Forums >Running 101>Barefoot running vs running in shoes
I've never had my stride analyzed before but I have injured myself twice in the last 5 weeks (peroneal tendonitis, left foot both times) so i went to a running store in okc. I previously thought I had a neutral stride based on my footprint (as seen on the dr scholls thing @ Wal-Mart). They showed me I'm a heel striker and that my ankles roll in as I land, so clearly I am... But my wear pattern on my current running shoes (mizuno sayonaras that I've had for about 2 years) is on the outside of my heels only and no/even wear everywhere else that I can see with my [untrained] eye. Is it possible that i overpronate when running barefoot, but not in regular/neutral shoes? Is that a thing? I'm just a little nervous that I'm going to now have tons of extra support that I don't need
For what it's worth, the sales lady has me in Superfeet insoles and Saucony Guide ISO 2 now. Training for a marathon
Thanks!
I think over time ones feet would become stronger etc...
I use to wear support shoes, perhaps they would allow you to run more, but I say build those foot muscles tendons etc...
also, running natural vs. altered....ie.. feeling your foot hit the ground...I could run a number of ways...heel first... flat/mid....toes...
personally I believe the faster we go the more forefoot/toe running we do naturally.
Aren't you suppose to run kinda on the outside of your foot sole...
although I'd probably think you'd want more new shoes than every 2 years... unless they're only for running and you're not running much...
good luck!
300m- 37 sec.
Two years is way too long to keep a pair of running shoes assuming you are running at least 10 MPW. Your injury could be because your shoes are worn out, not necessarily the wrong shoe.
Personally, I don’t put a lot of stock in running store gait analysis. I think it is more a sales tool than anything else to sell expensive stability shoes and inserts. Others may disagree.
And yes, the way you run with shoes may be different from barefoot.
What Paul said. If you go in to a running store that has a "gait analysis" machine to find out if you need "custom orthotics", guess what? YOU DO! I think it was Finish Line that pretty much told me I'd fall over, burst into flames, and die if I did not buy their semi-custom orthotics RIGHT NOW. They seem to be a commission sales store, I don't go in there anymore.
Wear on outer edge of the heel usually means supination, not pronation. I supinate, but my ankles don't roll much. Shoes wear on that spot is fast at first, and then after the shoe is ground down to how your foot lands the wear slows down a lot. Some shoes are pre-beveled and so don't go through that rapid wear period. My armchair logic thinks that an outsole shaped like the rounded bottom of a bare foot would work best for the most people (Brooks Pure lineup for example). Softer midsole shoes adapt to the smaller point of impact contact patch and will spread it out a bit, and wear slower on the outsole. I get 350-500 miles out of most training shoes. (currently wearing Skechers GoRun Ultra Road2, Ride7, GoRun6, and MaxTrail5, Hoka Challenger3 and NapaliATR)
Two year old shoes have worn out long ago. Even if you don't wear them much, the materials decompose or harden with time.
Shoes vs barefoot: Of course you're going to heel strike more wearing shoes, because you CAN. Running barefoot requires that you distribute the impact better. For the casual runner that does not do training runs barefoot, the "gait analysis" or whatever is going to be totally different between barefoot and shod. Also, the slower you go, the more heel striking you do. Walking is obviously heel striking, sprinting is up on the toes. There are gradients in between. Be aware that trying to drastically change your natural gait will result in injuries, so if you read the latest book that says you should be a midfoot striker, ease in to it slowly, don't go out and do a 5 miler with all forced midfoot striking.
My unpopular opinions:
Orthotics are for rehab, not for daily use. They are bandaids until some injury heals up (PF, achilles, etc). A billion years of evolution (or Creation by an omnipotent being) did not result in a foot so imperfect that it requires an orthotic to function. A few people have birth defects or traumatic injuries that would be helped by constant use of orthotics, but most people do not need them. Some shoes are just big orthotics, like Hoka Bondi or Stinson. They reduce the range of motion of the foot by being so rigid, resulting in less stress on the lower leg; but that can get moved upward to the knee and hip. Stinsons allowed me to keep running while I healed up from PF (6 month journey).
Barefoot and shod running are not mutually exclusive. Run both ways. Barefoot/minimalist is a great tool to strengthen your feet and lower legs, and to "learn" good form. Wearing shoes is a great way to protect your feet, reduce impact injuries, and run fast.
