Barefoot Running & Tarahumara Runners

Photo by Marcos Escobar

My ultrarunning friend and CNN reporter Ashley Fantz in Atlanta did a nice piece with Chris McDougall the author of “Born to Run” on the problems that shoes create for our feet. Unlike many of the running stories about barefoot running and Vibram Five Fingers, this piece actually had some images of the Tarahumara tribal ultrarunners in Mexico and their custom made sandals (basically bare budget VFFs) along with their absolutely beautiful and vibrant clothing…and functional I might add.

The Tarahumara run hundreds of miles per week in the rugged canyons of central Mexico’s Copper Canyon—with NO running shoes and none of the common injuries seen in Western countries that use fancy “high tech” running shoes. The Tarahumara run faster, more efficiently, and much safer than we do in this country. The Tarahumara are definitely worth studying when looking at injury prevention!

Oh…and one of the key findings on why they can run so much without injury? They enJOY running. :o)

Enjoy—more foot fitness and less running pain!

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2009/10/07/barefoot.runner.mcdougall.cnn (CNN Story)

http://www.caballoblanco.com/ (Coppyer Canyon Ultra Marathon Info & Links to Tarahumara)

See my other blogpost on Foot Fitness

Once again...in Foot Fitness, Coach RJ!

Shoe Trends-More on Foot Fitness!

I've been getting more and more inquiries about feet lately. It seems like everywhere I turn, there is something going on with feet these days. My continuing education deals more and more with the fitness of the foot...more they never taught me in school I had to learn on the job in the real world!

As the interest in foot fitness grows, so do product options. Let me summarize my "stance" with feet and shoes based on what I "currently" know (and I'm learning more and more by the day).

• I tend to believe "less is more." I want to think about how the foot moves without any modern technology. Just the old-school foot doing what it is designed to do in its most natural state. How does a bare foot move without shoes? Without a shoe, the foot reacts very differently. It will grip, stabilize, and attempt to claw the ground to stabilize the rest of the body. The foot will get strong doing all this because it's a lot of work! With shoes, the foot has artificial support, and the muscles and tendons tend to get weaker. With running shoes, the more developed the shoe, the less work the foot has to do which means the body works too hard above the foot in ways it does not want to work. Put huge air bags under the foot? The foot is not happy because it really wants "stability" and not soft squishy instability. It's hard to "claw air" or root yourself into the ground if you have soft shoes. Many of our movement problems today can be traced back to our feet--the first things to hit the ground with forward locomotion--our bases of support from which everything else is stacked.
• A few years ago, Nike and other shoes companies started picking up on the trend to go back to barefoot running. The research is out. With more technology in running shoes, injuries got WORSE--not better...and yes, these shoes cost more too! Enter the Nike Free and some other options. Enter the Vibram Five Fingers (VFFs) I've been talking about lately. Also enter other shoes with very different designs claiming to work more muscles like the MBT, etc.
• MBT and Toning Shoes: These shoes are gaining in popularity. They claim to make a person work harder in the calves, hamstrings, glutes, etc. I'm sure they do because the shoe is curved in many of them--or somehow less stable due to design which requires one to work much harder to stand upright and move forward; however, the MBT shoe is curved in the opposite direction of the "natural curve" found in the arch of the foot. I go back to less is more and what the foot looks like naked. Less shoe--more foot fitness. Less shoe--more natural biomechanics. Some of the new toning shoes have very thick soles that radically alter how you walk if barefoot. More emphasis is put upon the "heel-to-toe" stride which is the opposite of how you would walk while barefoot. The trend I've been following with "Chi Running," barefoot walking/running, and shoes like the Nike Free or Vibram Five Fingers is more of the mid-foot strike--not the heal-to-toe strike. The support system (arch) is in the middle of the foot--this is where we should be striking--not exclusively on the heel itself. As shoes got better, we put more load on the heel because we had more padding, but this changed our gait and biomechanics away from a "natural" stride and foot strike; hence, more "running" injuries and more foot/ankle problems.
• I guess we have to go to root cause of movement/gait problems which seems to be pointed more and more at the actual feet. We have lots of problems today with fundamental biomechanics starting with foot/ankle then up to knee, hip, and back. Many of these problems can be traced back to the feet being too weak which then can make the ankles get too stiff as a compensation for lack of foot stability--and the compensations can travel all the way up into the neck and shoulders. Some of the new toning shoes talk a lot about fitness gains "above" the foot, but I have not heard as much about the actual fitness in the foot itself. Go back to root cause. Think FOOT fitness first--then worry about the calves, hamstrings, and glutes later. The feet--they hit the ground first and stabilize everything up the chain of movement. When your feet work well, the rest of your movements up the chain will also be better. If your feet have problems, so will the upper body.
  

