Archive for January 2010
Return to the Running Lab
I recently had a chance to return to Dr. Irene Davis’ biomechanics lab at the University of Delaware. Dr. Davis one of the co-authors of the Nature magazine study on barefoot running, not to mention an honest practicioner of her own advice: over the past few months, she’s become a barefoot runner herself. As I…
Read More“How do we know what is true?”
“How do we know what is true? Evidence! Evidence! Evidence! NOT tradition. NOT authority. NOT revelation.” — Richard Dawkins, the great evolutionary biologist and author of “The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution.”
Read MoreBarefoot Prof Explains…
A Q&A with Harvard’s barefoot professor. Note how he zeroes in on the endlessly repeated “How come elite marathoners don’t run barefoot?” question. As he, and so many other minimalists keep explaining, this debate is about technique, not footwear. Learn to run as if you were barefoot, and you’re good to go — and go…
Read MorePreaching bare feet to shoe sellers
Back in December, I was invited to sign books at The Running Event, an industry trade show for running gear manufacturers. I bumped into Matt Fitzgerald of Competitor Magazine, who pulled me aside for this interview..
Read MoreNature’s own running shoe
i’ll be posting choice bits from the Nature paper along with commentary, but for now, the killer quote: “People who don’t wear shoes when they run have an astonishingly different strike,” Lieberman said in a statement. “By landing on the middle or front of the foot, barefoot runners have almost no impact collision, much less than…
Read MoreBTR, the Librarian’s Choice
The American Library Association just named “Born to Run” to its Notable Books list for 2010. Notable Books, 2010
Read MoreThe Ultimate Barefoot Site, aka Lieberman’s Barefoot Bonanza
wow, the info is coming fast and furious out of lieberman’s lab, now headquarters for barefooters worldwide. Harvard has set up the definitive how-to, why-to, since-when site for barefoot running. The Tarahumara secret now has Harvard’s seal of approval. Harvard’s Barefoot Running site
Read MoreThe Shoemaker Scramble
it’s been fascinating to watch the shoe companies deal with the overwhelming tide of science that’s been rising in favor of natural running. first, they were silent. then, they went with the silly ‘everyone is an experiment of one’ line. now, they’re talking about ‘whittling down traditional shoes.’ why are traditional shoes the starting point?…
Read MoreBreaking Barefoot News, at a newsstand near you.
Finally: Harvard docs show bare feet are best.
Dr. Lieberman, the Harvard professor who helped develop the “Running Man” theory of evolution, has just published a blockbuster of a study. It’s on the cover of Nature magazine, and makes this conclusion: runners in shoes suffer THREE TIMES the collision forces of barefoot runners. check out the video: Nature: The Barefoot Professor
Read More