Barefoot in the park

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Barefoot in the park

By Al Gauthier ⋅ April 13, 2009 ⋅

A growing number of athletes claim running barefoot can change their lives and prevent all kinds of injuries. Lucy Atkins looks at the pains and the gains.

Yanni Papastavrou regularly runs nearly nine miles from his home in Leyton, east London, to University College Hospital in central London. The 37-year-old medical research physicist runs 30 to 50 miles a week, has completed the Bristol half-marathon three times and plans to do the Paris marathon next year. One of Nike’s best customers? Hardly. Since December 2004 he has done all his running – anywhere from the Welsh mountains to Tottenham Court Road – shoeless. He is one of a growing number of “barefooters” who are claiming that kicking off your trainers can change your life.

Papastavrou suffered from a painful iliotibial band injury (ITB or “runner’s knee”) and was on the point of giving up running when he came across a website called RunningBarefoot.org, set up by Ken Bob Saxton, a shoeless marathon runner from California. “Barefoot Ken Bob”, a 51-year-old computer technician, has just completed his 55th barefooted marathon. He believes that kicking your trainers can prevent all sorts of injuries. Papastavrou agrees: “I have not experienced any of the crippling overuse injuries I used to get when running in shoes.”

Such injuries can be debilitating. Elaine Bruce, 27, an IT consultant from Worthing, West Sussex, was suffered severe pain from plantar fasciitis (a common runner’s ailment in which the tissues on the foot become overstretched, inflamed and sometimes acutely sore). She, too, found Barefoot Ken Bob. “Within a few days of being barefoot the pain had gone,” she says. “I’ve been basically fine ever since.” While living in London, she would run shoeless from her job in Vauxhall, south of the river, to her home in Hampstead, north London, twice a week. “I got some looks and children shouted things. But British people are generally very polite.” Now she runs pain-free by the sea.

Barefoot runners and hikers claim on websites and blogs that removing their footwear cured anything from bursitis to herniated discs, knee, ankle and foot problems. Do these people have a valid medical point when they say trainers are bad for you? Professional athletics coaches have long used barefoot running as a foot-strengthening exercise, and runners such as Zola Budd and the two-time Olympic marathon champion Abebe Bikila competed shoeless. Dr Sharon Dixon, a senior biomechanics lecturer at the University of Exeter, says: “While there is no conclusive research evidence that barefoot running is better for your performance or your body, there is definitely a key difference in the way you run.”

Of the 206 bones in the adult human skeleton, 52 are in the feet. Barefooters argue that running in trainers squashes these bones. “In cushioned trainers most people’s feet hit the ground on the outside edge of the heel then roll inwards,” says Dixon. This is called ‘pronation’. Many runners’ injuries are linked with a large amount of pronation. And the more cushioned the running shoe, the more pronation there is likely to be.”

This seems like heresy in the world of athletics footwear. Loud marketing campaigns tell us that elaborately cushioned – and priced – shoes are safest, fastest, best. “This is not the case,” adds Dixon. “There is no evidence that increased cushioning provides more protection. In fact, evidence suggests that running shoes can actually make some people more susceptible to injuries such as Achilles tendinitis or anterior knee pain because the cushioning makes the foot less stable.”

Barefooters argue that running shoes also encourage you to “pound the pavement”, causing joint stress. Barefoot, you land softly on the forefoot, naturally flexing your knees to absorb the shock. “The big advantage is the pain we can feel with each and every step if we run badly, as most people do with shoes,” says Barefoot Ken Bob. “It’s this pain, or feedback, that teaches us to run more gently, almost immediately.” This, barefooters argue, reduces injury. “There is no solid research evidence that this is the case,” says Dixon. “But certainly barefoot runners adjust their running style when the foot hits the ground.”

Running with no shoes does, however, sound painful and potentially grubby. “The soles of your feet contain masses of nerve endings,” says Mike O’Neill, a podiatric surgeon and spokesman for the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists. “Abrasions and puncture wounds are a very real risk.”

Papastavrou – who cleans his feet with a Brillo pad – says they quickly became tough and the worst thing he has trodden on is a bramble up a mountain in North Wales. As for the cosmetics, says Bruce, “My feet are leathery, but they are smooth and don’t have callouses. Pavement exfoliation is amazing.”

Nike and Puma have recently produced shoes that mimic the “barefoot” action, while offering basic protection against hazards such as dog faeces and broken glass. Real enthusiasts can even buy the Vibram FiveFingers, a lightweight glove-style shoe that is little more than a rubber shield for the foot. But do such gimmicks work? “Tests on Nike’s ‘Free’ shoe showed that it did strengthen certain muscles in the foot,” says Dixon. “But there is no research to show this improves performance.”

What is more, if you simply take off your trainers and run five miles, you could do serious damage, O’Neill warns. “If shod runners take off their shoes and run as normal, they could risk shock absorption problems as their heel hits the floor. There is also a high risk of stress fractures, shin splints or knee problems.” The older you are, the higher this risk. As you age, your feet and muscles lose their ability to absorb shock. “Start short, start slow, build gradually,” advises Barefoot Ken Bob. “It isn’t simply a matter of toughening the soles. The muscles, tendons and ligaments inside the foot are most certainly weak.”

He organizes shoeless gatherings near his home at which barefooters splash in the ocean together, wallow in hot tubs or enjoy his home-made “barefoot smoothies”. Perhaps shoeless life is not so crazy after all – particularly if you live in California.

Lucy Atkins The Guardian, Tuesday 21 November 2006

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