For now, this is my direction with foot fitness and shoes. Using "less" shoe or at least shoes with harder soles seem to be making my feet stronger and happier. If the new toning shoes work for you--great! I had a few people tell me personally that the MBTs helped both diabetic feet and plantar fasciitis foot conditions--I have no reason to doubt them. I'm glad they got relief. Keep thinking about the naked foot though and what can be done WITHOUT any shoes or any technology to make you move better.

Here are a couple of related links if interested in above:

• VFFs & Foot Fitness
• Born To Run Book (great research on feet, running injuries, & running shoes!)
• You Walk Wrong (fascinating overview by New York Magazine on evolution of human feet, shoes, & injuries)

Keep it simple. Keep it cost effective...and keep your feet happy and fit.
In Foot Fitness!
Coach RJ

Finding VFFs

A lot of people are wanting the Vibram Five Fingers (VFFs) but having problems finding them--especially retail at a physical location. I asked my friends and clients where they were finding them. I've compiled a list with a few links for everyone. These are places that came with personal recommendations from my clients or fitness friends. I'm sure there are more, but I don't know of them personally.

Models: I use the "KSO" (Keeps Stuff Out) model because they cover more of my feet so debris does not get inside when I'm out on the grass. Other models are more open top. One is designed for winter--more like a wetsuit so they are warmer. Different colors are offered too. You'll have to explore and see what you like.

Break In Period: I'd recommend wearing them a little bit at a time so your feet can get used to the extra demands. Throwing a pair of VFFs on for the day when you are not ready for them is like going into the gym for a 1-2 powerlifting and plyometrics session when you are completely out of shape...NOT GOOD! Your feet are weak if you have not been going barefoot and wearing shoes all the time. It's about "foot fitness." Feet need time to get in shape with sensible progressions just like other areas of the body. VFFs come with some recommendations, but basically listen to your feet. They'll let you know.

On-Line:

• Vibram (the actual manufacturer but they have been short on stock)
• City Sports (Good stock, great service, the most recommended)
• Travel Country

Retail (Cental Coast/SoCal):

• Adventure 16 (awesome store but rarely has enough VFF stock)
• Sport Chalet (selected stores in SoCal & Utah on trial basis)
• The Shoe Tree (Pismo Beach, takes phone orders too)
  

Don't understand the whole VFF thing? Check out my detailed post on VFFs and Foot Fitness then Rock Your Feet!!!

In Foot Fitness! -Coach RJ

ROCK Your Feet! Vibram Five Fingers & Foot Fitness

Coach RJ's new VFFs-they ROCK!!!

Let's talk foot fitness! But first, where my recent interest in foot fitness all began...I was working at the US Olympic Training Center for USA Track & Field Elite Development the summer of 2004. One of the Olympic exercise physiologist came in for a presentation and start talking about how our shoes today are made so "well" that they are making our feet weak. They discovered with our Olympic athletes that their feet weakness was allowing "force leaks." Force leaks are lateral leaks that decrease the amount of force you are attempting to channel in a straight line--basically it means that you'll slow down and not move as efficiently--maybe even get hurt. He said that after the track workouts, our athletes were taking their high-dollar shoes completely OFF and running...gasp...BAREFOOT running drills on the grass! The barefoot drills were increasing their foot fitness and improving their run times. Fascinating!

