have good movement skills from the beginning, we can avoid injury.” However, there are some major
caveats to this argument. Unless runners are taught to run barefoot, they are likely to end up with a different set of injuries, partly because it’s a different technique and partly because we are so used to wearing shoes. According to osteopath Nick Potter, in the West we are anthropologically ill-equipped for barefoot running. He treats a lot of running injuries; the ones he most commonly sees for barefoot are issues with the achilles tendon, caused by taking the load in the mid-foot.
Improving technique Converting to barefoot running requires a gradual build-up, as well as coaching in the proper technique. “It takes time for the muscles and neurological system to adapt to barefoot running,” says
July 2013 © Cybertrek 2013
Nicholettos. “The new movement needs strength and the nervous system needs to become efficient at controlling the movement. There are certain adaptations that need to be made: in barefoot running the foot is flat, it lands closer to the centre of mass and the posture remains upright. The calf muscles are also used differently.” According to Saxby, in order to
convert, you should live barefoot 80 per cent of the time. He recommends learning to walk
again: heel, ball, toe, then engaging the big toe, muscles, tendons, nerves and bones that haven’t been used correctly for years. “There are three barefoot milestones that must be learned and perfected before progressing to the next stage: walking and squats, jumping, then running,” he says. “Gain your strength slowly and refi ne the motor skills, perfecting walking as well as
Most barefoot runners use minimal shoes, which are flat and provide only a small amount of cushioning
jumping and squatting. Film yourself running and build up very slowly.” However, others argue that no-one
should convert to barefoot, but that people should just have technique coaching to improve their running style in trainers. “I don’t believe in barefoot running, full stop,” says Richard Coates, running coach at Full Potential. “The reason certain individuals can do it is because they’ve done it from a young age. Maybe if you’re 10 stone and biomechanically perfect you can get away with it, but if you’re 14 stone with weak knees, it’s not a good idea. “I’d rather teach people to improve
their running technique and make them more effective while wearing trainers.
Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital 39
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