Barefoot Running: 8 Months Later

You may be wondering why in the world anyone would want to run barefoot, and I’m not going to lie, I wouldn’t blame you. With new innovations from major brands like Nike, you’d assume I was going backward in technology. Well, after 8 months of adapting to this lifestyle, here are the benefits I’ve found, some of the hardships, and overall why I’m not going back.

The inspiration

Like many of you, I started my journey off by reading the infamous book, 'Born to Run' by Christopher McDougall. Last year I digested that book, got obsessed by the idea that I could be the next barefoot Ted, then got to YouTube to continue the brainwashing by some hipsters running in the hills. Trust me when you’re in agony, cradling your broken feet, you will want to be watching some fellow barefoot runners on YouTube (makes you feel a little bit more normal).

The next step was to get to the internet and get my first pair of shoes (your boy Noah wasn’t that brave to go in the deep end running like a hobbit on the streets of Manchester). So, I bought a pair of minimalist shoes — the Primus Lites by VivoBarefoot (I still have them today and use them as my daily casual shoe, they look very snazzy and a good start to dip your toe in the lifestyle).

Starting out is rough

Coming from Vans and Nike trainers, the first few weeks hurt like heck. I was very much regretting my journey into this barefoot lifestyle, however, with a little trip to Reddit, I quickly realised it was simply because I had no patience and was doing way too much too soon. So, for any budding minimalist runner, don’t get frightened that the benefits aren’t immediately apparent. Take your time and don’t attempt a cheeky 10km out of the gate. Thank me later when you aren’t injured.

Honestly, the best thing to do is strip it right back. I’m talking about walking around your house, around your street, and maybe a light 1km run. Going about it barefoot for the first time will cripple even the most hardcore of runners, so take your time and imagine that warrior athlete that will emerge.

The upsides

So far, I’m probably not selling it to you. I’m not surprised, it’s a path that few take and even fewer succeed in. It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Post my initial aches and pains and the gradual build-up of distance and foot muscle, I began to make progress and felt some benefits. My feet immediately felt a lot stronger, albeit developing some gnarly-looking callouses (but shows that I’m doing something right I guess?).

I also recognised my running form was changing. With big cushioned shoes, you can often find yourself heel-striking due to the shape of the shoe. This is okay when you have a big pillow there but when you go minimalist/barefoot, everything is going to be in agony landing on your heel. So naturally, my form moved to a more forefoot strike. This is easily the most efficient way of running although it activates a whole separate set of muscles. Expect your calves to be screaming. Saying that this new form helped me not only run quicker but also exert less energy. I was getting quicker times and finding longer runs are less draining.

Another great benefit I found was I never really needed to do much warming up and cooling down other than the occasional slow jog, and I didn’t get injured. When researching this, evidence-backed me up saying it was the bulky shoes that were causing injuries for runners more than anything. As someone who always just wants to get out there and run, this suited me well.

Other things I didn’t expect also came up, like enjoying the feeling of the different ground surfaces. This sounds really weird but once you try it out, you’ll understand what I mean. That feeling of being more primal and one with nature was amazing. I was having more fun with running than I had in years. My feet were not having to squash my feet together in a tiny shoe, and I felt light on my toes when running as well as more connected and natural to the human form.

All together these added up to me not feeling the need for a more classic running shoe and instead of being very happy staying with the barefoot-style shoe or even just barefoot. Saying this, it did not stop me from getting judgment from fellow running friends.

Final thoughts

So progressing on from then to now; where am I? Well, I’ve done more research into new brands, and I’m following more minimalist runners and turning to somewhat of an evangelist for the whole movement of barefoot running (my success rate isn’t that impressive but I’m getting there).

I’ve bought a variety of shoes and continue trying out new shoes. I don’t see this as cheating as I often train and do slow runs barefoot, but in places where you want that little bit of protection and speed, a light shoe is necessary. For those interested in what I am wearing, here are some shoes that won’t interfere with your barefoot technique and will actually promote great running form. Here is my shoe rotation:

My daily casual shoe is the VivoBarefoot Primus Lites (super minimalist, lightweight, aesthetically pleasing, and goes with most outfits).

My training running shoe is the Vibram Fivefingers (look a little weird, closest thing to going fully barefoot, great for strengthening your feet).

I cooldown with no shoes, and for race day I wear Altra Escalante Racers (a zero drop wide toebox shoe which are great for a little cushion and getting PB’s whilst not sacrificing on that form and barefoot style of running).

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve gotten faster gaining a PB for my 5km of 18:21 as well as now increasing the distance I’ve covered in training for my first marathon. Both of these achievements I believe would’ve been harder (or at the very least more detrimental to my body) had I not begun this barefoot running journey. In my personal opinion, super shoes are not the way forward.

So what’s next? Continue running, continue researching, and continue sharing my experience with the sport and my thoughts on shoes (or a lack of them!).