Photo by: Mike Baird
The perfect beat
Stride rate or cadence is a critical element to running correctly. This is something that all runners should learn early on in their endeavors. How often should my feet hit the ground?
To many, the answer to this question is: it depends on how fast you’re going. This is the wrong answer.
The correct answer is: 180 or more steps per minute. This means that you take 90 or more steps with each foot, per minute.
How can this be possible? If you keep your stride rate even, another variable must change — in this case your stride length. The faster you go, the longer your stride becomes with little to no change in leg turnover.
According to Jack Daniels in Running Formula:
I find that very few (sometimes none out of a class of 25 or 30) take as many as 180 steps per minute. In fact, some turn over as slowly as 160 steps per minute. The main disadvantage of this slower turnover is that the slower you take steps, the longer you spend in the air, and the longer you’re in the air, the higher you displace your body mass and the harder you hit the ground on landing. When you consider that many running injuries are the result of landing shock, it’s not surprising that experienced runners tend to turn over faster than beginning runners do.
That tidbit right there should be enough to convince you that the single biggest improvement you can make to your running form is to ensure you’re getting enough steps per minute.
Imagine what the increased landing shock would do to your barefeet, or minimally protected feet. Imagine all of that shock landing on your heel!
Reaching 180
The easiest way to count your stride is to count every single sided footfall for 60 seconds. When you have that number, multiply by two. Experiment with what it feels like to turn over more quickly, but keep the same pace. Then experiment with what it feels like to turn over as quickly, but lengthen your stride, increasing your pace.
It may help to keep your body in rhythm — there are many folks who enjoy running to music. Many songs can be utilized to keep your cadence.
Some musical ideas are:
- HellaSound – 30 minute custom bpm tracks. 4 to choose from as of now, each a different musical style. I have 3 of these at 180 bpm and find them wonderful for longer runs.
- A discussion on popular music tracks on the dailymile.
- A simple mp3 of a metronome, at 180 bpm.
- You can buy a “running” metronome.
Photo by: 666 is money
Even if you’re not interested in running barefoot all the time, you can still reap benefits from kicking your shoes off as part of supplemental training.
Before you start the process, you should be clear what benefits you hope to gain and ensure they match up with what running barefoot can provide. Here are some things that can be reasonably expected from running barefoot:
- Strengthening and awakening of feet and ankle muscles — many smaller muscles that never get activated in shoes
- Improve a slow stride rate
- Improve the form of an existing mid-foot or forefoot strike
- Improve balance
Barefoot running performed as supplemental training can also be dangerous. There are a few things you will want to be sure you’re aware of:
- It will be easy to overdo it by being overconfident, especially if you’re already running quite a few miles shod
- Smooth concrete or asphalt will provide a more consistent environment than grass. A soft surface will dull the feedback loop and make it more difficult to improve
- The bottoms of your feet may require adaptation time
- You can not heel strike while running barefoot. If you heelstrike in shoes, and don’t plan to change your stride, running barefoot will most likely just screw up your stride and get you injured.
- Expect some level of blisters, especially in the first few weeks, if you’re not adapted to being barefoot.
Think about whether you’re serious about accepting the risks of running barefoot. Many of the benefits of being unshod can be gained simply from walking barefoot. This is often a better and less damaging place to start your unshod journey.
Like anything that becomes a fad, and let’s face it, barefoot running has hit that point, there is the inevitable backlash. I can’t say I blame people either. Most of the things I read in the mainstream media are things along lines of:
- You will never get injured again.
- You will cure your injuries.
- Just shuck off your shoes and run stupid, you’ve been duped by the shoe companies.
- Studies show shoes wreck your feet.
While there may be some truth to these statements, they certainly aren’t whole truths. Unfortunately people believe these outright, attempt said barefoot running like they would shod running, and in the process injure themselves. This leads to immediate backlash, injury, blisters, cursing.
The more skeptical people see through the media sugar coated bologna. They then perceive barefoot folks as being out of touch with reality. Which if they followed this, they surely would be.
Unfortunately the shoe companies, and shoe retailers pick these blanket impossibilities as the targets of their attacks and rebuttals against barefoot running. It is difficult to attack research, experience, and common sense. It is much easier to attack straw men.
This hoopla makes it difficult to promote barefoot running in a pragmatic light without being classified as a nut-job. When I speak to people about it, I try to make the following things clear:
- It takes time to adapt, what to some may seem like, and actually be, a lot of time.
- It’s not going to cure anything, it’s not medicine, but it may help you change your stride for the better.
- You’re going to screw up. You’re going to drag your toes, or step on a rock, or do something else stupid…eventually. Just realize you were probably going to screw up running with shoes on as well.
- It may feel awkward as hell. That means you’re doing something right.
If you’re interested in running barefoot please remember that being practical, experimenting, and learning what works for you is the only true path towards smooth, injury-free running — whatever your choice of footwear.
Steven Robbins, a prominent and original barefoot researcher wrote the following comment on the post discussing minimilist shoes vs being barefoot while running .
