For someone who now spends a great deal of time reading shoe reviews and thinking about the right fit for my running shoes, it's funny to note what simple shoes I wore as a child when I was decidedly more active.  In a house of 5 kids, shoes were a matter of economy so I wore Keds at my tennis lessons and the most basic of Nikes for my basketball and cross-country.  And countless hours were spent barefoot on calloused feet, happily running along on whatever surface was ahead.

I was reminded of the joys of barefoot running a few weeks ago when an article appeared in Parade magazine and the thought crossed my mind that maybe this could be the answer to my consistent hip injuries. 

Proponents of barefoot running say it reduces injury because you land on the natural cushion of your mid-foot and you maintain your center of gravity with this foot strike by landing just below your hips instead of lengthening your stride.  Some also note that because shoes today offer so much cushioning, runners plant their foot harder, making them even more prone to injury.  Running barefoot also lets you stay in touch with the aches and pains in your body - the foot is a natural regulator that won't let you over-pronate or over-stride.  Wearing thick running shoes might act in the same way as a cortisone shot - it simply numbs you to the pain so you can ignore it rather than fix it.

While there is a lack of long-term scientific studies comparing barefoot running against various running shoes, an article simply titled "Barefoot Running" by Michael Warburton draws the following conclusions:

• Running in shoes appears to increase the risk of ankle sprains, either by decreasing awareness of foot position or by increasing the twisting torque on the ankle during a stumble.
• Running in shoes appears to increase the risk of plantar fasciitis and other chronic injuries of the lower limb by modifying the transfer of shock to muscles and supporting structures.
• Running in bare feet reduces oxygen consumption by a few percent.  Competitive running performance should therefore improve by a similar amount, but there has been no published research comparing the effect of barefoot and shod running on simulated or real competitive running performance.
• Research is needed to establish why runners choose not to run barefoot. Concern about puncture wounds, bruising, thermal injury, and overuse injury during the adaptation period are possibilities.
• Running shoes play an important protective role on some courses, in extreme weather conditions, and with certain pathologies of the lower limb.

Now, I am no scientific expert, doctor or anywhere near being an elite runner so please do some research before making the switch.  Talk to your own shoe experts, visit the Barefoot Runner site or just try a short-distance barefoot run (a very short one).  For anyone worried about rough surfaces and sharp objects, take advantage of new lines of minimalist footwear including Vibram's Five Finger shoes. 

If Olympians like Abebe Bikila could win his first gold medal without shoes on, maybe I could run 5 miles and see what happens. And in a funny coincidence, I just received a Facebook update that my favorite running store is now carrying the Vibram 5-finger shoes.  I see a test run in the future!

What do you think about running barefoot?  Are you going natural or staying shod?  Let us know at RunFor?