The Barefoot Running Book - Jason Robillard [36]
For barefoot runners, I recommend a handheld flashlight versus a headlamp because the light source for a headlamp is close to your eyes making trail debris difficult to see. If you hold a handheld light near your waist the shadows are cast at an angle that is very easy to see.
If you would prefer to keep your hands free, you can use the common ultrarunner trick of affixing the headlamp to your chest or your waist. This will avoid the problem of poor angles.
If running on roads with little debris, use one or the other. On technical trails, use both at the same time. The more you can illuminate the area ahead of yourself, the greater your ability to avoid trouble. Also remember to wear bright, reflective clothing and try to avoid routes with automobile traffic.
Issue—Treadmills
Treadmills can be an effective tool to help new barefoot and minimalist shoe runners learn proper form. That said, there are a few concerns associated with treadmills.
The deck of most treadmills will heat up as speed and distance increase. This can generate enough heat to actually burn bare feet. If your treadmill does heat up, you have a few options.
You could move from one area of the deck to another. When I began barefoot running, I used this strategy identifying five “areas” on the treadmill deck that would be rotated. Since most of the heat was generated in the area I was running, moving around delayed the buildup of heat. The problem with this tactic was safety as I would occasionally step on the rail of the treadmill causing me to stumble.
The other solution is to wear minimalist shoes. While it is not the best condition for learning good form, it is better than not running.
The second major concern with treadmills has to do with abrasiveness. Most treadmill decks have a tendency to cause cuts and blisters. This seems to be an effect of the physics behind the moving belt making it more difficult to pick your foot up and place it down without experiencing some sort of shearing force.
Normally, barefoot running requires your foot to move vertically. Since the belt is moving, placing your foot straight down will result in some friction. You can overcome this by employing a concept known as “paw-back.” Essentially, you want your foot to be moving backward as it touches the belt. If your foot is moving at the same speed, friction is dramatically reduced.
Unfortunately, paw-back is a difficult skill to master with the best solution being to simply start slow. Begin with walking and build up to slow running. With time, you will be able to tolerate faster speeds.
There is one obvious problem with the use of treadmills. If you learn to run barefoot using a treadmill, you will have some issues with running on non-moving surfaces. This is not a major issue as you will quickly adapt to running without paw-back, but it will require some practice. Do not attempt to run at a fast pace or over a long distance without first practicing non-treadmill running techniques.
Ultramarathons
Testing Human Potential
“Perhaps the genius of ultra running is its supreme lack of utility. It makes no sense in a world of space ships and supercomputers to run vast distances on foot. There is no money in it and no fame, frequently not even the approval of peers. But as poets, apostles and philosophers have insisted from the dawn of time, there is more to life than logic and common sense. The ultra runners know this instinctively. And they know something else that is lost on the sedentary. They understand, perhaps better than anyone, that the doors to the spirit will swing open with physical effort. In running such long and taxing distances they answer a call from the deepest realms of their being—a call that asks who they are.”
—David Blaikie
Ultramarathons represent the extreme of human running ability. In their 2004 Nature article, Drs. Dennis Bramble and Daniel Lieberman presented a convincing theory that humans evolved to run long distances based on unique anatomical and physiological traits. This