Essi Glah, 12, a Lancaster Mennonite Junior High School cross-country team member, has run barefoot all of her life. She moved here a year ago from Ethiopia. Essi will continue to train barefoot, with the guidance of coach Mark Gallagher, but will be required to wear running shoes for cross-country meets.
The sole of the Vibram Five Fingers running shoes is made of a patented rubber compound sole that molds to the shape of your foot. "Barefoot" runners, such as Gary Brown, left, and Megan Conklin, right, are buying the shoes as a way to protect their feet, yet still feel like they are running shoeless.
The sole of the Vibram Five Fingers running shoes is made of a patented rubber compound sole that molds to the shape of your foot.
Megan Conklin and Gary Brown run at Centerville Middle School while wearing Vibram Five Fingers running shoes.
Some local runners are shedding their shoes and going back to their roots, er, foots? — yet, according to some local experts, it may not be good in the long run.
However, many runners, avid and hobbyists, are following in the footsteps of Pequea resident Chris McDougall, the author of the national bestseller "Born to Run," on roads, trails and tracks.
Some footwear companies have introduced "barefoot" shoes, such as the Vibram Five Fingers (think toe sock shoes), and minimal shoes, which have very little sole and padding, such as the Nike Freeze.
The Vibram shoes, which sell for $65 and up, are showing up not only on runners, but on those who want the "barefoot" experience without being barefoot. The fitted, toed shoes have a rubber compound sole that allows the base of the shoe to conform to the movement of the foot, mimicking barefoot walking.
Proponents say the way the foot strikes the ground in barefoot running is safer and a more natural way to run.
When running in shoes, the shoes are designed so that the heel strikes the running surface first. Barefoot runners say this is not natural and the cushioned sole of a running shoe slows the messages to the brain that prepare the body for the impact. Barefoot runners adapt their strides to hit mid- or front-foot first, sending an instant message to the brain, they say, which enables the body to accept the impact.
Opponents, some of them being podiatrists and avid runners, say that the foot and body need the protection and support a shoe provides.
Dr. Maria Kasper of Martin Foot and Ankle, 2112 Harrisburg Pike, said barefoot running — or even barefoot walking — is something that we, as a culture, are not conditioned for.
"Our feet are not used to the impact of running barefoot and I am not sure that it wouldn't be doing more harm than good to try something like that without proper training," Kasper said.
However, it does not have to be an all-or-nothing mentality and the "barefoot" practice can be used to supplement a regular running regimen, according to Kasper.
Drew Nesbitt, a local runner and physical therapist for Hartz Physical Therapy in Lititz and Lancaster, thinks there are some benefits to shedding the shoe, but it is not for everyone and should not be done without education.
"You can't just kick off your shoes and start running," Nesbitt said. "There is a conditioning that should be done ahead of time, and the running is something that is worked into."
Nesbitt will highlight barefoot running during "Putting Your Best Foot Forward" Tuesday, Aug. 31, at 7 p.m. at Hartz Physical Therapy, 90 Good Drive. During the running clinic, Mark Amway will discuss new innovations in running footwear and physical therapists will perform free screenings.
According to Kasper, barefoot running has not been studied enough to know its effects on the body.
"There has not been a definitive study that has been published that says it is a good or a bad thing," Kasper said. "They just state the differences between the two types of running."
The incidence of injury in those who run barefoot is about 80 percent greater than those who wear footwear, according to Kasper.
And yet Megan Conklin, a physical therapist for Hartz, used barefoot running as a way to rehabilitate from a running injury. Seeking help for the injury at a running clinic in Delaware, Conklin fully expected to be told to stop running. Instead, the instructor told her she should be running barefoot.
However, instead of taking time to build up the endurance to running barefoot, Conklin jumped in with both feet and ended up having to take two steps back.
"I did not do it properly and ended up in a lot of pain," Conklin said.
She has started her barefoot training at a slower pace. Wearing her Vibram Five Fingers, or her "monkey feet," Conklin began by walking for 30 minutes and then adding one minute of running barefoot for every 10 minutes of walking. She has been following this regimen for about 10 weeks and is showing no signs of any kind of problems or pain, she said.
Conklin said there are other conditioning activities that should be done to prepare the foot for barefoot walking or running. These include working the intrinsic muscles in the foot and leg by doing single leg activities or calf raises off of a step.
"There are a plethora of problems that can arise if this is not approached the correct way," Kasper said.
Plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendon problems are just two of the problems that Kasper predicts she will be seeing as a result of barefoot running.
Another concern is "infections that could occur from cuts from running on rough and unknown surfaces," Kasper said.
Running shoes, which took off in popularity about 30 years ago, provide protection and support for those who wear them, according to Mark Amway, owner of The Inside Track in Lancaster Shopping Center.
Amway points out that avid racers have been running in minimal shoes for years.
"If you look at someone who is an avid runner, they are most likely not wearing a thick sole to begin with," Amway said.
According to Amway many of the minimal shoes, including the Vibram Five Fingers, were developed for hiking and walking — not for running.
The minimalist shoes that are worn by the runners he works with are used in conjunction with other running shoes.
"They are not meant to be worn every day in training," Amway said.
Amway does admit that there may be some benefits to cross-training and adding some barefoot running to a runner's training regimen. But it should be done in a controlled environment, he said, where the runner is aware of his surroundings and slowly works into the distance that he runs barefoot.
Lancaster Mennonite High School cross country coach Mark Gallagher is planning to do just that with his new junior high school team member, 12-year-old Essi Glah, who recently moved here from Ethiopia.
Essi, who has run barefoot all of her life and never wore a pair of shoes until coming to the States, will have to put on shoes to race for the team, according to division race rules. However, Gallagher will allow her to train barefoot as long as they survey the course and are careful where she runs.
"She is biomechanically programmed to run barefoot and her stride reflects that," Gallagher said. "My concern is that putting on shoes is going to be a challenge as she will have to adjust her stride and that will take some getting used to."
Gallagher does not plan to incorporate the barefoot running into any of the team's training because he feels their "muscles and bones are not used to running that way and it might be detrimental to their training.
"It has to be done gradually and cautiously," Gallagher said. "I do feel it's a trend and will most likely come and go."
Many running training regimens for top athletes have been adopted from other countries and that may be the case regarding barefoot running.
"We have looked to Africa for some other things, like altitude training," Gallagher said. "There may be some validity for serious runners to do it, if they do it the right way.
"But I think the footwear thing is a fad and for the hobbyists it's something different and fun," Gallagher said.