We are designed to run without shoes
As I was reading the news I couldn't help but notice this gem of an article of which the title said it all: "The painful truth about trainers: Are running shoes a waste of money?"
I used to Orienteer - I raced, went to the under-21 world championships and performed well enough my last time (then I "retired" and took up mountaineering but that's another story for another day.) I trained hard - running, and lots of it. Hours and hours a week. I never ran on the road. I trained off road - grass, beaches, forests, farms, rocks, and everywhere off road. Road running was boring for me - and it seems that according to this modern research that my disdain for road running may have saved me from ever getting those sorts of injuries. I never had plantar fasciitis, or achilles or knee problems, or other runner type injuries. I never wore expensive trainers. My racing (and training) shoes were flexible and had no heel cushioning, and no fancy support of any kind, and they took a beating - they had no support for anything except a cleated rubber sole with metal spikes sticking out for grip on wet slippery logs and mossy rocks.
The linked article is excellent reading and made perfect sense to me as I read through how we are designed to run barefoot and modern running shoes change the way we were designed to run and screw up all sorts of things. Perhaps a pair of Vibram Five Fingers would be the ticket to protect the sole of my foot! Even though they look retarded. Or I could stick to my Mountain Bike. Which reminds me - I need to go and hit Lake Calaveras for a ride this week.
Visit site:
Two comments so far:
I got these shoes recently: http://www.inov-8.com/Products-Detail.... Found they fit best on me without the foot liner so no cushioning plus the shoe itself has no heel so pretty much like running barefoot but with protection from those knarly sticks and stones (plus, of course, big square studs for grip). Awesome shoes although I don't wear them if I am just running round home...perhaps I should?
They look pretty good! Probably just the ticket for you. And yes, I'd try running with them round home as well - keeping to the grass verges and off the concrete should help keep it interesting too.