Earl Fee speaks for the feet — and doubts trendy ‘minimalist’ shoes
Earl Fee, WR man, author
Earl continues:
To prepare my feet for these racing flats, I did a lot of exercise of the feet for several weeks to increase their strength and flexibility, including a lot of twisting and turning in every direction every morning: foot movements describing alphabet, standing on one foot, etc. My reasoning: With stronger, flexible feet, one may not need the support of orthotics, or could use lighter shoes with less support.
However, things did not go well. After about five somewhat intense training sessions of indoor running in the lighter shoes, I developed very sore inner lower calf muscles (not shin splints) on both legs ─ and in addition a painful problem on top of my left foot. On consultation with my physiotherapist and chiropractor, I learned this was due mainly to a lack of support ─ the arches collapsing on each step, more particularly in the left foot. So I resorted to training in my orthotics for a few weeks and then back to the heavier more supportive Cumulus training shoes. These problems have set me back a few weeks in my training.
This recent experience indicates to me that many others will have similar problems with ‘minimalist’ shoes and particularly running barefoot. Minimalist shoes have little or no support and usually weigh about 4 to 7 ounces per foot. Some may have success with minimalist shoes; it all depends a lot on your running mechanics, type of feet and feet condition.
With minimalist shoes, it is prudent to proceed gradually over a period of five weeks or more of intermittent sessions (at least once a week) to adjust feet and leg muscles. Your body will tell you when you are completely adjusted. Barefoot running requires even a longer adjustment period.
In my mind, barefoot running is impractical considering the rough terrain and the weather extremes ─ it’s asking for trouble even after the callouses have been built up ─ and not worth all the hype. Recently, I was aghast when a 57-year-old friend told me he had a plan for a marathon in Alaska in his bare feet; although he is an accomplished runner, I thought he was suffering from some mental malaise. However, occasional barefoot running for shorter distances on grass or a synthetic soccer field is a good idea to strengthen the feet.
The following runners would not have success with minimalist shoes or racing flats: a new runner, those with a history of overuse injuries, those with weak feet and/or weak calf muscles, a heavyweight, and particularly those with poor running mechanics.
Lack of support can result in injuries to muscles, ligaments and knee joints. On the other hand, younger, biomechanically gifted/light runners without the above other characteristics may have success with minimalist shoes. Hence, it appears that only a small percentage of runners would meet all these characteristics.
I have not given up on the lighter shoes for training. My solution is to use more supportive neutral shoes that weigh only about 10 ounces per (size 12) foot compared to racing flats that have little support or extreme minimalist shoes with no support.
For example, the Mirage II Lite, a light-weight trainer, meets my requirements ─ it is light with a lot of support. This type of shoe also has the advantage of a lower heel, typical of minimalist shoes, with the advantage of landing more forward on the foot. After wearing these shoes intermittently for several weeks to further condition my feet and legs, I have found no problem. Over time, this lighter shoe will help to further strengthen my feet. Also, a recent study at University of Colorado confirms my compromise solution: running in 9- or 10-ounce shoes uses the same energy as barefoot running.
And 4-ounce minimalist shoes use 1% less energy compared to barefoot running. Basically, the cushioning in running shoes absorbs some of the impact energy ─ so muscles don’t have to work as hard. I would recommend to other runners ─ this middle-of-the-road solution between minimalist and the usual heavier (12 to 14 ounce) trainer shoes. Also when purchasing running shoes: Take a small scale to measure the shoe weight.
See Earl’s new website www.earlfee.com for books: 100 Years Young the Natural Way (in three parts Body, Mind and Spirit) to live a longer higher quality life ─ and The Complete Guide to Running (color coded) to be your own running coach.
18 Responses
While some will argue that this comment is biased (I’m the CEO of http://www.InvisibleShoe.com — makers of “Barefoot…PLUS!” sandals), my intention is not to convince anyone that Earl’s anti-minimalist/barefoot stance is incorrect, but that it’s an example of a bad argument against minimalist/barefoot.
