Tips for choosing Barefoot Running Shoes

If you're a runner, you should seriously consider dropping your expensive hi-tech running shoes and switching to barefoot running sandals.

I know that "barefoot running sandals" sounds like an oxymoron, like jumbo shrimp.

I mean if you're running barefoot, then you can't, by definition, be wearing sandals. Right?

Okay, let me explain.

Barefoot running is all the rage. Since Chris McDougall's book, Born to Run, about the Tarahumara Indians who ran (and won) ultra-marathons either barefoot or wearing huaraches -- simple running sandals they often made out of old tires and twine, more and more people are interested in barefoot running. People, myself included, were transfixed by the storied of Caballo Blanco (the "white horse") and Barefoot Ted, who tossed off their regular running shoes and went barefoot or in running sandals instead.

In the book, Chris talks about how he had been plagued with injuries until he went barefoot.

There have been articles in almost every major newspaper about running without shoes, with arguments about whether this is good for you or not -- the "pro" camp saying that it's more natural and will not only reduce running injuries but heal old ones, and the 'con' camp saying that it could be stressful on your feet and calves.

By the way, my experience is that if you take it easy at first and don't do too much, it's not dangerous at all -- certainly not more than running in shoes. And, I also had some long-term calf injuries that, after a month of running barefoot, are totally gone.

But, anyway... here's the deal.

Running barefoot is great. It's a lot of fun, it changes the way you run to a more efficient style, it feels good to not be wrapped up in socks and shoes... and it can mess you up pretty bad if you accidentally step on something (which, by the way, happens WAY less often than you might imagine... in fact, less often than the number of times I would trip on something when running in my racing shoes).

Or, sometimes you want to run on a surface that, well, just doesn't seem conducive to being without shoes.

Which brings us back to huaraches, the running sandals of the Tarahumara.

Huaraches running sandals give you the benefits of barefoot (or as close as you can get) with the protection that can keep you from getting cut up by stepping on something by accident.

Barefoot running shoes are really pretty simple: some sort of sole, and something to tie that sole to your foot.

For soles, I've seen leather, cardboard wrapped in duct tape, carpeting, even your basic beach flip-flop bottom. One really good choice, if you can find it, is Vibram 4mm "Cherry" material. It's really flexible but provides great protection.

For the strapping, you can use leather lace, hemp, nylon/polypropylene or anything else that's strong but flexible. There are a couple of different tying styles: one looks like it goes with a toga, the other is less, oh, odd-looking and allows you to slip-on and slip-off your huaraches.

Another barefoot-ish option -- not quite a sandal, but worth mentioning -- is called Vibram Five Finger shoes (yes, the same Vibram from the soles I mentioned earlier). These are like gloves for your feet, with separate places for each toe.

I like the VFFs, but they don't feel as free as huaraches. They also don't fit my feet quite well, and the soles are much thicker and more structured than the huarache sandals.

Barefoot running sandals are the closest thing there is to barefoot, other than somehow painting a flexible but impervious layer of something-or-other directly onto your foot.http://www.invisibleshoe.com - If you are a barefoot runner and want more information on running barefoot or barefoot running sandals, visit Invisible Shoe. We are the foremost authority on barefoot running sandals.