Comments on: Running Barefoot on a Treadmill

By: Kevin

Kevin — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 12:33:58 +0000

I started running barefoot on my treadmill at home, after reading Born to Run, and it works well for me. I generally run 5ks with about 10 minute miles.

I decided that running this way on the road in hotels would save me from having to travel with running shoes. The only issue, of course, is running barefoot on a public treadmill would not be well accepted by my fellow travelers. I just started bringing low cut socks on the road and running in those. It works great.

By: Allison

Allison — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 16:39:51 +0000

I’m not really a good runner, but with the help of minimalist shoes or maybe going barefoot, I have decreased pain significantly.

I’m planning to keep going barefoot running for the following couple weeks, and in case nothing goes wrong, I want to make it a long term habit.

By: Conor

Conor — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:23:40 +0000

A super early start this morning to get an easy run in on the treadmill at the airport hotel – I am allegedly “tapering” this week ahead of this weekend’s half-marathon. Sunrise, blue skies, roof-top gym, empty. I did a couple of miles in my pumps, as usual, but somehow it didn’t click, i got antsy and irritated, maybe it was the warmth, as I have been running in near-freezing temperatures all winter. So I kicked off the pumps, and ran in my socks…

OMG! It was like…FREEDOM…I have been pushing myself towards minimalist shoes to keep injury free as I build toward ultra-marathon distances, the pumps are part of this, and my calves and feet have slowly adapted. What seemed to be the final shedding of the shackles was liberating in a way I had not expected.

By: Isabelle

Isabelle — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:51:15 +0000

Did they have any rubber on the bottom? Actually that might be an option that might get me more confident on the TM…

By: Blaine Moore

Blaine Moore — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:03:17 +0000

I’m not sure – I used the same pair both times so far so I’ll take a look. I think it was a cotton pair, but not 100% sure. They are black (as if that matters…)

By: Isabelle

Isabelle — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:39:52 +0000

What kind of socks are you using? I felt like my run with regular cotton socks on my TM was pretty slippery…

By: Blaine Moore

Blaine Moore — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:22:08 +0000

I’ve done a few runs now using Mary’s method of running in socks – and if I was going to use a treadmill in a public place like a gym or hotel then I’d definitely want to wear socks anyway. I doubt that anybody would notice or care as long as you weren’t completely barefoot, especially if you don’t wear white socks.

I don’t notice a huge difference in terms of how my feet feel during or after the run. I’d say that the heat from the treadmill doesn’t start to bother me until about 25-30 minutes rather than the 15-20 minutes it takes when I was completely barefoot.

By: DavidH

DavidH — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:14:47 +0000

Interesting experience. I would like to give this a try but I am not sure how 24 Hour Fitness would respond to the shoe-less man on treadmill #5.

By: Isabelle

Isabelle — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:29:36 +0000

It seems like my SF has healed well and I just got Doc’s green light for running again! No way I will be running outside this winter – slipping on ice last winter was enough for me – so the treadmill is going to be my bestfriend until spring. I was thinking of using Vibrams on the TM but I think I will try with socks, since I have heard from Jamie Raymond that Vibrams could lead to SF too…
http://raymondchiropractic.blogspot.com/2009/10/stress-fracture.html

By: Blaine Moore

Blaine Moore — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:43 +0000

I’ll start – I had a goal last Winter to get at least one barefoot run in per week on the treadmill. I did okay for about a month, but then I was spending so much time running outside that I never really got into the habit so I only went a few times. My treadmill bed gets really hot so the first few times my feet weren’t too comfortable, but they got used to it.

This year, I’m going to make more of an effort to get on the treadmill at least once per week. I’ll try using Mary’s method of wearing my socks (close enough) and see how that goes.