In fact, I don’t even have to state my position to point out the flaws in his reasoning.
Granted, one significant reason I care to do this is my involvement in the industry. But, nonetheless, I’ve never been a fan of an un-fair fight 😉
Let’s start with a simple one:
He conflates minimalist and barefoot. Minimalist is NOT the same as barefoot. I won’t get into whether one is better than another, but to wear minimalist shoes and then say “avoid barefoot” is a non-sequitur (even though the minimalist shoe companies want you to believe it’s not). In fact, most barefoot coaches, myself included, will caution people AGAINST going to a racing flat first, since it allows you to continue using your habitual gait in a shoe that’s not designed to tolerate your habitual footstrike pattern.
The argument for going totally bare, even if you want to eventually run minimalist, is that you don’t get enough feedback from the ground when you’re in minimalist shoes… so you don’t get the information (sensations) that would inspire the requisite change in gait. A study by the ACE on Vibram FiveFingers showed as much — the amount of padding in those shoes led to runners NOT changing their gait after three weeks of running.
Bill Sands at Mesa State College routinely videotapes runners in various shoes, and shows how switching footwear can dramatically alter stride and biomechanics.
And this brings us to:
Even though he gives good advice about starting slowly (though the 5-week transition period is totally arbitrary — some make the transition faster; others, slower), he didn’t follow his own advice and started with five intense training sessions. Every barefoot coach BEGS people to start with something as short as a 200m run. Minimalist/barefoot running often requires a change of form which will not occur immediately (for most). Earl concedes that this is the better way to proceed, but still suggests the problem is with minimalist/barefoot, not with the way he transitioned (or, more accurately, did not transition).
In a related note, there’s no amount of “foot strengthening” exercises that you can do to “prepare” to go minimalist, and no coach out there who suggests there is. In my workshops I say, “the best exercise for minimal/barefoot is to go minimal/barefoot… but ONLY A LITTLE BIT AT FIRST… you wouldn’t walk into the gym and immediately try to do 1000 calf raises, so don’t do the same when you run.”
His suggestion to run on grass or softer surfaces is also contrary to every barefoot coach’s. We all know that running on a soft surface is akin to taking the padding in your shoe (that we’re admonishing) and placing it in the ground. Most new barefoot runners, when put on soft surfaces, heel strike and resort to their familiar gait, as if they’re still in shoes. Barefoot coaches know that the better surface is a hard, smooth one.
His ideas about who could/should run barefoot or minimalist are based on… well, I don’t know what. Suffice it to say, I have hundreds of reports from the exact types of runners he cautions against barefoot who have had nothing but great experiences (more about the value of anecdote in a moment). That’s not to say some people have unpleasant experiences. But as far as we’ve been able to tell there is no correlation between any of the factors he mentions and success/failure in barefoot running.
His idea that barefoot running builds up callouses is misguided. Every experienced barefoot runner is callous free, and every barefoot coach says that callouses are a sign of improper form.
Unless the physiotherapist was able to videotape Earl in his racing flats (and not on a treadmill), her/his diagnosis was a guess. And unless the physio knew what proper “barefoot form” looked like, even an accurate assessment of the performance of his arch might have been “downstream” from the real problem (e.g. heel striking or overstriding).
He misrepresented the CU study which does not actually show that 9-10 ounce shoes are equivalent to barefoot. Aside from methodological problems (how they attached weights to the barefoot runners’ feet, for example), the variance in results and the small cohort for the study make it a good jumping off point, but not conclusive.
I will be the first to admit — and one of the only ones who has a vested interest in minimal/barefoot to do so — that the science is not yet in about whether barefoot/minimal is better/worse than shod running.
And I’m the first to admit that if Earl’s experience had been life-changing and wonderful and he recommended barefoot to everyone, that he would still be making a bad argument based on a too-small sample size (one).
In other words, even though I have reasons to believe that barefoot/minimal may be better under many circumstances (I wear spikes when I sprint), my goal is to encourage a thoughtful discussion of the topic rather than one riddled with rhetorical problems.
