No one ever accused me of being a distance runner. When I was young, I considered running 3 miles a mild form of torture. I looked upon the lanky cross-country runners with 2 parts curiosity and 1 part disdain. I didn’t think running that long was normal.
As time went on, I had less and less time to stay in shape, and running relatively short distances became a way for me to burn off some excess calories. For some reason I don’t recall, I was wanting to work more distance into my runs and was looking for ways to extend my runs without killing my knees. High school sports had given me some issues. This was around 2010, a year after Chris McDougall wrote “Born to Run“… and the barefoot running style was making headlines, so I thought I would look into it further.
It sounded right and logical. I saw the pictures comparing the modern “Shoe foot” to Aboriginal feet (see picture at right) and I was convinced enough to try. Also, if you check out baby’s and kid’s feet and you’ll see a similar shape.
Gradually, and with care, I was inching up my distance and working my way through transition from traditional running when I tore my ACL wake boarding over the 4th of July in 2011. That was a real wake-up call. I found out that mobility and all around fitness takes more than some jogging and lifting, but that’s another story. I had surgery in August – went with a cadaver tendon – I swore I was going to recover stronger than I went in, and this began a journey of pushing my running limits.
With good PT, proper strength training, and stretching, I began 2012 with the goal of running further than I have ever run. After seeing some friends go through a Warrior Dash, the Tough Mudder became the event to chase that year at the prompting of Matt Cowell, but I had no idea how I would get through 12 miles on uneven terrain.
I had read that transition was important; you couldn’t just jump into barefoot style running. The risk of injury was high if you went too aggressively because none of the muscles and tendons are typically developed enough in the beginning. Wearing traditional shoes all of one’s life allows significant apathy of all sorts of lower leg anatomy, so easing in, choosing the right footwear and terrain, and listening to your body are all very important. When I started to push the limit, I was hearing from my body – a bit of posterior tibial tendonitis and I would back off; a bit of achilles tenderness and I would back off. I would alternate between shoe styles – ranging from 8mm drop to 4mm drop to zero drop, but all with a large toe box. I feel the large toe box was key for me. I always tried to squish my wide foot into shoes that were standard width or even just plain too small because it was the style I wanted. Shortened my stride, gave up the pace goals in the beginning, and just relearned to run. The grass path behind my house was a big help here, and youtube videos on foot exercises were also valuable.
Some people say transition should take up to 6 months or so, but I think realistically, I spent the better part of two years transitioning fully. I ran the Tough Mudder in 2012 with great personal success. No injuries, no pain. I was ecstatic… I couldn’t believe it. It was a pivotal moment that I realized I could actually run at distance successfully and not kill myself, and I was hooked on cross-country and obstacle racing after that.
Several Spartan races, Battle Frogs, and local mud runs later, I now find myself looking at 10 to 15 mile runs as good distances that I know I can do with the right preparation, pacing, and mindset. Barefoot style running made that possible. Now I’m staring down a marathon distance on top of a big swim and bike in the Ironman, and I’m going to rely on my new run style and some motivation from inspirational folks to help me get it done. This isn’t just about a change in running style, it’s a whole change in mindset for me.
I don’t actually run barefoot very often now, but all of my running shoes are barefoot style shoes with only one legacy exception. I do still have my Saucony’s that I use when I feel my lower legs need a break, and they work for shorter runs. But after I get about 6 miles in those shoes, I can feel the restriction in the toe box. My latest shoes – the ones I’ll be using for the run portion of Ironman – are the Escalantes by Altra. Most comfortable running shoe I’ve ever put on. I’ll post more feedback on this shoe on my Gear page soon.
As part of this journey, I have also noticed that my feet and lower legs have physically changed. My feet are “bigger” than they used to be. I am now consistently in 12.5 to 13 size (US) and I need wider every-day shoes. I used to wear 11.5 to 12. I also notice that my primary metatarsal and my big toes are now lining up more (almost completely in line) compared to when I started. My toes spread out much more and I pronate less than before. Everything in my lower legs are stronger, and I have much better resistance to ankle roll, though I think that is as much a result of running on uneven surfaces (grass, trail) as it is the barefoot style. But the most significant change is that I can truly say I actually enjoy running!
This transition has given my body new life and I think it is really my only shot at sustaining an already somewhat broken body into old age in an active way. Some people are truly born to run – they have the genetics, like Dean Karnazes – perfect alignment, great cardiovascular system, etc. That is not me. I have to work hard to keep active and mobile, so I want to know any technique that can help me stay on this mobile lifestyle for years to come. Natural or “barefoot” running has been one of the most important pieces to that puzzle for me. It may not be for everyone, and there are always risks along with the rewards, but I would encourage anyone who enjoys running or wants to start running, to check it out. It may be your ticket to the joy of running.
Happy trails!
For some additional references on Barefoot or Natural style running, see below:
- Altra Running Shoes
- Natural Running Center
- Barefoot Runners Society
- Barefoot Running Wikipedia
- Voxy – Barefoot Running Edge
- WebMD – Barefoot Running Health Benefits
PS – I’m still working on raising funds for a great charity called “For Pete’s Sake” – please consider any donation now matter how small. See this post. For QuintilesIMS employees, your contributions are doubled through a match up to the goal amount. We’re almost there – every bit counts!
A Long Road to Ironman 