Barefoot Running: Scientifically Proven?

What do you say to somebody who argues that barefoot running has not yet been "scientifically proven" to be better than shod running?

by Ken Bob Saxton
copyright 2007-05-22

Gosh, where to start?

Running WITH shoes has NOT been scientifically proven to be better than unshod running!

Manufacturers have repeatedly proven the following;

* Shoes have cushioning.
* Shoes support the foot arch.
* Shoes prevent us from feeling the ground.
* Shoe limit the ability of the foot to flex.

They have failed to answer the following questions:

* Is artificial cushioning better for running?
* Are arch supports better for running?
* Is being unaware of how our feet touch the ground better for running?
* Is an inflexible foot better for running?

Running Barefoot has been developed and tested over a very long time, (millions of years for the evolutionists, thousands of years for the creationists, and simply "countless eons" for anyone else).

Every human is born without shoes. No human has grown a pair of shoes in response to the stimulation of running (which humans have been doing for countless eons).

Human feet are not designed to be encased in shoes.

Shoes, especially modern running shoes, are not designed for human feet.

Shoes deform natural and healthy feet.

The human foot excretes 1 pint of sweat per foot, per day, making the inside of a shoe an ideal breeding ground for fungus, etc..

It is hotter insides shoes than for bare feet (that pint of sweat doesn't cool the foot as well when entombed inside a shoe).

Shoes try to replace the natural cushioning we have, when using good running technique, by placing added cushioning in the heels. If we were meant to land hard on our heels, we would have grown extra cushioning there naturally.

The purpose of any shoe is to reduce our ability to feel our foot touching the ground as we walk or run. This encourages people to land with more impact while wearing shoes.

We are much more likely to see a shod runner landing with their legs straight and their knees locked, than a barefoot runner, because the barefoot runner would immediatly get feedback from their soles telling them not to land that way.

etc., etc., etc.,

Ken Bob Saxton