Bare foot running might be working

After reading Born to Run, witch advocates bare foot running as a way to improve - I thought I’d experiment.

The premise of Born to Run is simple - running naturally (barefoot) is better for your body than what a mass produced shoe can do. And for all of the marketing, there really is little evidence that cushioned shoes really help.

I bought a pair of Nike Free’s a few years back for just walking around in. As these are as about as minimalist as I’m willing to go, I thought I’d use them every other day and compare with my very expensive Asics Kayano’s. To make matters more interesting - I really ramped up my mileage in the last couple weeks (on a hilly course no less!).

I’m on the verge of purchasing new shoes - and I thought at the end of my experiment, I’d buy the usual Kayano’s or a new pair of Free’s (if for some strange reason bare foot running worked).

Well, I’m on week two, and surprisingly the Free’s have the lead.

At first I thought that the Free’s weren’t going to cut it. I was sore in my hips and in my knees - however, the pain wasn’t any worse than normal considering I was trying to get back into shape (getting up to 6 to 7 miles per day). I continued to switch back and forth from the expensive Kanyo’s to the Free’s - trying to recognize a difference during and after the run. I

I found the Free’s made me feel faster and I enjoyed that - but the run may have been a little more jolting with the Free’s (just a little). However, I’ve started to enjoy “feeling the road”.

Most surprising, I could tell no difference in soreness after the run - they both were equal.

I’m going to go a few more days with the Free’s before purchasing new ones - but I like running in them so far.