Re: Jogging barefoot is healthy

In <petch.11315603…@newshost.gvg.tek.com> pe…@gvg47.gvg.tek.com (Chuck Petch) writes:

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>In Article <lavin.223.0152C…@leland.stanford.edu>,
>la…@leland.stanford.edu (James Lavin) wrote:

>>>"Barefootin’"  By: Cheryl Sacra
>>>   When you’re jogging this summer, feel free to leave your running shoes
>>>at home…

>>I couldn’t agree more.  I’ve always known that the running shoes phenomenon
>>is really a big conspiracy by Nike, Addidas, Asics, etc. to sell running
>>shoes.

>I tried this for several weeks a long time ago and ended up with a terrific
>case of shin splints that kept me from running for several months. It may be
>OK if you ease into it first by walking barefoot for a while and then
>progress to running. But I don’t recommend it.

>Chuck Petch

Chuck’s right, you need to be very careful when running barefoot.  It’s good to
run barefoot because you strengthen the muscles and tendons but, it is soooooo easy
to get injured.

Charlie Shapiro

5 Responses to “Re: Jogging barefoot is healthy”

  1. admin says:

    Charles Shapiro (Chazs…@ix.netcom.com) wrote:

    : In <petch.11315603…@newshost.gvg.tek.com> pe…@gvg47.gvg.tek.com (Chuck Petch) writes:

    : >
    : >In Article <lavin.223.0152C…@leland.stanford.edu>,
    : >la…@leland.stanford.edu (James Lavin) wrote:
    : >
    : >>>"Barefootin’"  By: Cheryl Sacra
    : >>>   When you’re jogging this summer, feel free to leave your running shoes
    : >>>at home…
    : >
    : >>I couldn’t agree more.  I’ve always known that the running shoes phenomenon
    : >>is really a big conspiracy by Nike, Addidas, Asics, etc. to sell running
    : >>shoes.
    : >
    : >I tried this for several weeks a long time ago and ended up with a terrific
    : >case of shin splints that kept me from running for several months. It may be
    : >OK if you ease into it first by walking barefoot for a while and then
    : >progress to running. But I don’t recommend it.
    : >
    : >Chuck Petch
    : >

    : Chuck’s right, you need to be very careful when running barefoot.  It’s good to
    : run barefoot because you strengthen the muscles and tendons but, it is soooooo easy
    : to get injured.

    : Charlie Shapiro

    I’ve been running barefoot for a long time, but mostly when playing
    ultimate frisbee, or throwing the frisbee in general.  It started because
    I could never get as much traction with my sandals (the next best thing
    to bare feet) as with bare feet.  I only stopped playing ultimate
    barefoot when my ankles began dislocating, but that is an unrelated
    problem.  I highly recommend baring your feet, but with caveats…Do ease
    into it, and use common sense.  If you’re feet are usually in shoes,
    then your hands are probably tougher…Treat them gently and kindly, and
    they’ll reward you plenty…

    Tyndall Bunt
    tynd…@owlnet.rice.edu

  2. admin says:

    In <36q99r$…@larry.rice.edu> tynd…@rice.edu (Tyndall Wakeham Bunt) writes:

    >I’ve been running barefoot for a long time, but mostly when playing
    >ultimate frisbee, or throwing the frisbee in general.  It started because
    >I could never get as much traction with my sandals (the next best thing
    >to bare feet) as with bare feet.  I only stopped playing ultimate
    >barefoot when my ankles began dislocating, but that is an unrelated
    >problem.  I highly recommend baring your feet, but with caveats…Do ease
    >into it, and use common sense.  If you’re feet are usually in shoes,
    >then your hands are probably tougher…Treat them gently and kindly, and
    >they’ll reward you plenty…

            FINALLY!  A voice of wisdom amidst a sea of ignorance!  Yes,
            yes, yes!  Do apply common sense!

            If only common sense were common…

            About traction: While on a SCUBA diving vacation on Guanaja, one
            of the Bay Islands of Honduras, we went for a hike up a mountain
            to a waterfall.  The last 1/4 of the hike, there were plenty of
            large rocks (boulders, actually) with water running over them
            and lots of algae.  I did the hike barefoot and the traction my
            feet provided was better than anything any shoe could have given
            me.  I did have my Teva’s along in my backpack "just in case."
            For grins, before starting on the way down, I tried the Teva’ to
            compare traction: zero!  My Teva’d foot slipped quite easily on
            the rocks.  No brainer: back in the back-pack the Teva’s went!

            When will man realize that it’s really difficult to compete with
            many years of evolution and adaptation: all those little ridges
            on the skin of your soles make for excellent traction.  I was
            quite sure-footed.

