Barefoot Running University

Upcoming Clinics: Chicago, Washington D.C., New York, and Maine

Jason — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:30:47 +0000

Here’s our clinic schedule for the next two weeks:

Sunday, May 20th- Barefoot Clinic, Down and Dirty Chicago Sunday, May 20th- Barefoot Clinic, Uncle Dan’s, Northpost, IL, 5pm (group run to follow) Tuesday, May 22nd- Barefoot Clinic, Hudson Trail Outfitters, Rockville, MD, 6:30pm-8:30pm Wednesday, May 23rd- Barefoot Clinic, Eastern Mountain Sports, Upper East Side, New York City, 6:30-9:30 Thursday, May 24th- Barefoot Clinic, Eastern Mountain Sports, SoHo, New York City, 6:309:30 Friday, May 25th-Barefoot Clinic, Maine Running Company, Portland, Maine, 6-7pm Saturday, May 26th- [...]

Bridging the Gap Between Barefoot Runners and Podiatrists

Jason — Sun, 13 May 2012 18:34:20 +0000

Over the last few days, I’ve been engaging in a discussion on the Podiatry Arena, a forum for podiatrists and other health care professionals. I’ve been a lurker there for quite some time, but finally decided to post after a member took one of my posts out of context. After trading some barbs, we seem to have gotten to a point where we may be able to discuss some issues surrounding barefoot and minimalist running.

I’m excited [...]

Shades of Gray Starfish: How Barefoot Runners Need to Change

Jason — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:27:28 +0000

I’m fond of the “starfish analogy.” You know, the one where a man is walking down a beach and stumbles upon a little boy is frantically running up and down a beach tossing starfish that washed ashore back into the surf. The man asks the boy what he’s doing, and he responds “I’m saving their lives.’ The man chuckles, “But there are thousands washed upon the beach. You can’t possibly save them all.” The boy looks down at [...]

Is Barefoot and Minimalist Running Supported by Research?

Jason — Wed, 09 May 2012 10:05:37 +0000

Is barefoot and minimalist shoe running supported by empirical evidence? In other words, do we have science on our side? This is a question that springs up quite often. Barefoot running skeptics ask the question. The barefoot-curious ask the question. Even some of us that have been doing this for awhile ask the question.

The answer is… sort of.

The holy grail of research would be some sort of large, representative-sampled double-blind longitudinal experiment that compared [...]

What’s the Deal with “Earthing?”

Jason — Tue, 08 May 2012 12:41:02 +0000

Earthing, or what is sometimes called “grounding”, is the idea that humans can benefit from being in electrical contact with the ground. The idea takes various forms, but most are based on the idea that contact with the ground causes free electrons to rush into the body to maintain a adequate supply to optimize various bodily processes such as immune system function, endocrine system function, etc. Earthing is often used as a rationale for walking barefoot or in [...]