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The Great Barefoot Running Hysteria of 2010

runningshoescore.com

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Re: The Great Barefoot Running Hysteria of 2010

#161

Post by alabastervlog »

heymijo wrote: post #117
ttoinou wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did your feet grow larger ?

My guess is that they experienced something like this and needed larger sized normal shoes to accommodate the more natural foot shape. https://www.reddit.com/r/BarefootRunning/comments/1ec5i5n/di...

Exactly what I figured, wider, not longer. Some shoes (usually higher-end ones) have a width measurement (in letters) as well as a length (the usual number measurement) for this reason—you shouldn't need a longer shoe (larger number size) unless buying shoes that don't offer a variety of widths. In fact, getting a longer shoe for the extra width will result in a poor overall fit.

It's kinda like how some nicer brands offer a variety of size modifiers in addition to "small, medium, large" on their ready-to-wear shirts, like "slim", or Brooks Brothers' named fit-variants ("Regent", "Madison", et c)

Re: The Great Barefoot Running Hysteria of 2010

#162

Post by mrguyorama »

spacemark wrote: post #138
philipwhiuk wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What a wild take.

Seriously. Hasn't the main thesis of that book (a distinct advantage of human upright evolution is our ability to run long distances) and several key supporting points been mostly disproven scientifically (early humans often hunted by running to exhaustion, for example)? Seems to me another enticing narrative with little to no sound evidence a la Guns, Germs, and Steel, Sapiens, and the like. The stuff this site love…

The insistence HNers have for utterly re-inventing their lives off of a single completely unsubstantiated book astounds me.

You know literally anyone can write literally anything in a book right? There's no vetting, no magical reality check. You can write a book that's nothing but good sounding falsehoods and nobody can stop you. You can even fill it with 10 pages of garbage, low quality citations!

The modern equivalent of a book is a 3 hour Youtube video essay, and most of them have more research behind them!

But nobody would obsess over them like people here obsess over lifestyle books.

Re: The Great Barefoot Running Hysteria of 2010

#163

Post by matt_heimer »

Aldipower wrote: post #5

The article is not telling what happened after the hysteria. This movement settled and manifested to a "natural running" idea. We now have Altra, Topo Athletic, Hoka, Invo8 and others, offering shoes with more or less flat soles. Encouraging you to run with a natural running pose. This does not mean cushioning wouldn't be allowed.

I ran a lot in two pairs of Altra Instinct 1.0s. Altra shoes used to be very minimalist that also happened to be zero drop with big toe boxes. The most notable thing was how little cushion it had, it was like running on a piece of leather, close to barefoot running. You wouldn't even think the Altra shoes made today are from the same company, they have so much cushion. I don't think its a bad thing, what I eventually took away from my Altras was that I need a huge toebox for my feet to be happy and if my shoes have too much drop I tend to heel strike. I'm glad my shoes have more cushion today, I just wish the cushion didn't break down so fast.

Re: The Great Barefoot Running Hysteria of 2010

#164

Post by mamoul »

bloopernova wrote: post #160
nunez wrote: post #158

Barefoot running might have died as a fad, but, fortunately, the biomechanical benefits from the minimalist footwear inspired by the movement haven't gone away. I only own minimalist footwear (zero heel to toe drop, wide toe box, no toe spring). Dress shoes, sneakers, sandals; all of it. They helped me get off of orthotics, which I've worn for over 20 years, while reducing stress on my knees (I have osteoarthritis in…

What footwear brands do you recommend?

Not OP, but look into Jim Green's barefoot line, Vivobarefoot, Vibrams, Xero shoes, etc. There are more and more brands adopting barefoot styles, includig Merril! I live in my Jim Green Barefoot Africna Rangers. I use them for every occasion besides working out. I use Vivobarefoot and Vibrams 5 Finger shoes for running.

Re: The Great Barefoot Running Hysteria of 2010

#165

Post by stronglikedan »

Man, I miss barefoot running. It took me years to build up my pads to where I could run truly barefoot anywhere (concrete, asphalt, trails). The I blew my knee out on of all things a damn rowing machine. I didn't realize how hard it was to condition my feet until I tried to do it again after recovering. One day!

Re: The Great Barefoot Running Hysteria of 2010

#166

Post by spacemark »

mrguyorama wrote: post #162
spacemark wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seriously. Hasn't the main thesis of that book (a distinct advantage of human upright evolution is our ability to run long distances) and several key supporting points been mostly disproven scientifically (early humans often hunted by running to exhaustion, for example)? Seems to me another enticing narrative with little to no sound evidence a la Guns, Germs, and Steel, Sapiens, and the like. The stuff this site love…

The insistence HNers have for utterly re-inventing their lives off of a single completely unsubstantiated book astounds me. You know literally anyone can write literally anything in a book right? There's no vetting, no magical reality check. You can write a book that's nothing but good sounding falsehoods and nobody can stop you. You can even fill it with 10 pages of garbage, low quality citations! The modern equival…

Yeah, it's an obsessive personality trait that I've observed in most high achievers. Often not healthy. At least scrutinize your obsessions, people.

Re: The Great Barefoot Running Hysteria of 2010

#167

Post by lonelyasacloud »

So really nothing beats running on a good surface completely barefoot; it is amazing, but it is also not always practical, and is definitely not necessary to get most of the barefoot benefits.

Nor for that matter are odd looking feet gloves, ultra-thin soles, expensive sandals etc.

What does matter though is a) having a shoe that allows the mechanics of the lower leg and foot to work; zero drop, no arch supports and a wide toe box are essential. And b) taking the time to build up the wasted musculature (mostly in the feet) that may well have had a lifetime of being splinted and not being used as it was evolved for.

Least that's the sample size of one experience of a late fifties, 100kg who did multiple marathons, half's etc both before and after switching to barefoot and minimalist shoes after coming across the Born to Run book in 2010 while trying to figure out how to avoid injuries.

(bonus injury prevention tip would be off-road running in the green. Not only good for the head, but the added terrain variety varies the loads on the joints and helps train core stability)

Re: The Great Barefoot Running Hysteria of 2010

#169

Post by kayge »

bloopernova wrote: post #160
nunez wrote: post #158

Barefoot running might have died as a fad, but, fortunately, the biomechanical benefits from the minimalist footwear inspired by the movement haven't gone away. I only own minimalist footwear (zero heel to toe drop, wide toe box, no toe spring). Dress shoes, sneakers, sandals; all of it. They helped me get off of orthotics, which I've worn for over 20 years, while reducing stress on my knees (I have osteoarthritis in…

What footwear brands do you recommend?

I was pleasantly surprised by a brand I'd never heard of called Whitin. The ones I got[0] have a wide toe box and claim to be zero drop (I'm far from an expert on judging this). My criteria was a new minimal-ish running shoe, that would also look okay for casual wear with shorts, and cost less than $100 because I'm cheap :D

[0] https://amzn.to/4iG2eAV

Re: The Great Barefoot Running Hysteria of 2010

#170

Post by JimDabell »

kayge wrote: post #169
bloopernova wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What footwear brands do you recommend?

I was pleasantly surprised by a brand I'd never heard of called Whitin. The ones I got[0] have a wide toe box and claim to be zero drop (I'm far from an expert on judging this). My criteria was a new minimal-ish running shoe, that would also look okay for casual wear with shorts, and cost less than $100 because I'm cheap :D [0] https://amzn.to/4iG2eAV

They look like a cheap knock-off of Skinners.
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