Running barefoot has its advantages

People who depend on shock-absorbing shoes for exercise may cringe at the thought of running barefoot.

But for 40-year-old Ken Newbill of Monroe, barefoot running has been liberating. He used to suffer from a variety of pains stretching from his legs to his shoulders – pains that bothered him even when he wasn’t running or exercising.

“Those things went away permanently,” he said, crediting a switch to exercising barefoot.

Just to be clear: Newbill and other proponents of “barefoot running” don’t use the term only to mean running with totally naked feet. It can also mean running with minimalist shoes such as Vibrams, which look like thick rubber gloves designed for feet.

Barefoot running has gained popularity over the past few years – particularly since the 2009 publication of the book “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall. The book looks into the Tarahumara tribe in Mexico who regularly run extreme distances (sometimes 100 miles or more) in bare feet or thin sandals – and rarely suffer injuries. It suggests that the popular, cushioned running shoes many Americans wear promote a heel-striking running style that can cause lasting pain and injuries.

Newbill learned about barefoot running from a friend and an online group. He has been exercising and running in minimalist footwear for about two and a half years, he said.

“I was a classic heel-striker,” he said of his old running style. That, he believed, was the problem behind his aches and pains.

He bought some Vibrams to begin transitioning to barefoot running, which encourages athletes to run so that the balls of their feet strike the ground first.

For the first few weeks, “I didn’t run in them at all,” he said. “I wore them everywhere, just to get used to being barefoot again. Then I started to run. I’d run a mile and walk a mile, gradually working up to it.”

It took him about six months to completely adjust to the new running style.

“When you run, your mind is actually looking for the ground response,” he said. “You don’t realize your body is trying to compensate for the shoes that you’re running in. … It’s all about shock alleviation. Anybody that can go out and change their running style to more of a front-to-mid-foot striking is going to do a lot better. It’s how we were designed to run.”

But people need to proceed cautiously, he said. He remembers feeling good early in his transition and running five miles. It was too much, too soon.

“I got ambitious,” he said. “You can hurt yourself in these shoes if you don’t properly adjust yourself to them. … You’ve got to gradually work yourself into this. I actually had to take a whole month off.”

He currently uses them for various workouts at the Monroe Aquatics Center, and he runs about three miles several times a week.

“I could run well over 10 miles in them if I had to,” he said. “And I’m not a small guy. … I’m a 200-pound man.”

Now he does everything he can in minimalist shoes.

“I’m a minimalistic shoe-wearer. Period,” he said.

And he’s encouraging it for his son.

“My baby boy – he’s only 16 months – and I have him in only minimalist shoes so his feet can properly develop.”