The Barefoot Professor

Just when I think I’m ready to leave the whole barefoot debate alone for a while, something inevitably pulls me right back into the fray.

In response to posts over the past week – or maybe just because they know me – several people have e-mailed me links to articles, position papers, and studies about barefoot running. (All of which I appreciate, of course – by all means, keep them coming.) I also have something of a standing arrangement with a very nice Vibram rep who forwards me newsworthy items on a somewhat regular basis – and this week, she sent me links to an enlightening study recently published by Harvard professor Dr Daniel Lieberman, who is one of the preeminent researchers in the field of biological anthropology.

Although I had already read the published article, her e-mail included a link to a video component which I didn’t know existed, and which I’ve embedded below. So if you’re one of those “I really don’t have time to read a whole journal article … I wish someone could just boil it down to a polished 6-minute video for me to watch” kinds of people, today is your lucky day.

Included in her e-mail were some interesting points from Vibram CEO Tony Post that were distributed to the Vibram team, which I took the liberty of copying here as well:

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I know you wanted me to keep you posted on studies about the potential benefits of running barefoot or minimally shod. After nearly two years of work, Dr. Lieberman’s research was published in NATURE magazine, recognized as one of the premiere scientific journals in the world. The research underwent extensive peer review before it was accepted for publication.

Dr. Lieberman is a well recognized figure in academia and biological anthropology. He believes this research can have serious implications in the field of public health — that by teaching people to run properly, we can reduce the number of injury related surgeries and keep people active, therefore reducing the rate of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. Vibram also believes that this research is an important breakthrough in the field of public health, and we are fortunate to have this association with Dr. Lieberman and Harvard.

Many of our current and potential customers ask for the science that supports our claims about the benefits of minimally shod running. As we mentioned before, the study was funded in a small part by a Vibram grant to Harvard University. That said, Dr. Lieberman has been researching the evolution of man as a long distance runner and the potential benefits of barefoot running for several years. In fact, he began his research on barefoot running before he was contacted by Vibram.

Running barefoot or in Vibram FiveFingers may not be for everyone, but we believe that changing the way one runs to encourage a more natural forefoot strike is a healthier, better way to run.

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So there you go. There’s obviously some biased interest on the part of Vibram, but it certainly pales in comparison to the forces stacked up against this kind of research. And I like how the company’s position isn’t particularly heavy-handed or evangelic; they’re mainly saying “Here’s some solid objective data that we think is pretty informative.” I happen to agree – and that’s why the video follows below.


"The Barefoot Professor", by Nature Video (click to play):