What is all the hype!!!?
What is all the hype surrounding the "barefoot" running or the "minimalist" approach, is less more and why is it that the best runners in the world still wear training shoes and racing flats? Let that bounce around in your brain for a little while before you make up your mind and while you are doing that, have even more to ponder…
Is America pushing ahead and making the difference in the running world, or are we taking a giant step back into Paleolithic period? During this period humans never wore shoes and used their bare feet to travel great distances, hunt for their food and to gather and collect water. Why is now in the 21st Century that we have all of a sudden decided that running barefoot is once again “cool” or the “right” way to run. All I can say is that I have not seen any elite runners, semi-pro or even amateur runners of any stature perform well or above the average couch poetatoe in the “minimalist” shoes. Yes, I agree, there maybe one or two people worldwide that run fast in minimalist shoes or even barefoot. Two examples:
Abebe Bikila, a two-time Olympic Marathon Champion, barefoot runner (only for his first Olympic Gold 1960) and first black African in history to win a Gold Medal in the Olympics. The only reason he ran barefoot is because he could not afford shoes and had never worn shoes in his life. He only ran one Olympics barefoot, once he had a little money he was able to buy shoes and then won his second Gold Medal in 1964 in a pair of PUMA shoes and won. So is barefoot running the answer or not?
Zola Pieterse or affectionately known as “Zola Budd” a proud South African, was a two-time World Cross Country Champion and a World Record holder of the 5,000m at 14:18.07. She also ran barefoot because that is all she had ever had to train in. Later on in life she started wearing shoes and never went back to running barefoot. So is barefoot running the answer or not?
Every world record on the road and on the track is held by runners who train in running shoes and race in racing flats or spikes…you do the math…?
I did! I want to be able to run when I am 40,50 and beyond...Great shoes equals great protection against cartilage compression injuries.
Go Get'em!!
