Benefits of Barefoot Running
Barefoot running is more than just a trend.
Many runners choose to ditch their shoes simply for the freeing feeling of running in bare feet. But people who run barefoot may enjoy many benefits beyond that.
Keep reading to learn the top reasons why you should consider running in your bare feet or making the switch to barefoot shoes.
The Benefits of Barefoot Running
So what are the advantages of barefoot running? Here are the benefits runners may experience when running barefoot.
Benefit 1: Running Barefoot Helps Strengthen Your Feet
We know from studies that runners who wear barefoot shoes for walking may  strengthen the muscles in their feet, ankles and calves. When you move in bare feet, it stretches and lengthens the small muscles, tendons and ligaments in the foot. Strong foot muscles can enhance your balance and stability and may reduce the risk of injury. It may contribute to improved posture, as well.
Benefit 2: With No Shoes, You Can Spread Your Toes
Another benefit of going barefoot is being able to spread your toes. Getting out of shoes with pointy toe boxes that squeeze your feet and going barefoot allows for a more natural movement when running or walking. When your toes can splay and spread out naturally, you may experience improvements in balance and stability.
Benefit 3: Running Without Shoes Enables Better Footstrike
“Footstrike” describes which part of your foot contacts the ground first when you walk or run. Running barefoot provides you with better control of your foot position and helps you contact the ground first with forefoot or midfoot, rather than heel-first, which can lower risk of injury. When you land mid-strike or fore-strike without overstriding, you’re using your legs as springs, helping improve your running form.
Benefit 4: Barefoot Running Can Help Improve Posture
Our feet are the foundation of our posture. Shoes that squeeze your toes together and have an elevated heel can alter your posture and balance. Ditching your shoes to run barefoot allows you to be flat footed, which helps improve your posture and enables natural running form.
Benefit 5: Running in Bare Feet May Reduce Stress on Joints
Running frequently can be hard on your joints. Many running shoes have excessive padding, which may result in greater force through your joints. Running barefoot means your foot is flat, potentially reducing the load on the knee joints as you run. This encourages a forefoot or midfoot strike, which helps reduce stress on your knees joints.
Can’t Run Barefoot? Try Barefoot Shoes
Of course, in many cases, it’s not appropriate or safe to run barefoot. In those situations, barefoot shoes can provide you with the benefits of being barefoot while offering a layer of protection so you can safely feel the ground beneath you as you run.
While “barefoot shoes” sounds like a contradiction – you’re either barefoot or in shoes – the idea is that barefoot shoes give you the closest thing to a barefoot experience, while still offering protection when you’re walking, running, or doing any other activity.
So, if you’re considering barefoot shoes, it’s helpful to understand the benefits of simply being barefoot because you’ll enjoy similar benefits when wearing barefoot shoes for your runs.Here are a few distinct features of barefoot shoes that mimic running barefoot and how they help runners:
Natural-Foot Shape
Barefoot shoes have a wider, foot-shaped toe box that does not squeeze your toes. Shoes with a wide toe box give your toes plenty of room to splay, letting your feet spread and relax. This allows your feet to function and move more naturally while running.
Zero-Drop
Barefoot shoes have “zero drop”, which means the heel-to-toe drop of a shoe is zero – in other words, your heel is level with the rest of your foot.
Most traditional running shoes have elevated heels, which causes some parts of your body to be overworked and others to be under worked (also known as, IMBALANCE). Wearing barefoot shoes with zero drop can help improve body alignment.
Flexibility
Stiff shoes effectively bind the intricate muscles of the foot, preventing the natural movement of the muscles, bones and joints. Barefoot shoes provide more foot flexibility compared to traditional shoes, allowing natural movement of the muscles, bones and joints.
Natural Foot Support
Barefoot shoes have no arch support which helps to build foot strength naturally. With no excessive padding or support, your feet become their own support system, allowing you to build foot strength the more you wear them.
And while this may seem counterintuitive, research shows shoes with arch support isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. When you have something supporting your arch, it can’t actually move through its full range of motion. Because barefoot shoes don’t have arch support, your feet can move freely and naturally, supporting themselves.
Whether you have flat feet or high arches, having strong arches is the most important thing. Weaning off shoes with arch support can take time, but you may benefit in the long-run, by building up foot strength.
Protective Thin Soles
Thin and protective soles allow you to maintain a connection with the ground, making it easier for you to move confidently and strongly. Your feet have 200,000 nerve endings in each sole telling your brain what you’re stepping on so it can control your body properly (starting with your feet) to navigate and adjust to the terrain. A thick, heavily cushioned sole mutes this connection between your brain and your feet.
A study by Dr. Daniel Lieberman found that “traditional” running shoes with cushioning and elevated heels encourage runners to use a rear-foot strike with greater collision forces compared to the mid- or fore-foot strike and smaller collision forces of barefoot runners.
A Word About Transitioning to Barefoot Shoes
If you’re thinking of transitioning to barefoot running, treat it like going to the gym. Just as you would gradually increase your weight or volume the more you workout, gradually increase the amount of time you spend running in your barefoot shoes. And remember, your form is critical for long-term success.
Closing Out: Benefits of Barefoot Running
There are many health benefits to barefoot running. Whether you’re running in bare feet, or wearing barefoot shoes, you may enjoy the potential benefits of better form, and stronger feet, ankles and calves. Barefoot shoes allow you to run and move freely, so you can “Live Life Feet First”.
Intrigued? Shop our men’s and women’s footwear selection here to find running shoes.
The content of this post does not constitute and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions or concerns you may have about your health or a medical condition.