into clinical sports medicine, I feel footwear off ers real protection and real advantages over barefoot.” However brands such as


Asics, Nike and Mizuno, who traditionally have been at the forefront of the running footwear market, have realised the huge retail potential in the barefoot running craze and released their own version of natural, lightweight running shoes. For instance the Asics 33 is designed to give the user that ‘natural feel of the road with the shoe working with the foot rather than against it.” Similarly Nike has released their ‘Free’ range designed to give the user the benefi ts and


contribute to an injury and so a simple change of footwear will not necessarily remove the threat of injury from running. There is however research from Harvard University that barefoot running decreases impact and halves the injury risk.” Similarly Lee Saxby concurs:


“If humans have evolved as endurance running specialists, why do 80% of us injure ourselves every year? Why haven’t ‘runners knee’, ‘shin splints’ and ‘plantar fasciitis’ become rare and unfortunate occurrences? The answer is simple. We have forgotten how to run.” Saxby believes the running anatomy needs to be used


any animal’s foot is perfectly designed to traverse the terrains it was required to traverse during its evolutionary heritage


The reality is that


feel of barefoot running, along with adequate support and cushioning. Disregarding the obvious retail


benefi ts for a moment, for runners who have been satisfi ed by trainers, is there any real benefi t to switching to the barefoot revolution? “Evidence suggests that


endurance running was the major evolutionary stimulus in shaping human anatomy and physiology,” says Lee Saxby in Making Sense of Barefoot Running - Vivo Barefoot’s running eBook. “In other words, the minute we started to move further and more effi ciently than anything else was the minute we leapt ahead of the competition. Nature has literally engineered us to run!” This however poses questions.


If barefoot running is a natural evolutionary process, then why have there been reports of barefoot running injuries? For Vibram Finger’s Matt Wallden, barefoot running doesn’t profess to off er the ultimate solution to all running injuries. “There are so many factors that


regularly to keep in check. As the feet and ankle work in a very specifi c way, injury can easily be caused if done incorrectly. This injury can be magnifi ed with the science behind most modern running footwear. “Most modern running shoes manipulate the body’s natural forces via ‘motion control’ and ‘shock absorbing’ technologies. This is why, despite over 25 years of research and application in this fi eld, the percentages of runners suff ering injuries has not decreased.” With the running community


fairly split over the merits of barefoot running, a step back is needed I feel. With every human diff erent, to say barefoot running is preferable over running with trainers is naive. What works for one person may not work for someone else. There should be a place for both. Certainly retailers should cater for both markets by stocking both minimalist and traditional running footwear. If we truly were born to run, lets encourage both forms of running and let the individual decide.


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