With each running stride, Ryan Davis can feel the uneven ground on the soles of his feet, cracks in the sidewalk and twigs scattered in the path.
He’s a barefoot runner – sort of. More than a year ago, Davis, 27, bought his first pair of barefoot running shoes – Vibram FiveFingers Bikila LS – after a knee surgery. He’s now one of hundreds of runners who swear by the lightweight shoes designed to encourage runners to mimic a barefoot running style.
Best known are Vibrams’ distinct “five fingered” shoes, but other companies such as Nike, New Balance and Merrell also make barefoot shoes.
“I’m glad I switched – I’ve had real success with them,” Davis says. “It’s essentially like running barefoot.”
The Vibram FiveFinger Bikilas are named after Ethiopian runner Abebe Bikila, who ran the 1960 Olympic marathon barefoot after his team-issued shoes hurt his feet. He won the gold medal.Research shows that barefoot runners tend to land on their forefoot or midfoot rather than the heel, which minimizes the jarring impact to the foot. Proponents say the light, flat shoes encourage better running form and minimize repetitive stress injuries. Barefoot shoes allow Davis to run without pain again, he says. He had been running since middle school, averaging 25 to 30 miles a week. But two years ago, he couldn’t run more than two or three minutes before the pain forced him to stop.