BBC Podcast looking back at the start of the barefoot running revolution

Back in 2009, the book Born to Run was published and it sparked a whole craze about barefoot and minimalist running. The origins of that book can be traced back to 2006 when an ultra distance race took place in Copper Canyon in a remote part of Mexico. The race between America's best ultramarathon runner Scott Jurek and a tribe of Tarahumara indians inspired a revolution in the sport.

Recently the radio programme Sporting Witness on the BBC World Service looked back at that event. The 9 minute podcast can be heard HERE

Barefoot Running...the debate continues

In the magazine section of the New York Times recently, there was an article on barefoot running and the '100-Up' running technique. It was written by Christopher McDougall, the author of the best selling book 'Born to Run' which promotes the minimalist approach to running and advocating that people should run barefoot or close to it. The full article can be seen HERE

However, not everyone agrees with this approach. On the SweatScience website, their take on the article is that McDougall's approach is just a series of anecdotes and he has no scientific facts behind his arguements. The full response can be seen HERE

On another website, a jounalist interviewed the author of the 1976 book The Joy of Running. The author Dr. Thaddeus Kostrubala had also visited and written about the Tarahumara Indians that were the basis for McDougall's Born to Run book. In the interview, Dr.Kostrubala said this about barefoot running..."It’s a fad. Running is full of fads. Food fads, training fads, you name it. And the idea that we were running barefoot on cement is nonsense." The interview can be seen HERE
So is barefoot running good or bad?

There are a lot of vested interests involved here and any claims should be examined in that light. While it's obvious that the vast majority of runners will keep wearing normal running shoes, I have read that the publicity behind the barefoot running phenomenon may well influence the design of future design of running shoes. We'll see.

Talk about running by Christopher McDougall

This video clip is by Christopher McDougall, the author of the book Born to Run . This book looked at the Tarahumara Indians in Mexico and how they travel long distances by running. It also looked at barefoot running and ultra-running in general.

In this video from the TED conference, he covers some of those issues and puts forwards a theory as to why people are suited to running long distances. What might be of interest to most people is his thoughts on why distance running is more suited to women and older runners.

'Why expensive trainers could be worse than useless'...

Over the last few months, several people have commented to me that they had been reading a book called Born to Run about the Tarahumara Indians in Mexico. They live in a remote part of the country and are famous for running huge distances, often barefoot or with very basic shoes.

Just a few days ago, an interesting article appeared in the online version of the Daily Telegraph debating the pros and cons of barefoot running and also mentioned that book. The writer contends that "those expensive running shoes you've been relying on may be worse than useless: they could be causing the very injuries they're supposed to prevent ". The basic argument is that most people with modern shoes tend to land on their heel and 'pound the road' whereas people running barefoot adopt a different style of running to protect the feet which results in a softer landing...i.e. no pounding.

The article goes on to say..... "When the Tarahumara aren't barefoot, they wear nothing more cushioned than thin, hard sandals fashioned from discarded tire treads and leather thongs. In place of artificial shock absorption, they rely on an ancient running technique that creates a naturally gentle landing. Unlike the vast majority of modern runners, who come down heavily on their foam-covered heels and roll forward off their toes, the Tarahumara land lightly on their forefeet and bend their knees, as you would if you jumped from a chair. "

Also......."Out here in the non-Tarahumara world, where we have access to the best in sports medicine, training innovations and footwear, up to 90 per cent of all marathoners are injured every year. The Tarahumara, by contrast, remain spry and healthy deep into old age. "

Needless to say, there is an opposing opinion as well. The full article which is a bit long can be found at this LINK.