Baring All

Some runners are gaining strength by going shoeless

BAREFOOT JON, now 62, ran his first Seattle Marathon sans shoes in 1990. The heat approached 97 degrees, and he figured 26 miles would go by cooler if he unsheathed his feet. But he was both tentative and smart enough to stash three pairs of shoes along the route — just in case.

He didn't need them.

"It was a revelation to me," he says. "I tried it again about eight years later and came to realize there are other reasons to go barefoot than heat."

Barefoot Jon, whose last name is Gissberg, has nothing against shoes ("I don't live a no-shoes lifestyle") but is part of a small cadre of runners who extol the virtues of setting feet free. They exchange news and ideas on www.barefootrunning.com.

There have been accomplished barefoot runners over the years. Ethiopia's Abebe Bikila won the first of consecutive Olympic Gold Medals in 1960 by finishing with a world record. And there was Zola Budd. But can we mortals handle it?

Many podiatrists and sports-medicine experts say that going barefoot for a bit can help build strength in the feet and calves, but people who take it to the extremes, such as marathons, are asking for trouble. Some surmise that people like Barefoot Jon have just the right foot bone and muscle structure and the specialized running form to handle the lack of support.

I began thinking about Barefoot Jon, barefoot running and training, and the muscles and bones of the feet when Nike released this spring its Free 5.0, which, curiously, is barely a shoe (although it retails for $85). The Free was developed and is advertised as a way to reap the strength-training benefits of running barefoot, but doing so while protecting the foot from the vagaries of the urban jungle (glass, gum, rocks).

Nike's lab in Beaverton, Ore., studied the biomechanics of barefoot running and noticed wide differences between running with and without shoes. Without shoes, the foot strikes the ground in a far more neutral angle and the toes play a far greater role. The results, the company says, include a more even distribution of pressure.

Development of the shoe began three years ago, when a team of Nike designers were on a trip to Palo Alto and watched Stanford track athletes warming up barefoot. The coach said the routine helped strengthen the feet and lower legs. Nike's Sport Research Lab ran with the idea and moved toward a stark alternative to the usual designs, which bundle and protect feet like armor.

Nike encourages consumers to treat the shoes as a cross-training tool and to break them in slowly because they will be calling often-underused muscles into action. While barefoot training is a relatively common technique among high-level athletes, the company hopes its new shoe will persuade normal folk to give it a try.

I tested the shoe for a couple weeks. It is ultra-light and flexible. It has just a fraction of the normal heel padding that traditional running or cross-training shoes have and is loose-fitting in the forefoot. It is structured so because barefoot runners don't slam on their heels when they land. They strike softly more in the forefoot, on their metatarsal pads, and use their toes.

I did some light jogging with them, but mainly, I walked. I found my big toe doing an inordinate amount of the work as I pushed off for each step. I found it harder to jog because it forced me to change my style. I felt it in my calves, too.

Dr. Brian McInness of the sports medicine clinic at Virginia Mason Medical Center says people with perfect biomechanics who train progressively should do fine with the shoes, but the shoes likely won't be "for the masses."

Barefoot Jon and other barefoot runners are unfazed by warnings that they are asking for trouble. They believe that once runners rearrange their style they will become more integrated and in tune with their bodies and often suffer fewer injuries. Learning to land on the metatarsal pads instead of the heel can be a big adjustment, though.

In a recent article, Men's Journal describes the differences that come naturally when one runs barefoot. With shoes, you typically run with an upper body that is tall and straight. Your landing leg sets straight down in front of the torso and the heel strikes the ground first. Without shoes, your upper body takes a shorter posture, your landing leg stays beneath the torso and your forefoot, not your heel, strikes — lightly.

The running surface, as you might imagine, is another consideration. "Finding a smooth surface is really important," Gissberg says. "Like a bike path or newly paved roadway. Some people like grass, but there can be irregularities to the ground beneath it that can throw you off."

Richard Seven is a Pacific Northwest magazine staff writer. He can be reached at rseven@seattletimes.com. Ken Lambert is a Seattle Times photographer.