Because I am primarily a minimalist shod runner, I use barefoot running training to help improve my forefoot running form. As we know nothing corrects your form better and quickly a running barefoot.
I love helping runners run naturally, this includes getting them to run barefoot little by little each day to help improve their forefoot strike and strengthen their feet and legs. But I didn’t learn the mechanics of barefoot running on my own.
Here are my favorite barefoot running websites that helped me get to where I am today, as an injury-free forefoot runner than can run barefoot or in running shoes without cushioning without any problems.
Best Barefoot Running Websites
Here are the barefoot advocates that influenced me the most and who have created amazing, original content on the basics of going barefoot.
Barefoot Runners Society – I think it’s really important to build a barefoot running community to find support and The Barefoot Runners Society is the headquarters for this because they have a massive forum where you can ask questions and have them answered in many helpful ways by highly experienced barefoot runners.
Run Bare – Run Bare is operated and owned by Michael Sandler and Jessica Lee, and I would strongly suggest that you read Michael Sandlers journey of becoming a barefoot runner. What I love about their site is that they discuss the importance of “earthing” because in shoes, we are ungrounded, according to Sandler. Running and walking barefoot cleanses the body by allowing free-radicals drain into the earth.
Barefoot is Legal – If you want a curator of good quality credible information on barefoot running, then barefootislegal.org is your one stop shop as it covers everything from the health benefits of barefoot running to common myths on the matter to the mental health benefits of barefooting (i.e. earthing).
BarefootRunning.com – Learning barefoot running can be very isolating in that there’s a lack of highly experienced barefoot runners out there who truly know what they are doing. Luckily, BarefootRunning.com, is the best place to start if you are a beginner. The site was founded by Barefoot Ken Bob, who has a huge reach in the barefoot running community and he has been running barefoot since 1997 (way before the thought of Born to Run). He also has a massive forum that covers all sorts of barefoot-related topics.
StevenRobbinsMD.com – Since the mid-1980’s, Dr. Robbins has published many articles on the health benefits of walking barefoot and the destructive effects of cushioned footwear. He is THE barefoot expert and if you need more convincing on how amazing going barefoot is, all of his studies are fully accessible on his site and they will help you understand the role of barefoot walking in leading to better balance, better foot function and efficient running mechanics.
Barefoot Running at Harvard – This site showcases Dr. Daniel Lieberman’s work on barefoot running and it is a great insight on how cushioned running shoes alters foot strike mechanics during running as compared with barefoot running. It also presents a pointed argument about the benefits of running barefoot on hard surfaces vs softer surfaces.
Christopher McDougall – McDougalls site discusses the detrimental affects of running shoes on the human form, especially when we run. To go along with that, he talks a lot about tribes around the world that run long distances in minimalist shoes or barefoot and these runners never get injured. He also features the insights from professional coaches and sport scientists on how barefoot running is better for training.
If you have no clue on where to begin with barefoot running, these sites will surely exceed your expectations and they will help you more than just doing it on your own.
More From Run Forefoot:
Should you learn forefoot running on a treadmill?
How listening to music while running may be helpful
Heel strike vs forefoot strike – how they differ mechanically
How cushioned running shoes contribute to injury
Bretta Riches
BSc Neurobiology; MSc Biomechanics candidate, ultra minimalist runner & founder of RunForefoot. I was a heel striker, always injured. I was inspired by the great Tirunesh Dibaba to try forefoot running. Now, I'm injury free. This is why I launched Run Forefoot, to advocate the health & performance benefits of forefoot running and to raise awareness on the dangers of heel striking, because the world needs to know.
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