I’m glad Earl found a solution for him that works. I wish he hadn’t used it to posit the argument he made.
There’s more to being barefoot than just taking off your shoes.
Well put steven, im note a bare foot or minimalist runner myself, although ive been interested in it lately, which is actually how I find this site, and I was glad to read your response to this, it mirrored much of what I felt was off about his article, but being far more experienced than me, you where able to share it much better.
I, like a multitude of athletes around the world, have great admiration for Earl Fee and his huge successes over many years.
I wish I had heeded his advice concerning knees, but alas that’s another story.
Sometimes the issue of shoes is confused by success in competition. It’s not always the shoes. To illustrate that point, I offer the following story.
Years ago I had purchased a pair of Air Nike racing flats not long before a Corporate Challenge meet in Albuquerque, but had not trained much in them before hand. I remember floating toward the finish as the anchor of the 4×400 relay, like on a cloud and thinking “What great shoes ! ” ….
However, later I recalled a similar feeling many years before and started putting two & two together.
The previous time I had that feeling I had gone to an all-comers meet at Angel Field and (because of a pulled muscle a couple of weeks before) entered my first half-mile race ever. Leading at the 440, I felt that same floating-on-a-cloud feeling, but stepped off the track when I got a side ache mid-way down the backstretch. All those years later, I realized that the race was preceded by the same circumstance. Not the pulled muscle, but alchohol. I almost never embibe, but inadvertently had (in the first instance) drank the reminants in a champagne bottle to please my aunt who said it represented memories too fond to be dumped down the drain. In the second instance, I had prior to the race (again, with only a light competition meal on my stomach) finished off almost a whole bottle of “dainy” cider, without realizing then that it was hard cider.
Alchohol is considered to be a depressant and as such is not a banned substance. However, it’s also a pain killer. For short distances like the 400, it is great, but for longer distances it causes problems, hence my stepping off the track when “leading Lazlo Tabori”, which a friend revealed to me in short order. Another successful friend once told me that he always drank one beer just before his 120 hurdles competition, because it provided the relaxation that he seemed to need.
So, I don’t think it was the shoes. If so, it seems that they never performed so well ever again. Did they go flat after that one race ? I don’t think so. I think I had mis-identified the source of my success.
A few years later I ran my first-ever 300 hurdles race. I remember purposely drinking some orange juice that had turned. Although disappointed with the time (short of what I had hoped for), I was later informed that it was the second best time for the that season by just a few hundredths of a second.
So, it’s not necessarily the shoes.
However, as Earl noted, body mechanics is also an important factor. Light shoes are probably fairly important for performance in distance running, but not necessarily for sprinting. Because the legs are peculiar folded pendulums, resonances occur in the repetitive motions of the arms, legs and body. It seems that the shoes ideal for some body types may not be so for others. One wishes to optimize the combination of stride and turn-over. For some, a somewhat heavier shoe may more advantageous than a lighter shoe. For sprints, it’s not a matter of conservation of energy, but rather peaking power.
Another factor is the how the feet hold up. I have sometimes commented to my friends that putting in the miles before a long race isn’t just a matter of conditioning the body, but also the feet. That’s also important for sprinters. Once, rather than my well-used spikes, I just took some new racing flats to a meet in Spain. I made the mistake of running a few hundred yards, back and forth several times, between the warm-up area and the stadium. Then I realized that I contending with several blisters.
The best shoe advice I ever got was from Dr. Parks in Albuquerque. I had felt a severe pain in my foot when coming off the curve in a 200 and hobbled and hopped all the way to the finish. Dr. Parks advised me to wear Spinco full-sole arch supports, not necessarily when running, but particularly in my regular shoes all the time. Another factor in beating that heel spur was to quit practicing starts. I had never had a good start anyway, so why bother.
Us old guys all have our opinions, but I like to think that there’s a bit of wisdom hiding in each opinion.
Ron K.
