How Runners Can Safely Build Barefoot Compentency

Our blog articles, How To Transition Safely To Peluvas, and Progressing To Advanced Barefoot/Peluva Competency provide step-by-step protocols to safely and effectively transition to spending more time and doing more things in Peluvas, and generally progressing to a more barefoot-inspired lifestyle. Endurance runners have some special considerations when it comes to building barefoot competency. As we learned from the original wave of barefoot popularity in the 2010’s, it’s not a great idea to switch out the elevated, cushioned running shoes you’ve worn for years and decades to start running with a barefoot/minimalist shoe. Your body is not adapted for the repetitive impact trauma and the new foot position of a barefoot shoe. 

For endurance runners, the best strategy is not to abruptly switch from your favorite pair of running shoes to a minimalist shoe, but rather to wear Peluvas (and go barefoot) as often as possible in daily life. Walking is especially beneficial because it improves aerobic conditioning at the optimal zone 1 and zone 2 heart rates, helping runners improve performance without the risk of overuse injury that comes from the higher impact forces associated with jogging. You will achieve a natural strengthening effect with this approach that will help you better cope with the injury risks associated with running in cushioned shoes. 

With steady progress with barefoot and Peluva away from training sessions, you can then consider introducing more minimalist running shoes into your workouts. Understanding there is a continuum from super-cushioned to minimalist, you can find a pair to complement your current favorite that’s a bit closer to minimalist. For example, the Nike Free has a very flexible sole, plenty of cushion, and a drop of 4-6 millimeters from heel to toe. There are many running shoe models with minimal or zero drop but offering significant protection and lateral stability suitable for trail running. The New Balance Minimus has four millimeters of drop, while the Minimus Zero has zero drop. The Merrell Trail Glove has zero drop, as do Vivo Barefoot running shoes.

When you acquire any new running shoe, start by running just a mile or two at recovery pace on a softer surface such as grass, turf, all-weather running track, or dirt road or trail. If you experience any stiffness or soreness afterward, wait until soreness clears completely, then attempt another session of similar pace and distance, or less. Complete 3-6 short jogs before increasing your distance or trying a harder surface. Strive to work up to running 10 percent of your weekly mileage in your more minimalist model. Over time, you can carefully progress toward running more miles in shoes that are more minimalist.

To reiterate, this journey must be entirely driven by personal preference and subject to positive results. It might seem like too much hassle or too much risk to mess with your trusted shoe models, but it’s important to acknowledge that running overuse injuries are driven by poor foot functionality, poor form enabled by cushioned shoes, and increased impact trauma caused by running with poor form in cushioned shoes. It’s essential to strive to improve your form and achieve graceful midfoot landings, which will minimize the need for elevated, cushioned shoes and tee you up for success with integrating more minimalist models.

Remember, there is no obligation to progress all the way to the end of the running shoe continuum, and many runners tend to discover and stick with their favorite shoe models. For this reason, we don’t recommend Peluvas for long distance running, and prefer to emphasize the goal of spending as much time as possible walking in Peluvas and wearing them in daily life. This will help your feet become more resilient and functional when you do wear specialized athletic shoes, including super-cushioned shoes, regular cushioned shoes, carbon plated super shoes, or minimalist shoes.

Don’t forget to focus on executing correct running form - a midfoot landing over a balanced center of gravity! Watch this Running Technique Instruction video on the Peluva YouTube channel. Our YouTube channel has other videos with running technique and drills you can perform to solidify technique improvements.