‘The Barefoot Professor’ extols the virtues of running with ‘minimalist footwear’

MARBLEHEAD – Irene Davis, whose nickname is “The Barefoot Running Professor,” s hared details of how to run without shoes – or with minimalist footwear – to an audience of about 30 at the Marblehead JCC on Wednesday.”As long as you have the ability to run recreationally in shoes and are relatively healthy, you can do it barefoot regardless of foot type,” said Dr. Davis, who has recently joined Harvard Medical School and Spaulding Rehab. “That’s a very broad sweep. There are always exceptions. I want people to run and do something that’s part of what they’re made of.”Barefoot running has gained interest recently with the publication of journalist Chris McDougall’s book “Born to Run,” about the Tarahumara Indians of Chihuahua, Mexico, which Dr. Davis called “an awesome book, a great, fun story to read.” Footwear companies have developed minimalist shoes such as the Nike Free 3.0, which debuted in 2005.Yet as Dr. Davis noted, barefoot running means more than just shedding your shoes or buying minimalist ones. There is a form associated with doing it properly – a form that incorporates the ball of the foot as opposed to the heel, which she showed through a video presentation of McDougall as he ran.”It’s barely a forefoot landing,” she said. “He’s coming in on a lateral point on the ball of the foot, with the heel gently coming down. He pushes off and the heel is off the ground when he lands.”Alluding to a 2010 study of Kenyan runners who had never worn shoes (“you can see daylight under his heel”), she said, “Now I’m going to be very brazen. Maybe heel-striking is not a natural way. Seventy percent of runners are shod heel-strikers. If you take your shoes off, you will not land on your heels – it hurts. There is not enough heel cushion. If you want to land on your heels walking, fine. But running? To me, it’s a real easy sell.”Citing graphs and pie charts (her PowerPoint presentation totaled 84 slides), Dr. Davis not only described the benefits of the barefoot approach, she also warned of health risks associated with a shod, heel-striking style.”When you land,” she said of runners, “there is a shockwave from your foot to your head” – and, she added, “Not surprisingly, the leg takes the brunt of it. It’s where the majority of impact goes.”She said that rear-foot striking can lead to increased impacts and tibial stress fractures and added, “That guy at the gym pounding the ground into submission? I guarantee he has high tibial shock.” In contrast, the barefoot running style she promoted features “footfalls a lot quieter.”For those intrigued by barefoot running, she recommended a slow transition.”You can do really anything, as long as you’re doing it in some sort of progressive way,” she said. “I started with a quarter-mile. You just need to take it slow. You have to listen to your body and protect your feet in the cold, heat and dark. On grass, you don’t know what’s underneath. I would rather run on pavement.”There were indications that the barefoot running method is not a cure-all; she cited “all the barefoot runners getting stress fractures,” and said, “Pain is a gift. It’s your body’s way of saying, ‘This is too much for this tissue right now.'” She also warned people not to run barefoot if they feel “any loss of sensation.” And she said, “You don’t want joint pain, bone pain – back off, take it slower.”For those who may wish to compromise by purchasing minimalist footwear, Dr. Davis said, “I don’t think Vibrams are a magic bullet.” She said that she only wears them in winter.Reflecting the interest in barefoot running, Dr. Davis has addressed the topic 25 times in the past six months.”I think it’s the best way to run,” she said. “Today was the best day to run barefoot. You don’t avoid puddles, you look for them.”