If the minimalist running shoe movement has prompted you to ditch
your running shoes, a new study might make you reconsider the benefits
of lacing up.
Researchers at the University of Colorado in Boulder analyzed 12
barefoot runners on a treadmill wearing lightweight shoes or nothing but
lead strips taped to their bare feet. The results surprised them:
Running barefoot provided no physiological benefit in efficiency. In
fact, runners used 4 percent more energy per step when running barefoot.
“Running barefoot offers no metabolic advantage over running in
lightweight, cushioned shoes,” the researchers conclude in the study,
which appears in the current issue of Medicine & Science in Sports
& Exercise.
Previous studies have indicated that running barefoot is easier because there’s no added weight.