                            The human foot is a masterpiece
                            of engineering and a work of art.

                                            — Leonardo da Vinci

            – Paul J. Lucas
              AT&T Bell Laboratories
              Naperville, IL

  3. admin says:

    Paul J. Lucas (p…@graceland.att.com) wrote:
    :       FINALLY!  A voice of wisdom amidst a sea of ignorance!  Yes,
    :       yes, yes!  Do apply common sense!

    :       If only common sense were common…

    :       About traction: While on a SCUBA diving vacation on Guanaja, one
    :       of the Bay Islands of Honduras, we went for a hike up a mountain
    :       to a waterfall.  The last 1/4 of the hike, there were plenty of
    :       large rocks (boulders, actually) with water running over them
    :       and lots of algae.  I did the hike barefoot and the traction my
    :       feet provided was better than anything any shoe could have given
    :       me.  I did have my Teva’s along in my backpack "just in case."
    :       For grins, before starting on the way down, I tried the Teva’ to
    :       compare traction: zero!  My Teva’d foot slipped quite easily on
    :       the rocks.  No brainer: back in the back-pack the Teva’s went!

    :       When will man realize that it’s really difficult to compete with
    :       many years of evolution and adaptation: all those little ridges
    :       on the skin of your soles make for excellent traction.  I was
    :       quite sure-footed.

    :                       The human foot is a masterpiece
    :                       of engineering and a work of art.

    :                                       — Leonardo da Vinci
    : —

    What I’ve found is that the soles (souls) of my feet are mocu more
    sensitive to things when there is no barrier between them and the
    ground.  Thus I have a mucher keener sense of traction and grip.  So, I
    have never been fond of hiking, biking, or canoeing with shoes, but there
    are still some cases when I do because of my infamous ankles.  If we
    would try it out, and pay attention to what the feet tell us, we would
    know that there are times when even the most calloused foot can handle a
    sharp rock under the water, but we would also know that it can handle a
    jog around the block as well as a frolic in a field.

    Tyndall Bunt

  4. admin says:

    Paul J. Lucas (p…@graceland.att.com) wrote:

    :       About traction: While on a SCUBA diving vacation on Guanaja, one
    :       of the Bay Islands of Honduras, we went for a hike up a mountain
    :       to a waterfall.  The last 1/4 of the hike, there were plenty of
    :       large rocks (boulders, actually) with water running over them
    :       and lots of algae.  I did the hike barefoot and the traction my
    :       feet provided was better than anything any shoe could have given
    :       me.  I did have my Teva’s along in my backpack "just in case."
    :       For grins, before starting on the way down, I tried the Teva’ to
    :       compare traction: zero!  My Teva’d foot slipped quite easily on
    :       the rocks.  No brainer: back in the back-pack the Teva’s went!

    :       When will man realize that it’s really difficult to compete with
    :       many years of evolution and adaptation: all those little ridges
    :       on the skin of your soles make for excellent traction.  I was
    :       quite sure-footed.

    I certainly don’t dispute this, however I’ve had the opposite experience
    on dry rock. On one rock climbing trip, I forgot to take my climbing
    boots (a specialist high friction rubber boot). The climb consisted of
    smooth granite slabs set at close to the critical angle for friction.
    I expected that bare feet would provide adaquate friction (like running
    there is a small cult following for bare footed climbing). However I
    was dismayed to find that my feet were quite slippery and even my cheap
    trainers (which I changed into) provided more grip. I think feet probably
    do work better than most shoes on wet rock, but I don’t think this is
    true in the dry and doubt if they would compete well with my studded
    hill running shoes on wet grass.

    I’ve no experience of Tevas, however I have a pair of Rebock Amazones,
    and they are pretty awful in the wet, far worse than my running shoes
    and certainly much worse than a walking/hiking boot rather a disapointment.

    regards
    Andrew

  5. admin says:

    As an avid runner, I support both sides on this one. I have run in bare
    feet and Love the sensation, I have also trained heavily in shoes.  I
    veiw ti as a personal choice depending on your confort zone.  Their are
    some situations to consider in advance.  One summer, as I went to visit
    some friends that have a spot on Jersey shore, I had the brainstorm to
    do some running one the beach, barefoot (and I’m sure I’m not alone).
    This turned out to be an incredible mistake for me as I had been
    running 3-5 mi. 3x a week on roads/sidewalks for most of the summer.
    Encountering the softer surface without the support of my shoes allowed
    my heel to yper-extend, severely pulling my hamstrings.  I was so sore
    that I couldn’t run for the rest of my week long vacation.  So my
    caveate is this:  As long as you avoid radical changes in surface AND
    support, do what ever feels best.

    "I don’t think you can listen to U2 too much"
    SAR 8/94