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# Is Running Barefoot Better for You?

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<!-- video src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/tY52UIfb.m3u8" -->
## Video: Is Running Barefoot Better for You?

[Watch (HLS stream): Is Running Barefoot Better for You?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/tY52UIfb.m3u8) (1:30)

![Is Running Barefoot Better for You?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/tY52UIfb/poster.jpg?width=720)

_Published 2010-01-22. TIME's Bryan Walsh goes for a test run in a pair of Vibram Five Fingers - basically gloves for your feet - to test recent theories that running barefoot is better for your body_


---

Jul 27, 2023 1:18 PM UTC

---

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[All Videos](https://time.com/video/)

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### Running High: 5 Expensive Pairs of Sneakers

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### Bryan Walsh: Why Tornadoes are So Hard to Predict

---


## Transcript

Hi I'm Bryan Walsh and I'm here to try to find out whether the best way to run is run barefoot or at least close to barefoot. I'm looking into research, it shows that running shoes actually may be exacerbating the injuries that joggers have by actually putting too much stress on their knees, ankles and lower back, and that the best way to run actually may be bare foot. So I have the Vibram FiveFingers. These are almost sandal- like shoes with five different toes for each of your toes. You can put on your feet, they do protect your feet from any glass, any rocks, anything like that, plus you get the barefoot experience without actually putting your tender soles at risk.

These feel pretty good but let's see how they work in action. So as I'm running in these Vibram FiveFingers, I'm landing on the middle of my foot, the result is it is a stride that shorter, they're a lot easier on your joints than the one with running shoe. And I think over the long- term, they'd be one that actually results in less injury. So that was a barefoot running experiment. I did like the way it put less stress on my knees and my lower back and it's a totally different experience when it came to running, one that made me feel more attuned with the ground I was on. It is definitely something I think I would try again but possibly maybe in about three months when the weather is a bit higher than 35 degrees.

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