Variation Exists in Barefoot Runners’ Form

Study contradicts commonly held beliefs about foot strike patterns among barefoot runners.

A new study finds that not all habitually barefoot people strike the ground with the same part of the foot when running, challenging a notion that has fueled a trend among recreational runners.

The study, published this month in the online journal PLOS ONE, was led by Kevin Hatala, a doctoral student in GW’s hominid paleobiology program, and Brian Richmond, an anthropology professor who is slated to be among the researchers in GW’s new Science and Engineering Hall.

It’s only the second examination into the mechanics of running style among modern habitually barefoot people. These studies aim to illuminate how running may have shaped the human anatomy and may also point to healthier, more natural strides for recreational runners.

Earlier research on a habitually barefoot group in Kenya found that unshod runners typically hit the ground with their forefoot, avoiding the high impact associated with landing on the heel. Shoe-wearing runners tend to land on their heels, the researchers said, and shoes provide cushioning to lessen the blow.

The new study, however, looked at 38 runners of another barefoot group—the Daasanach, of northern Kenya—and found the majority preferred a heel strike when running at endurance speeds, despite the higher impact.

“The Daasanach people grow up without shoes and continue to spend most of their lives barefoot,” said Mr. Hatala. “We were surprised to see that the majority of Daasanach people ran by landing on their heels first and few landed on their forefoot. This contradicts the hypothesis that a forefoot strike characterizes the ‘typical’ running gait of habitually barefoot people.”

When running at a faster pace some Daasanach did switch to a forefoot strike, but the researchers found the group consistently landed on the heel or, less often, middle of the foot.

The differences between the two groups may be attributable to variables like speed, distances, running frequency and the hardness of the ground. For instance, the group in the earlier study typically ran more frequently and greater distances than the Daasanach people, the researchers noted, and may have adopted the lower-impact, forefoot strike to reduce their risk of injuries.

“The challenge ahead,” said Dr. Richmond, “is to identify the most important factors that influence how barefoot people run and the healthiest style for today’s runners.”

The oldest undisputed evidence of early humans walking upright with a modern gait, akin to that used today, is a set of 1.5-million-year-old footprints found by Dr. Richmond and colleagues in Ileret, Kenya. The archaeological evidence for shoes, the researchers wrote, dates to around 8,300 years ago, arising from the Midwestern United States.

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