Oh, and I forgot the most obvious point in the discussion of racing flats and minimalist footwear… up until ~40 years ago, EVERY running shoe was minimalist and nobody wore orthotics. But we never heard these same complaints or admonitions against minimalism then, nor were there editorials pining for cushioning and artificial support.
And further, when running shoes became popular these same arguments were made against them (they were only good for certain types of people, doctors saying their waiting rooms were full of the recently converted, etc.).
I wear my Vibrams on the track for my mile warmup. I also wear them on the street. I find they strengthen my feet. I’m a big guy, so I don’t wear them running on the roads.
I started vaulting when I was almost 60. when I began training, I went to a sports dr/chiropractor who was ans Olympic athlete. He helped keep me in check in my training. I would question everything and he would explain his reasons. I asked him if he thought I should use orthodics, and his reply was no. I had previously over the years had difficulty with knee alignment, and almost every chiropractor or coach would suggest orthodics. So I kept badgering this dr if I should have them. Well I guess he got tired of saying no and gave in and said ” If you want them, then we will make the custom molds and get your prescription orthodics ordered.” This by no means is meant to be conclusive proof, but within the last 8 months, I removed my orthodics and focused on correct body and knee alignment, the result was amazing my body adjusted, like a competent jazz musician who reacts and improvises to the music. Seeing that I had no structural abnormalities. I took a leap of faith , and listened and trusted my instincts and inner physician. My dr was right, but I had to prove it to my self, the orthodics were just a band aid. It is not an one size fits all world in the realm of foot support and alignment I run to train for my specific event,and use a regular training shoe of neutral description, and jump spikes for vaulting. so far so good. Earl is a hero and mentor to me and my masters track buddies, his situation is different than mine, Thank you Earl, Steven, and Richard, for your insight on this much debated subject.
I am not a scientist, but common sense tells me that the vast majority of human history probably entailed walking and running barefoot on natural surfaces such as dirt, grass and sand. Fortunately or unfortuantely –depending on your point of view–it did not take long for our early hunter-gatherer ancestors to figure out that protecting their feet against rocky surfaces and loose stones would result in less pain & injury.
Surfaces such as asphalt and concrete are manmade and as such, probably require manmade cushioning to counter-balance their effects on our bodies. I am not saying that humans could not evolve and thrive while running on hard surfaces, but I am saying that it will probably be more than a few thousand years before human feet & toenails are on par with mountain goat hooves or the pads & claws of the snow leopard and cheetah.
Steven, I’m glad you mentioned that you wear spikes when you sprint because I was about to mention that a very important detail has been left out. Earl Fee runs track. If I’m not mistaken, he doesn’t run anything more than 800 meters. So, he probably wears track spikes. I can see how barefoot running applies to “jogging” and maybe racing longer road/trail races but I don’t think it applies to the sprints. Is there a way to add spikes to my toes and balls of my feet? (Joke, btw). During summer races or training, how does a barefoot runner deal with a blistering hot track?
And, why is it that I can’t find the Mirage II Lite running shoe? I found the Mirage but not the lite version.
I found the shoes. Earl Fee says they are actually the Saucony Mirage II. Thanks Earl for the info and for the training tips.
Fidel, when the road gets hot, I run in Invisible Shoes (the ones that Steven sells, but I have a different lacing pattern). Otherwise, I alternate between them, Vibrams, and barefoot (Vibrams, when it’s cold).
Fidel,
Spikes are, technically, a minimalist shoe.
There are plenty of fast barefoot runners (that is, not “joggers”), but when you’re trying to maximize speed, spikes are imperative for a number of reasons.
What I do in the summer is wear Invisible Shoes (www.invisibleshoe.com)… there’s a university study coming out in a few weeks showing that IS are identical to being barefoot, but with a layer of protection.
And, actually, I wear my IS all the time, all year long. Once I’m at anything faster than 80% of full speed (at almost-50, I run a 12 second 100m), I’m in spikes or spikeless spikes.