Since I have authored much of the original research regarding the bare foot in running and its advantages, I feel responsible to counter incorrect ideas regarding minimalist shoes. There is no evidence that minimalist shoes are superior to thin soled running shoes (racing flats) that preceded them. I consider them simply as a attempt by running shoes manufacturers to exploit runners through misleading marketing indicating that they resemble running barefoot – which is false. The detailed arguments can be found at my website
http://www.stevenrobbinsmd.com/
Barefoot runners should realize that the human foot is best adapted for running on naturally deposited ground. Running barefoot on man made surfaces certainly represenst some additional risk of injury, the magnitude of which is not known, but probably lower than running without shoes. Shoes are required to extend the running season in regions with severe winters, and for use on extremely low frictional resistance man made surfaces.
Be sure to check out his site for some invaluable information regarding barefoot running. Thanks Steven for the information. We are listening and appreciate all the insight you provide.
There are two main ways to transfer from running in sneakers to running barefoot:
- Transfer Method. Keep your weekly miles the same, running both shod and unshod, slowly moving the amount of miles run shod to unshod.
- Cold Turkey. Stop running shod completely. Gradually build up your miles running barefoot.
If your end goal is to run in minimalist shoes, it is still wise to run barefoot until your body is fully adapted. The entire process will be much quicker as you will be receiving richer feedback.
The Transfer Method
This method is best suited for runners who are mid-foot strikers.
Heel strikers who attempt this method will find themselves in an awkward situation. For the unshod portion of their runs, they will be landing on the mid-foot, while feeling “off” due to the change in form.
For the shod portion of their runs, they will most likely start running on the mid-foot, and revert to heel striking when their mind wanders, or their body tires.
It is impossible for the body to feel comfortable being forced into two separate running forms — this increases the risk of injury.
Mid-foot strikers will find that running barefoot still requires adaption, but the changes required are easier because they are less dramatic.
The Cold Turkey Method
This method is best suited for runners who are heel strikers, or who are recovering from an injury. Since this type of runner requires a fairly drastic alteration in form, the change must be the only way the body is allowed to move.
It is too difficult to force the body to run in two different poses, while trying to mentally communicate that the way that feels more awkward is the one you want to keep stick with. Your body sticks with what it knows
By going cold turkey you can completely focus on the changes you are forcing onto your body, while never letting up, or sending the body mixed signals by reverting to a heel strike.
There’s no such thing as “ruined”. There’s just a matter of how long and how gradual are you willing to work walking/running barefoot into your life. Why take such a fatalistic approach to your feet when it’s so easy to just take your shoes off and see for yourself?
I imagine this question comes up most from people who are scared to death of being barefoot for fear that their custom orthotics are the only thing that support them. This may be true at the moment, and this is why you should be careful.
Careful to ease into things, careful to listen to your body and be aware of how it is reacting.
You aren’t ruined.
This is a pretty common complaint which stems from people learning that pushing off with their legs, or so called “power running”, puts a lot of stress on a small muscle group. Your calves are engaged when performing the push off.
If instead if you pick your feet up in more of a controlled fall forward, the big quad muscles are engaged in a task they can more than handle.
Another reason the calves can be sore is due to a change in form. If you progress from a heel-to-toe to a more mid foot landing you will probably be sore in new and wonderful places. Your body is adapting to the changes and you are feeling the results.
To ensure you do not hurt yourself it is prudent to perform short duration but frequent runs. This ensures your body has multiple small recovery periods instead of a few larger ones.
Being barefoot means that your skin is hitting the ground instead of plastic/rubber. If your heel lands on a rock bigger than a pebble, it’s going to hurt. If your foot lands on a large broken piece of glass, it’s going hurt.
Being without the protection of shoes opens you up for increased risk of puncture wounds. This is a trade off that should be considered.
Does correct barefoot running hurt? No, not in the least.
Here’s the catch, you can easily overdo it, especially right out of the gate. You can rub your feet raw, blistered, or bruised if you’re not adapted, or if your form isn’t up to snuff. What would the bottoms of your feet would look like if you had a twist of the leg as you placed or picked up your foot? It would look like someone rubbed sandpaper across your foot thousands of times.
The good news is that pain is the best part of barefoot running. No, not embracing it, but resolving it. Imagine a realtime feedback system that allows you to make small changes and instantly reap the benefits. You may run hours upon hours slightly twisting your leg as you pick it up, develop knee pain, and never track down the root cause, if you’re in sneakers.
The same type of thing done while running barefoot will cause pain and abrasiveness on the pad of your foot. It won’t take long to realize that keeping your foot straight on ascent and descent removes that pain.
OK, one more time, can barefoot running hurt? Yes, that’s the point. I’d rather hurt a little and tweak my form to resolve it then find out later, much more perplexed as to the root cause.
Any surface that isn’t covered in glass is better than any surface that is. Past that point, the best type of surface is variety. That sounds like a cop out, but I feel it’s true.
Barefoot running is experienced with sensory perception and the best way to promote that is through varying the surfaces you run on. Packed dirt feels different than pavement, which feels different than asphalt, which feels much different than woodchips.
Most people try to steer clear of gravel, despite its ability to short track you towards landing lightly on your feet. I can’t say I blame them though.
The best surface to receive feedback on is a smooth hard surface. Grass and dirt can be very forgiving of bad form. A hard surface provides better and more consistent feedback on your form.
