WASHINGTON — Harvard biologist and runner Daniel Lieberman had a simple question: “How did people run without shoes?” The answer he got is: much better.
At least running barefoot seems better for the feet, producing far less impact stress compared with feet shod in fancy, expensive running shoes, according to a study by Lieberman in today’s issue of the journal Nature.
The research was funded in part by a company that makes minimalist running shoes that try to mimic barefoot running. But Lieberman said the company had no say in the design of the study and didn’t influence the outcome.
People who grew up running barefoot — such as boys in Kenya’s Rift Valley province, which is known for endurance-running champs — tend to land mostly on the front or middle of the foot when they touch ground. And when these runners do use shoes, they continue to run in that way.
People who have always worn cushioned running shoes usually hit the ground heel first, with the mass of the entire leg, nearly 7 percent of the body. That’s more than three times the weight of impact for barefoot running.
For runners in cushioned shoes, “it is literally like someone hitting you on the heel with a hammer,” Lieberman said. But he said that “the way in which barefoot runners run is more or less collision-free.”