60-64 age group - University of Oregon alumni - Irreverent and Annoying
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Adding my 2 cents here. My running group strongly advocates against trying to change your gait.
What you can do is become stronger. Issues like bad posture are fixed automatically by having a stronger back. A lot of unbalances are also fixed automatically by being stronger. If you have to think about something, usually it's not a good solution.
I say don't worry whether you're barefoot, midfoot or whatever, supinated, pronated etc. Just make sure you put in the hours to become stronger, and run, run, run. The body is smart and it figures out a way.
Re: barefoot running, I say only be careful if you have a big limitation in dorsiflexion (think you can't properly squat cause you tip forward too much). I saw that listed even in barefoot running sites as something you need to be careful about when transitioning to barefoot as it means it will be more difficult for you to distribute the weight along the whole foot.
Last but not least, strengthen your feet by walking barefoot in the house as much as you can.
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So much great info, thanks everyone!
To clarify, Im not really considering barefoot/minimal running, I just meant what they saw on the treadmill at the running store.
It sounds like my thoughts echo a lot of yours, I did buy new shoes since mine were well past due to be swapped out so ill at least give them a shot while I work on strengthening my feet. If the orthotics don't help ill put the original insoles back in. Standing still I don't see my ankles falling in our anything like that, my arches look normal to me.
Oh, and if you have any suggestions on exercises or stretches I can do to strengthen my feet, I'd appreciate it (I'm pretty much always barefoot at home already). When I Google how to fix overpronation, all I get are a ton of orthotics and support shoes articles. Thanks!
I remember that ultra runner anton saying he use to wear motion control....orthotics etc...
and basically saying this can't be the answer.... and just over time converting to a neutral shoe...and or minimalist
I agree don't really change your gait, over time and strength should help that naturally, also if anything running form drills.
I remember reading an article/study on neutral vs support vs motion control....
and basically, there was no relationship to injury prevention, there were people who should have needed support or motion control who wore neutral and actually less injured I think, as well as those who wore support that didn't need them etc...
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The more miles you run, the more your gait will correct itself to your mechanics, strength, and weight.
Rotating your shoes daily between different models and brands helps prevent overuse injuries. I don't think I ever wear the same model 2x in a row. One shoe might tweak your foot just a little, and one or two days in a row won't hurt, but continuous use all week, all month will. Another model of shoe will tweak your landing/gait in a different way, different from the first pair, but wearing them gives you a REST from the type of tweaking of the first pair, and so on.
I mentioned the shoes I have in rotation; most of my miles are in 3 different road shoes and 2 different trail shoes, but I have 5 pairs of road shoes that I will wear at least once every few weeks, not counting racing flats (GoMeb5, Brooks Green Silence). If it seems like an expensive proposition to have so many shoes, I buy most of mine on clearance or from discount sources like Marshall's and Ross dress for less, or Nordstrom Rack. You'd surprised what shows up at those places from time to time. I had to talk myself out of getting a pair of Nike Matumbo spikes for $16 at Ross...but spikes mess with my achilles injury so I didn't get them! I rarely spend more than $30-40 a pair on shoes.
Ok so I saw the Nike frees that just dropped and it got me thinking about our discussion here. I ran in Nike frees until I switched to the ones I just replaced and loved the flexibility. I was wondering if I could do some short runs in a barefoot style shoe, then switch to the more supportive shoes for my long runs (10-12 miles so far) or world that be too drastic? I'm still dealing with my tendonitis and not running is so frustrating so I don't want to hurt myself any more once I get back on the road
Thanks again!
Ok so I saw the Nike frees that just dropped and it got me thinking about our discussion here. I ran in Nike frees until I switched to the ones I just replaced and loved the flexibility. I was wondering if I could do some short runs in a barefoot style shoe, then switch to the more supportive shoes for my long runs (10-12 miles so far) or world that be too drastic? I'm still dealing with my tendonitis and not running is so frustrating so I don't want to hurt myself any more once I get back on the road Thanks again!
Yes. I plan on doing 1-2 mile warmup runs barefoot or minimalist, then switching to "regular" shoes for the rest of the workout. I had good results with doing this for a track workout last year; 10x100m down and back (2k total) barefoot on the astroturf, then my track workout, a bunch of 400's I think. My first few 400's were in the same form as I was running when barefoot, and I didn't even have to "try".