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February 15, 2019

Barefoot Running

Written by Coach Tom McGlynn

Here’s some more supportive data on the benefits of running barefoot and an interesting analysis of force distribution with an without shoes.

Born to Run Barefoot - John Dodge

To clarify our recommendation is that athletes run 5-10% of their weekly mileage barefoot on a soft surface.  So for the athlete running 20 MPW that’s 1-2 mile per week barefoot.    We are most interested in the variance of foot strike, flexion and force distribution which helps strengthen the plantar facia, achilles tendon and calf muscles.

The article includes two videos from the Harvard University Skeletal Biology Lab that outline the force variance of barefoot running.

They can be viewed here:

Barefoot Normal Strike

Shoe Strike

Last modified on March 17, 2021
Coach Tom McGlynn

Coach Tom McGlynn

Tom started runcoach in 2002. His main objective was to equip more runners with the successful training philosophies he was exposed to. In 2007 Tom and the team found a way to make our proven training more widely available through the new online resource

Tom has qualified for the Olympic Trials Marathon three times (2000 ’04 and ’08). He trained under legendary coach Harry Groves at Penn State and graduated in 1996. Tom ran with the Nike Farm Team and Coaches Jeff Johnson, Vin Lananna, Jack Daniels and Ray Appenheimer from 1996-2004. From 2004-2006 Tom served as Assistant Distance Coach to Frank Gagliano for the Nike Farm Team.

Through runcoach Tom has helped thousands of runners set new PR’s. He has trained Marathoners ranging from 2:15 to 8:15 and remains convinced that anyone can improve their running with the right approach.

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