Running Notes

And Human Evolution

  1. Dennis M. Bramble1 & Daniel E. Lieberman 2004 article in Nature
  2. Travis Rayne Pickeringa and Henry T. Bunna responce to above
  3. The evolution of endurance running and the tyranny of ethnography: A reply to Pickering and Bunn (2007)

barefoot running

Nature 463, 531-535(28 January 2010) Foot strike patterns and collision forces in habitually barefoot versus shod runners abstract/htmlpdf

I'll try to take some pictures of the setup soon.

Shoe Attempts

As it gets colder and damper I am trying some things to extend the time I can use my VFFs:

VFFs & Yaktrax

This works great! Just put the yaktrax on over your VFFs. Newer yaktrax don't work quite as well as they added a reinforcing bit of rubber that prevents you from pulling them on so that they run between your toes, but even so, they work great for when the conditions are icy.

Bog shoes over VFFS

I am playing with putting on a pair of my bog shoes over my FiveFingers but I'm not sure if this is any better than running in bogs with shoe liners (the thick sock like ones).

Here is the bottom after the walk/run:

Simple Leather Sandals

In preparation for running at Pennsic this year I made some leather huaraches and ran in those. They worked out quite well. I do use socks with them, I wear them with a pair of Injinji bamboo sock liners and then a thick conventional sock. By leaving the conventional socks a bit loose in the front I have had no problem using them with the strap between the big toe. Leather thickness does make a big difference. I think what I am using is 12 or 15 oz veg tan. It is some I had left over from my armor making days so it something I bought a long time ago and so don't know the weight for sure.

Accelerometer Study

Now that it is warmer I have been attaching an accelerometer1) to myself to see about impact forces. So far I am still gathering data, mostly by attaching it under the strap of the VFFs on the inside of my left foot below my ankle. Early results seem to confirm lower g-force when running barefoot than when walking with normal heal strike.

Socks

A few folks have asked, so here is where I have purchased toe socks:

http://www.injinji.com/tetratsok/performance.htm injinji Performance Micro Toe Sock

http://www.sockdreams.com/_shop/pages/socks_cat_CategoryID_91.php sockdreams - lots of toe socks

Alternatively, carfully cutting slots in the front of tube socks works nicely as well:2)

(pictures soon)

1)
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=248
2)
slit tube socks is what I am wearing in the bog shoe pictures