Barefoot Runner Beginner Tips
Recently, a number of people have contacted me asking me for tips for them, as they are about to being making the switch to barefoot running, using the Vibram FiveFinger Bikila running shoe. So, I decided to add a page of my basic tips for the beginning barefoot running.
A lot of the information about barefoot running is difficult to find answers to. The person making the switch is unsure of what to do and what to expect. That is really the reason for this whole site – to try to provide the answers to the questions people have about barefoot running. To help remove the doubt and uncertainty.
The truth is that all you are doing is running. It is the most natural thing in the world, and there really is not anything you need to know. Just get out there and run, shoes or no shoes. The details of exactly how things work should not really make a difference, and the lack of that information should not be a cause to delay the transition.
Tips For The Beginning Barefoot Runner
So here are my three main tips (not in any specific order of importance) for the person just about to begin barefoot running:
- 1. Your feet will hurt. Expect it. Not from the run itself, but from stepping on things. Your feet are very sensitive. They have, until now, been wrapped in padded shoes with layers of cushioning and all sorts of air and gel pockets, that your feet have basically been living their lives in a bubble. Running barefoot is going to hurt your feet, at the beginning. Even with barefoot running shoes, your feet are still feeling just about everything on the surface of the ground. At the beginning your feet are very sensitive, and they will hurt from the pebbles, especially if you step on a decent sized pebble with your heel. Just expect it, and do not give up because of it.With time, you will learn to pay attention better where you are stepping, your feet will adjust and not be so sensitive – your feet will be able to deal with a certain amount of pebble and other stuff underfoot, and you will be more aware of what your feet can handle and what they cannot.
- 2. Start running barefoot slowly. Don’t think because you used to run 10, 15 or 20 miles regularly you can continue doing so. You cannot. At least, not right away. Running barefoot uses completely different muscles than used in shod running. It is just the way it is. The ramification of that is that you are basically starting over from scratch. Last week’s 15 mile run in shoes means nothing to today’s barefoot run. You must start slowly, gradually increasing your distance. Start off with 2 or 3 runs at a distance of no more than 3 kilometers. Your first should even be 1-1.5 km, and then the next 2 can be up to 3km. Then increase to 5-6km on the next couple of runs. Then, 7, 9, 11, etc. At a certain point you will feel comfortable enough that you can begin increasing your distance the way you used to in shoes.As you get stronger you will be able to increase at will, rather than according to a staged plan. I promise you though, that if you jump from 5km to 9km, or from 7 or 9 km to 15 km, you will be making a big mistake. You might struggle a bit, no big deal, but you will be able to – you are a runner after all. The problem is that by doing so, without first developing the necessary muscles, most specifically in the calf region, you will be at risk of tearing or pulling a muscle.Even if you do not injure yourself, and I hope you will not, you will wake up the next morning thinking you had just run a marathon. You will not be able to walk for two days. Your muscles are not yet ready for it. You must increase your distance gradually until your muscles are strengthened, and after that you can run as much as you want.
- 3. I am not a scientist, and I often do not understand the details of the science behind barefoot running. I do know that the science of it is inconclusive as to whether barefoot running is better, or safer, than shod running.The studies have found that some people, a significant number, get injured fairly quickly when switching to barefoot running. The cause of this is usually that people do not give themselves enough time to transition and let their body develop the new gait, the new running style. The body is used to running in shoes, with the foot probably striking with the heel, the legs bent a certain way, the back held a certain way. that all changes when you switch to barefoot running. the stance and gait become more natural, and the foot strike goes form a heel strike to a forefoot or midfoot strike, but it does not happen overnight. It happens quickly, but not overnight.If you refuse to adjust your style, thinking “this is how I run”, you will probably injure yourself. Be flexible, let the new style form naturally. Your strike will be different, your gait will be different, your strides will be different, and your posture will be different. If you are flexible and let it happen, you will make it through the first one of two runs that might not be so comfortable. Most who drop out, either due to injury or discomfort do so quickly, after the first few runs, because they do not give it a chance.
Those are my three main tips for the beginning barefoot runner.
