I started running barefoot yesterday. Here are the pros and cons:

The benefits:

  • Biomechanics:

    • Modern shoes predominantly result in ā€˜heelstrikingā€™ running because the foam absorbs the shock. Without that padding, your body naturally self-corrects to a forefoot or mid-foot strike, which is lighter and more efficient

  • Strength:

    • Shoes provide support to your foot and arch in different ways, which causes the muscles to atrophy. Barefoot movement forces the small intrinsic muscles in the feet and the Achilles tendon to function in the way evolved to do.

    • Two days in and my muscles and Achilles tendon especially are extremely sore (I usually exercise my calves and anterior tibialis at the gym so this was a bit surprising).

  • Nature:

    • A 2009 article showed that those who spent time walking in forests showed a significant increase in Natural Killer (NK) cell activity and the expression of anti-cancer proteins.

    • Thereā€™s been a lot of research into the effects of nature exposure on health/wellbeing in general, and I hope that barefoot running overall improves my health secondary to the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular gains.

The cons:

Honestly, there arenā€™t really any cons of barefoot running on occasion. All these cons relate to wearing barefoot shoes

yep these do look goofy.

  • Height:

    • To mimic the ā€˜barefootā€™ feel, these shoes have extremely thin soles (1-6mm).

    • Shoes on average have soles ~25mm (1 inch), so wearing barefoot shoes will make you comparatively shorter than others.

    • I personally donā€™t mind this con, but an extra inch is significant.

  • Stigma:

    • Barefoot shoes can be discreet, but also theyā€™re usually seen as ā€˜hippyā€™ and thereā€™s stigma against them.

these are more discreet

    • This is the main reason why I donā€™t wear barefoot shoes tbh.

  • Environmental hazards:

    • Wet or blistering hot paths or glass, nails, and rocks are potential threats you have to be mindful of. Barefoot shoes protect against these sufficiently but this is mostly a con of going full barefoot.

Thatā€™s about it for this post, Iā€™ll update you guys on my running progress in a few months! Donā€™t forget to like and subscribe!!