Fleet Feet Mahwah NJ Blog: Barefoot Running & The Latest Research

For those of you who have followed this blog, I've written more than once about running's latest craze, barefoot/minimalist running. You can scroll down to see what my opinion's been in past blogs regarding this topic.
While I have yet to drink the barefoot Kool-Aid, I've always maintained that I am keeping an open mind, to allow more research to surface. Furthermore, I've stated that we at Fleet Feet Mahwah, won't fall "prey" to any type of thinking or fad, solely in the name of making a buck. With the volume of runner's we serve at Fleet Feet Mahwah that would be an easy thing to do! We have taken the posture that protecting and serving what's in the best interest of our customer is our number one priority! With that being said, I'd like to put forth some new research on this still very hot and controversial topic.

Dr. Joseph Hamill is professor of bio mechanics at UMass, Amherst. He is a recognized and widely respected expert on bio mechanics. He also acts as a consultant to a major footwear manufacturer and was in attendance at their very recent sales meeting.

At the meeting, Dr Hamill was asked for his opinion on barefoot running based on the research he has done. As one observer recounted, he "passionately" pointed out that his research is not confirming the multitude of claims being made in the name of, not only barefoot running, but Pose and Chi methods as well. He particularly decries the lack of supporting research for any of the claims being made by proponents of those methods and for their refusal to answer the questions of professional researchers who have conflicting findings.

His arguments against the running community changing entirely to barefoot or minimalist running are as follows:

Evolution of increased calcaneus (heel) size and calcaneal (heel) fat pad indicates heel strike is desirable for most runners.
Published research shows that heel/toe footfall is more metabolically efficient of distance running
The foot needs protection from most common running surfaces
Prevalence of heel striking in runners is too common to be a recent evolutionary change due to footwear design
Strengthening intrinsic foot muscles through running alone is unlikely to occur because they are internal to the foot.
Changing footfall patterns likely only trades one set of injuries (knee/foot) for another (Achilles/calf/metatarsals)
Barefoot running does not remove the initial impact peak, but doesn't reduce the overall GRF (ground reaction force) so that soft tissues must attenuate impacts rather than the skeletal system.
Research shows that surfaces do in fact direct the footfall when running barefoot. Runners running on hard surfaces will run on the forefoot, while the same runners when barefoot on soft surfaces resort to mid-foot or heel/toe.

This research raises interesting and important facts indeed, and Dr. Hamill laments that his research, and that of others, drawing the same conclusions, is largely being ignored by media outlets. What's even more disappointing and distressing from my point of view is that the shoe manufacturer who is Dr. Hamills client, appears to be ignoring his claims as they pursue a minimalist shoe of their own!

The bottom line is that minimalist running, still should be reserved for a small segment of the running community. Those runners should also not choose a minimalist shoe as their everyday shoe but, use it as a supplement to a traditional running shoe suitable for their gait.

Dr. Joseph Hamills Credentials: