Nike launched the first waffle-soled running shoe in 1972, and there’s been an arms race in the shoe industry ever since. We’ve seen shoes with metal springs, others with massive cushioned soles, gels, air pillows, all promising one thing: to minimize the force of impact and prevent injury.
According to exercise physiologists, the impact pressure from running is between six and eight times our body weight. For example, a 150-pound runner will exert as much as 1,200 pounds of pressure with each step. In a 10-kilometer race, apply that pressure about 6,000 times. This adds up to injuries, lots of them: plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis, IT band syndrome, stress fractures.
Tahoe City resident Brendan Madigan, 33, who’s been running his entire life and sells trail running shoes at Alpenglow Sports, says, ‘There’s the old adage that runners are always injured, on their way to injury, or rehabbing from injury.’
Enter barefoot running (which doesn’t necessarily mean barefoot). Going barefoot has been hailed as a magic elixir by some proponents and latched onto by shoe marketers, with dozens of new products since the publication of bestseller ‘Born to Run’ by Christopher McDougall in 2009.
McDougall’s book follows a band of outcast ultra runners to a pick-up race with the near mythic Tarahumara Indians in the remote Copper Canyons of Mexico. Along the journey, McDougall explores the history and science of running. His book launched a mania for barefoot running and barefoot-style shoes.
Leading the pack is Vibram Five Fingers, a shoe originally designed as a deck shoe for sailing. It’s actually more of a glove with a rubber sole than a shoe. One of the personalities in McDougall’s book, Barefoot Ted, wore Five Fingers while running.
Following publication, demand skyrocketed so fast that orders were backlogged by four to six months. That provided a window for countless competitors to enter the market, and a new arms race toward a minimalist shoe was underway. Meanwhile, the hype about a new type of shoe that could prevent injuries began reaching consumers. Articles appeared in such publications as Time Magazine and The New York Times. Experts touted the science behind the trend, saying we were meant to land on our mid- or forefoot when we run, not our heels.
Even Popular Mechanics magazine, known more for its do-it-yourself projects and table saw reviews, delved into the debate. They asked, ‘Could shoes — and shoe companies — be part of a $25 billion snake oil industry, covering hundreds of thousands of perfectly able bare feet?’
‘For some people,’ says Madigan, ‘(barefoot running) is the silver bullet. Knees don’t hurt. Backs don’t hurt. IT band syndrome gone. Personally, I prefer something else. It depends on the person.’
David Wronski, 25, from Sausalito, is a barefoot convert. Wronski, an aspiring ultra runner who entered his first marathon two years ago, hit a wall when he tried to trail run. ‘I couldn’t go more than a few miles without pain in my knees,’ says Wronski. ‘When I started using Five Fingers, I could run a lot farther without pain.’
Wronski upped his miles and recently completed a 135-mile ultra in Brazil. He plans to tackle the Tahoe Rim Trail, the entire 165 miles, in October.
Of course, there are skeptics. ‘I thought it was crazy,’ says Chuck Martin, owner of Eclipse Running in Reno. ‘Way more people are going to get hurt trying to wear less shoe.’
But even Martin changed his tune somewhat. He tried a minimalist shoe (as opposed to a barefoot-style shoe) and says everything changed. At 58 years old, he felt lighter on his feet and was running like he did 20 years earlier.
Martin is careful to point out, ‘It’s still an experiment, and not for everyone.’
Fred Salokar, 51, from Reno,’ picked up low-profile Newtons two years ago after aches and pains set him back. ‘I was a heel striker and began thinking I needed to change something,’ says Salokar. ‘
The Newtons are more typical of a minimalist shoe than a barefoot-style glove. A minimalist shoe aims to minimize heel to toe drop and eliminate arch support. A barefoot-style shoe is more like a glove for the foot, sometimes with individual toes and sometimes with a combined toe box.
Rejuvenated, Salokar won his age division at the Boston and Berlin marathons and hopes to chase down the American record for his age.
Despite his accomplishments, Salokar is cautious. ‘I own Five Fingers, but I wouldn’t run in them,’ says Salokar. ‘I wear them to walk around, at work, and to strengthen my feet.’
Ryan Solberg, a physical therapist who practices in Truckee and Incline Village, is more critical of the hype. Contrary to what the barefoot advocates are saying, says Solberg, heel striking is not necessarily bad. He says that a traditional heel strike engages the strong glute muscles while barefoot running puts more strain on the calf and Achilles.
‘A lot of barefoot runners have weak glutes,’ says Solberg. ‘That’s why running barefoot feels better to them. The risk is that the calf becomes more prone to injury, along with potential stress fractures in the metatarsals. If you have forefoot pain or Achilles pain, don’t barefoot.’
Solberg advises increasing strength and improving flexibility. ‘Hip flexor stiffness and weak glutes,’ warns Solberg, ‘are two of the major contributors to running injuries.’
Christopher Scott, an exercise physiologist in Tahoe City who integrates Rolfing and yoga in his holistic approach to treating the body, agrees. ‘Closed stride, a short gait, lack of freedom, is due to a tighter pelvis,’ says Scott. ‘Anything that will lengthen and decompress the joints and allow a full range of motion will help injury prevention. I tell people to become long and strong.’
Scott, a former triathlete, advises people to cross train and pay attention to their bodies. ‘Too often, they try to do too much, too fast. They have over-inflated goals. I hear people say they want to run a marathon with three months of training. They’re out of tune with their body.’ ‘
Alan Barichievich, 41, an ultra runner and physical therapist at Barton Memorial Hospital, runs in Vibram Five Fingers to cross train about once a week. ‘I don’t think (barefoot running) is for everyone,’ he says. ‘It has its place. It’s a great adjunct or cross-training method.’
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