Foot Biomechanics 101: The foot is supposed to stabilize. It claws and grips the ground as you walk barefoot. When you wear shoes, the foot does not do as much work; therefore, it gets weaker. Many people NEVER go barefoot! They end up having really detrained and weak feet. Let's look at the kinetic chain from the ground up to the waist. We'll assign only ONE primary function to each major joint area. We have the foot, ankle, knee, and hip. Here are the assignments if everything works correctly:

• Foot=Stability
• Ankle=Mobility
• Knee=Stability
• Hip=Mobility

If the foot is too weak, it is not stable but too mobile. The excessive mobility in the foot causes a compensation in the ankle. The ankle then gets "stiff" but in an unhealthy way. The ankle being too stiff then requires the knee to shift towards more mobility. The knee does NOT like mobility! The knee is a hinge joint and likes to move in one line. In its optimal line, the knee is very happy. Push it out of alignment, and your ACL, meniscus, etc. will start barking at you or even fail. There seems to be an increasing amount of ACL injuries going around. I'm seeing these concerns in my research journals and other health/fitness postings. Why? Our shoes are at least part of the reason! There is a new book a lot of people in my business are reading and talking about called "Born to Run." The book examines many aspects of ultrarunning but the most amazing one is a tribe in Mexico that has been running hundreds of miles WELL for generations with NO SHOES and without all the "Western" injuries we see in cultures that wear shoes! There is a theory now that conditions like plantar fasciitis, ACL injuries, meniscus injuries, etc. many times are being caused by our shoes that weaken the biomechanical structure of our feet! Let's think about this SIMPLY...if you're running with a fancy air-sole running shoe, you're probably doing a heel-toe strike (unless you're a Chi Runner). If you tried to run heel strike first barefoot, you'd break your foot! So essentially, our "modern" shoes have completely changed the way we've been running for generations. When people run barefoot, they strike on the mid foot for the most part. Your mid foot is where the suspension system is--your "arch." The arch of your foot is spring loaded--it can absorb the foot strike shock. The heel's ability to absorb shock? NOT! You've got a little skin and very thin fat pad then your calcaneous bone underneath. Hit the heel first and you'll get way more shock up your leg into your back. Strike on the mid foot and you'll be absorbing the shock the way the foot is supposed to absorb it. Pretty cool isn't it?!!!

Basically--our shoes are made too well and make our feet weak and lazy. Everything up the kinetic chain from our weakened bases of support (feet) are then compromised. Again, I'm fascinated with all this talk on foot fitness!

Fellow RKC Kettlebell Instructor and author of "The Four Hour Work Week" Tim Ferriss put up a GREAT post and video on the Vibram Five Fingers. It's an absolute must if you're interested in what I explained above. Here's the link:

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/05/07/vibram-five-fingers-shoes

Fast forward a couple of years and I heard yet more about foot fitness related to our feet being too weak and less than biomechanically efficient. Nike created a new called the "Free" which is supposed to mimic "bare foot" running then a book came out called "Chi Running" which talks about completely running with a different foot strike--basically more like barefoot runners where you lean forward from the ankles and make a mid-foot strike instead of the heal-toe strike that most of us use when running.

Fast forward again to May 2008. I took my very first Russian Kettlebell class from RKC Delaine Ross in Atlanta. When I walked in she was wearing these weird reptilian looking shoe things that had toe fingers in them. I was fascinated! They were Vibram Five Fingers. She said they made her feet stronger...hmmm...there is that foot fitness thing again. As I got heavily into the kettlebell scene with the RKC, I began doing my KB workouts barefoot or with really hard soled shoes. The first week of kettlebell training one area of my body was the MOST sore. Guess which area? A likely guess would be my butt--but it was my FEET! I could barely walk for a week! And yes, my ass was on fire for a few days too, but mainly the soreness was in my feet! Why? They were weak from wearing shoes too often!

