Spoke to another friend today about my running goals, and he too mentioned that he was trying to learn the barefoot gait, and eventually go shoeless.
We shared a common acquaintance who ran everyday barefoot in the mid afternoon sun, something I still find quite incredible.
Makes me wonder though, how is it possible that so many of us learnt to walk and run the 'wrong' way? If we were really made to land forefoot first, where did all the non-runners pick up heel striking? I've been observing passersby for a week or so, and even those slippered and sandalled walk heel first.
I don't recall at any point having modern education teach us to heel strike. The only incidence would be my mom who always chided me to land heel first when I landed with my forefoot as a child. Was it as simple as just parents passing it on to children?
If you look at footwear around you, which I have been doing so the past week, many slippers are equally primitive with no heel and arch support, and it doesn't seem like the fashionable Converse shoes many wear have them either. Does that mean even a little bit of cushioning leads to bad form? Or is heel and arch support so prevalent that nobody in modern society can escape it?
Curious questions indeed. All I can seem to think of is how much a killing those self-labelled barefoot shoe companies must be making. Hopefully the notion will reach the mainstream sooner, with more companies making new or rebranding existing shoes, and finally creating minimalist shoes with minimalist prices.
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