Barefoot running in Beijing

[aliceli2014]

Hi, I was just wondering whether anyone knows anyone who barefoot runs in Beijing or if there's some sort of group that runs together.

[gato]

Sounds dangerous.

[xiaocai]

@ aliceli2014

I apologise for my inconsiderate comment to your topic. Please forgive my unthoughtful action and ignore my initial response as quoted below.

It is not recommended to run barefoot in most parts of Beijing.

You may want to have a read of this.

So, depending on the typicality of the area you are running in you may:

be yelled hello to;

be thrown rubbish to;

be hit by bicycles;

step on someone squatting on the street;

step into urine or faeces;

run into a group of teenagers with iPads in their hands, etc....

I didn't delete the comment as I usually do as it is stupid, but I do not think I said anything wrong.

[roddy]

Xiaocai, if you're annoyed about that topic, fair enough - it's a stupid topic. But there's no need to confuse new members to the forum by dragging it up elsewhere.

[m000gle]

Given that many of the inherent dangers of barefoot running are common to any locale, I'm confident you're already well aware of them.

That said, I think gato is bang on! I wouldn't recommend anyone go barefoot running around a city like Beijing. If a group were to exist which utilized a track (preferably indoors) to do this, I wouldn't see much problem. However, running outdoors (whether on grass or sidewalk) here without shoes is likely a bad idea, even if there are places overseas where it can be done safely.

[Brian US]

There has been a couple times where I needed to pull glass from the bottom of my shoes. I also rode over something on my scooter that resulted in my tire immediately going flat, so I would hate to see what it would do to your feet. I suppose you would find this problem in any big city.

I heard some people run the Beijing marathon barefoot, so do they clear the street well for this event?

[amandagmu]

Unless I'm mistaken, since I'm a semi-competitive runner myself, I think the poster could also be referring to "barefoot" running with vibram or other thin-soled shoes, or perhaps technique training in parks. If that is the case, then yes there are some of us who meet up Saturday mornings at Chaoyang park for running and a few of the group wears vibrams while all of us strip our shoes for 10-15 minutes of technique training in the grass (sprints and what not). If you want to join us let me know.

Also, although I don't do this in Beijing, back at home I have a pair of "minimalist" trail runners made by New Balance when I go off-road... I missed them this past weekend when I went to Changchun for a 30K off-road race, but in Beijing when we run out at Badachu the surface is a bit too dry and hard for the minimalist shoes anyways...

[aliceli2014]

Hey amandagmu, that would be great! I'm actually a reporter from the Beijinger and I wanted to look at whether the trend of barefoot running (literally and figuratively with vibram shoes) had hit Beijing. If you could e-mail me your contact information at aliceli2014@yahoo.com, we can talk more about this group's details. And thanks everyone for your help!

[amandagmu]

I don't think barefoot running has "hit" Beijing. This is a group of expats......

[wushijiao]

Barefoot running has hit HK (at least to some extent). You had to be on a waiting list to get Vibrams for quite a while...

[anonymoose]

What's wrong with normal shoes?

[wushijiao]

In a nutshell, there's a theory that regular running shoes (that have huge heels, with things like pumps or "air" in them) encourage you to land on the heel when running. This, then, puts extra stress on your knees and bones. In contrast, those who run barefoot tend to have a much more forefoot or mid-foot striking patterns, which, supposedly, leads to less injury.

Check out this video:

In the last two or three years, especially after the book "Born to Run" was published, there has been a huge wave of barefoot running, or running in "minimalist" footwear. "Minimalist" footwear tends to be very lightweight, with very small heel to toe drops (ie. the padding under the heel tends to be rather small). This can range from barely shoes, like Vibram Five Fingers, to other more traditional shoes. Here's a good review of some of the latest and best shoes out there:

http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=22276

Personally, I think the minimalist wave has a lot of merit. I've run in shoes with rather low heel to toe drops (Nike Free's, Adidas Aegis, Hoka OneOne, Brooks ST 5 Racer...) and found them to be very good compared to more traditional shoes (of course, you should give yourself time to adjust, since you can put extra strain on your calves and Achilles). However, I've also bought super no heel drop shoes (Merrel Trail Glove), and found them to be less good, more of a training tool really.

But in any case, here's a good article reviewing the literature and science of the debate:

http://www.irunfar.com/2011/03/improving-running-economy.html