When I started running collegiate X-country, my feet hurt like hell. I had to get orthotics made. The joint pain in my feet went away. When I started training more for function, my feet got stronger from all the balance and proprioceptive challenging drills I was doing along with the speed, agility, quickness drills--but I was still wearing my shoes with orthotics. When I shifted to barefoot kettlebell training, my feet got stronger yet again.

So here we are today. My kettlebell mentor Dr. Mark Cheng of Kettlebells Los Angeles showed up one morning a few weeks ago wearing his new VFFs and was talking about his daily runs in them. Okay! I had enough at that point! Time to do the barefoot throw down! After 14 months of hearing about the Vibram Five Fingers (VFFs), I finally purchased a pair. My feet loved them the first day! Now I'm wearing them all over the place. I just got my second pair in black. I prefer the KSO model because they have more covering over the tops of my feet. Most of my kettlebell workouts are on the grass at the park, so they Keep Stuff Out--hence the name "KSO."

On a side note, I've had horrible issues with plantar fasciitis the last three years from all my excessive driving. As a corporate Wellcoach, I have to cover a lot of ground on my site visits. I can be in my car for 3-4 hours per day. The static posture of my accelerator foot has messed up my foot's biomechanics. I've been through hell with my foot, and basically had to stop running for the most part. My biggest fear when I started the kettlebell training was my foot. I was scared that the "barefoot" training would aggravate my plantar fasciitis condition, but guess what? The barefoot workouts never bothered my foot. My foot actually seemed to get better as the foot got stronger...fascinating!

The last few weeks of wearing my VFFs has been pretty amazing. I have even done some barefoot running while on the grass. My plantar fasciitis got better the FIRST WEEK I wore my VFFs! For the first time in three years, I did a one-hour trail run without any foot problems last weekend. I did use my trail running shoes and orthotics for the actual trail run though as my feet are not quite ready for that much work, but you never know...I might end up running the whole way with them one day!

If you would have told me I'd be running barefoot with VFFs a couple of years ago when the pain in my foot was so bad it felt like someone was driving a nail through my heel, I might have attacked! I have been absolutely fascinated with the function and strength of my feet throughout the last 14 months of Russian Kettlebell training while barefoot or with hard soled shoes and now with my new Vibram Five Fingers. I'm hearing stories from people I know, respect, and trust about how they have not been able to run but now are running with the VFFs! People saying that their chronic back pain or knee pain is GONE now that they are wearing the VFFs and the feet are doing what they are supposed to be doing--stabilizing and clawing the ground. While the jury is still a little out, I think the VFFs are going to significantly help my feet and the entire biomechanics of my body. If you have foot, knee, hip, or back problems, you might want to consider the above comments and consider going bare foot once in a while...maybe even some VFFs for yourself!

• Vibram Five Fingers
• Coach RJ's Plantar Fasciitis Page
• Tim Ferriss' Vibram Five Fingers Post
• Root Cause Analysis of Foot Failure-Asking the Whys
• Chi Running
• Born To Run
• Born To Run (Book Notes Video Book Review)
• Copper Canyon Ultramarathon & Tarahumara Runners
• CNN Interview with Chris McDougall on Barefoot Running & Tarahumara

Where to Buy VFFs?

In Los Angeles, you can buy them at the Adventure-16 outdoor store, but both times I went in there they did not have my size available. Your best bet is to just order them on-line right from Vibram. They'll come in about a week. The trick is sizing. They give some tips on-line for sizing, or you can find a retailer and get your foot measured. If they don't have them at the retail store that day, you've at least sized your foot properly. If you order off the Vibram Five Fingers website, click on any shoe product page to get their conversion chart for self sizing.

• Check out my new post on purchasing VFFs

I hope this helps a few people. I've learned a lot about feet the last few years and how important they are to movement. Take care of your feet Comrades--take OFF your shoes!

In Foot Fitness, Coach RJ!