If Ethiopias’ Abebe Bikila is the god father of barefoot running(He won 1960 Rome Olympic marathon running barefoot) then South African Zola Budd is the god mother of barefoot running.
South African running sensation Zola Budd was a die hard devotee of the art of running barefoot. Budd trained and raced barefoot.
In 1984 aged 17 she set a New world record in 5000 meters while running barefoot.
Back then running barefoot was seen as a crazy idea but now experts seem to tell us running barefoot is not a crazy idea after all. In fact that is how we should be running.
From Science daily
Scientists have found that those who run barefoot, or in minimal footwear, tend to avoid “heel-striking,” and instead land on the ball of the foot or the middle of the foot. In so doing, these runners use the architecture of the foot and leg and some clever Newtonian physics to avoid hurtful and potentially damaging impacts, equivalent to two to three times body weight, that shod heel-strikers repeatedly experience.
written by Constantine Njeru
\\ tags: Abebe Bikila, Architecture, Barefoot, Crazy Idea, Devotee, Die Hard, Ethiopia, Footwear, God Father, God Mother, Marathon Running, New World Record, Newtonian Physics, olympic marathon, Rome, Runners, running technique, Scientists, Sensation, Strikers, Three Times, Zola Budd
There is a lot of news flying around claiming that running barefoot is better than running on some fancy running shoes. Although am yet to try running barefoot there are many runners out there who swear by barefoot running, at least on grass. Running barefoot on tarmac is a big NO!
Research on Barefoot running
The latest research on barefoot running has been done by a team from Harvard University. The team studied runners from the United States and Kenya as they ran on tracks.
The researchers found that while people run in a variety of ways, most barefoot runners tend to “forefoot strike — land first on the outer ball of the foot before bringing down the heel.
Advantage / Benefit of Barefoot Running
By contrast, more than 75 percent of runners who wear running shoes land on their heels first. The study suggests this is more likely to cause running injury.
Detailed information is published on harvard univesity website on barefoot running.
written by Constantine Njeru
\\ tags: Advantage, Barefoot, Benefit, Grass, Harvard University, Heels, Kenya, Runners, running injury, Running shoes, Strike Land, United States
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