The 10 Biggest Myths About Running
- By Linzay Logan
- Published Oct. 31, 2011
4. Barefoot Running Will Reduce Injuries
The opposite is the case if you are not used to running in minimalist shoes or barefoot and jump right into it, explained John Martinez, assistant head doctor for the Ironman World Championships. “Everything in moderation including moderation; that holds true with barefoot or minimalist running,” Martinez said. “I see people come in [to my office] in the minimalist shoes after they’ve run five miles their first time out in them and want to know why they got stress fracture. It’s like taking a car and putting two different sized wheels on it and then asking why it’s not steering right.” Martinez warns about jumping into new running trends such as minimalist running because they think it will give them a one up on their competitors. “For a lot of triathletes and runners right now, if they hear something will make them faster, they ask how much is it and they put out a credit card.” Instead, do your research and ease your way into minimalist or barefoot running.
FILED UNDER: Features / Running Injuries TAGS: body type / minimalist running / Nutrition / running myths / strength training
Linzay Logan
Linzay Logan is the copy editor for Competitor magazine and cares about punctuation probably a little too much. She particularly loves to avoid commas as well as add exclamation points whenever she can get away with it! She also loves to run marathons and half-marathons—probably a little too much. Don’t let her small size fool you; she’ll still try to outrun you anytime. Even though chances are she probably can’t.