly home to me at the Netherlands, Redbourne, Herts, where I tilled the land for some two months in the company of my dear brother in service, William Thompson. And my present experiences have only confirmed my then conviction, that, for the fulness of our health, labour of a useful and productive kind is absolutely necessary. Specially is this so, I find, with manual labour, and of all manual labours, it is, I think, specially so with the tilling of the land.

For we are the children of Demeter, the good, the kind, the beautiful Mother of our earth-bodies. She has been, and is, gracious unto us, and we do owe her a debt of love, or, at the very least, of gratitude. And if we cultivate her beautiful body in the spirit of love or gratitude, we thus pay her our dues. And we shall assuredly find in this gentle service of love to her body the precious reward of life, life and ever more life: ay, life sweeter, finer, fuller as the years go by.

I have long time felt that the majority of our nerval and mental disorders arise from our neglect of this most sacred duty, and that they may be both prevented and cured through this holy exercise. Well, dear comrades of the barefoot League, I promise you we shall yet talk more fully together on this most fascinating and highly significant theme, than which none is, I believe, more pregnant with power for the healing of the manifold disorders of our day. Yes, Life is sweet. God is good. Addio, Addio, Addio!

0

What happened to Yoda? He was a really interesting taobum. Edited December 5, 2010 by TheSongsofDistantEarth

[NeiChuan]

Great thread. Ya I've actually recently become really interested in the barefoot running. An important note when starting out is to slowly build up to where one can run great distances while barefoot. It takes time to relearn and retrain the feet to run barefoot, people get injured when they rush the learning process and jump right in, as with anything. Heres a nice website I found My link, I don't know if its already been posted. The guy from the site says the most important thing to barefoot running to practice "listening" like what Ya Mu always says; the article says your feet are your best teachers and just listen to them and go at the pace they are willing to do. The article also says that shoe like Vibran Fivefingers are great, but one should first learn to run barefoot and then transition if one wants to, on account shoes give one a false sense of support which can lead one to overdoing it and injuring themselves. The article says its better to start out barefoot and learn how much one should be pushing themselves. I'm really interested in barefoot running to better reconnect my self to the earth chi below us

 

Yeah a big part is working your feet about before you go straight barefoot. It's just like people who go from weak knees to try doing 90 degree horse stance, if they've never had to use them they're going to get injured somehow.

 

Foot stretches are good, tensing for a good 15 seconds randomly throughout the day is good to. Or.. I live an apartment, another thing I did was run of the 4 cases of stairs and back down haha. I'd skip a step though.

 

Oh and also. I hear the vibrams start to stink reaaaal bad after awhile. Im sure the people saying that probably don't wash them right after they run, but hell I could be wrong.

NeiChuan, you're my new hero.

 

It makes sense to me that the Taoist runner would run barefoot.

 

Ah shucks . I agree about the taoists probably wanting to run barefoot over nikes.. haha.

 

If you're nervous about running barefoot in front of whatever people will be out in the early morning.. I think of the ancient greeks and spartan soldiers. They'd run through crowded streets in a group completely naked. To break that way of thinking.

 

We've got it easy these days..

Edited December 5, 2010 by NeiChuan

[Mal]