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Barefoot running...anyone tried it?

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  1. #21

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    Sep 2007
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    Back to the nature eh!!!
    I remember when I was in school, due to financial reasons, I won't have any sports shoes, so I'd alway play barefeet, it used to be fine, except for small stones/thorns sometimes popping out of nowhere and in the sole.
    If you run barefoot on the ground that's not concritised (difficult in HK though), it really is better for two reasons -
    1. you don't get tired that fast as the feet doesnt hit a hard surface, so its easy on the legs overall
    2. Due to tiny land particles/stones, you get accupressure massage.

    Last edited by gunsnroses; 16-11-2010 at 10:55 AM.

  2. #22

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    Jan 2010
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    Yep...me too, takes me back to my childhood, played barefooted in the yard sufffered thorns, nails, and stones yowwww. I will persist with the barefoot treadmilling though.

    So far so good, now into my 3rd week. What a great workout, beats a bike workout handsdown.

    The journey continues....


  3. #23

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    Well if people are running barefeet, they are not buying anything so it's not too much of a concern. It is and always will be a small market so shoe companies simply make a model to target that group just like they target the pronators, the racers, the heavy runners etc...

    At the end of the day, it's a bunch of crock to say that one is better than the other. Running bare feet has advantages and disadvantages just like running with shoes and the market is often driven by what the pros are doing and you're not about to see too many of them running races without shoes. Many of them will do some of their training without shoes to benefit from the advantages that comes with it but you will never see many without shoes or with the latest trendy "free" shoes.

    It's definitely not for everyone and for many it means learning to run in a very different way and going back to a rebuilding phase which means having to cut down on miles for a while.

    I like to run on the beach bare feet but that's about as far as I'm prepared to go however, I think it has value and you can save a fair bit of money. I don't think that it's fair to represent one way as "better" than the other though...

    Quote Originally Posted by MSY:
    But also believes that the barefoot running market is so tiny and for a 'pot smoking/alternative lifestylers' segement, in other words, he does not lose sleep about it. He says that most people want to buy something in order to get fit, if they don't spend money they don't see any value....that's some pretty crazy buying pyschology!

  4. #24

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    Jan 2010
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    hi gilleshk.........well said, cannot argue with your logic. Thanks for your contribution. You are right what works for one, may not work for others.

    For me? Anything to motivate myself to workout, at the moment it's barefoot running. I am doing some form of workout almost everyday.


  5. #25

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    Jan 2010
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    Thanks MrClam..........i plan to get the vibram 5 fingers, I am into my 3rd week of barefoot treadmill, as soon as i hit the road in the next few months will look at the vibrams, for now i am too gutless to try barefoot road/track running.


  6. #26

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    Sep 2007
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    I'm tempted to try this but where will I put my footpod???


  7. #27

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    Jun 2005
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    Hong Kong
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    Quote Originally Posted by fth:
    My G/F uses five fingers for hiking.
    And today she discovered that this really only works for hiking on fairly even surfaces. Previously she'd done some easier hikes with me in them and had no major issues, but today we spent 5 hours on a rocky, uneven, loose, scree type trail (the Plover Cove Reservoir Country Trail, for those that know it) and she was suffering (as I guess you have already found out - how are your foot massage techniques? ).

    Next time out she's wearing proper hiking shoes!

  8. #28

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    Jan 2010
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    36

    Hi stoob - how about tying your footpod with a string around your ankle?


  9. #29

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    Jan 2010
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    Hi pdlm.......yes i'm a bit weary and risk averse about venturing too far off the beaten track with 5 fingers, for now happy to 'season' my feet on the treadmill. Got to say that your lady has real guts though...well done for giving it a go.


  10. #30

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    Jun 2005
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    Hong Kong
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    Not my lady - fth's! (Just for the avoidance of doubt and ugly scenes)

    fth likes this.