I have to disagree with Steven i was a barefoot runner in HS/college, had excellent form and had callouses. The friction between skin and hard surface will cause callouses.I did most of my track interval work barefoot and when you are running at speed your footstrike will slide slightly(that was one reason for spikes)upon contact with the ground and again as you push off. It happens very quickly but there is tremendous force involved.
For Stephen to make a blanket statement about only barefoot runners with bad form have callouses pretty much negates anything else he has to say. In addition since he has a financial stake in promoting the benefits of this activity i hardly think his is an objective view.
@Steven you also make the statement that up until forty years ago all running shoes were minimalist.
Yes exactly true, Then again in those days many runners stopped running while they were still quite young. Could it be that amongst everything else, most people found that they could not continue to run because of the strain that running in these shoes put on their bodies. And just maybe the surge we saw in running in general and older runners continuing to run was due to the tremendous improvements in shoes that allowed people to run far beyond their early twenties?
I can remember how few people you would see on a run in the 60’s. If i saw one person a week it was alot and usually a runner from a local school Now i see maybe 10 people running everyday. All different ages and body types. Judging from your picture you probably don’t know what running was like 40 years ago and how few people did it. How long it took to break in a shoe, the callouses you got on your heel before some genius decided to pad the heel. The stone bruises you would get on your heel wearing the minimalist Nike Waffle racer on a hard rocky downhill course. The blisters you get between your toes after a long barefoot run on a hot beach. Running was no picnic in the old days and that is why it was a young mans exclusive domain. I never met an older runner back then. I only read about them like reading about a duck billed playtapuss, Hal Higdon,John Kelly. I can’t recall any others.
I’m 53 and getting competitive in track and field recently. I had plantar fasciitis and lower back pains wearing orthotics and heeled cushioned running shoes for over 30 years. In 2009, I stopped running. But after reading about barefoot-style running, I ditched my orthotics and traditional running shoes – wore Vibram Five Fingers initially. Took about 9 months before I fully strengthened my feet, body, and mind.
Fast forward to 2012. I’ve tested over 100 minimal shoes and run 5 to 6 days a week wearing minimal shoes and one day barefoot. Shoes are just one of the tools in your toolbox. Barefoot-style running form is crucial. I can run in any running shoe now (cushioned, heeled or not) without any back pains or PF flareups. No orthotics forever. I used to be a heel striker too. Changing my form made a HUGE difference.
Minimal shoes can cause injuries if not done right. I had to go a trail and error transition plan in 2009 because there was nothing out there. The resources (see Natural Running Center at http://naturalrunningcenter.com/) are available NOW. Read them all and consult your doctor before starting.
My life has changed for the better. Sustainable running and healthy aging is the mantra for me. I’m competitive in track and field and qualified for the National Senior Games. I hope to make All-American in at least one track AND one field event by August 2013!!! The competition never ends!
Co-Founder/Shoe Director, Natural Running Center, http://naturalrunningcenter.com/
Chief Reviewer, Minimalist Running Shoes, http://minimalistrunningshoes.org/
Actually, Bob, I was running 40 years ago (I’m about to turn 50). I have vivid memories of getting my first pair of Waffle Trainers when I was about 12. They were dreamy… they had some serious toe spring that, as soon as you leaned forward, put you up on your forefoot… as a sprinter, I LOVED that.
BTW, there are lots of runners who grew up in running shoes who quit when they were young. Pounding, minimalist or not, can wear on someone 😉
Of course I agree that callouses are a function of friction. Rather than argue about form/friction, I’ll say that out of all the accomplished barefoot runners I know, whose form I can check on video, none of us have callouses.
That said, I don’t do anything over 80% totally barefoot. I suppose that if I did, I might have callouses… but I also wouldn’t be running as fast, so I don’t do that.
I’ve tried barefoot running but it’s not for me. I live in Oregon and it gets cold running through puddles. I also don’t like the pain of landing on a tree root. Ouch! I also have flat feet and need some support. I’m also a sprinter and can’t imagine doing 10×200’s barefoot. Just me, though.
I run barefoot all the time, repeats from the grill to the cooler! First few very fast …..
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