Barefoot Running Found No More Efficient Than Very Light Shoes

The long running debate about the pros and cons of running shoes takes a slight turn toward footwear, thanks to a study by researchers at the University of Colorado in Boulder, whose results suggest that barefoot running requires 4 percent more energy than running with light running shoes. The New York Times reports on the research, which did not consider stress on joints or other body parts. Instead, it focused on energy burned, measured by putting 12 experienced barefoot runners through the paces, so to speak, on treadmills while wearing Nike Mayfly shoes, which weigh less than 150 grams, and while wearing socks with 150 grams of weight added to them. The results of the test, which showed that barefoot runners used 4 percent more than shod runners, appears to disprove the claim, made often by the barefoot crowd, that barefoot running is the most efficient way to go. Maybe. Maybe not. Most running shoes weight more like 300 grams, at least twice the weight of the shoes used in the test.  Read more in the New York Times.  Read an abstract of the study here.