Advantages of Barefoot Running, Part II June 1, 2010
Posted by The Barefoot MD in : Advantages of Barefoot Running, Running, Shoes , 1 comment so farAdvantage #2
Your barefoot shoes are really light.
Consider Nike’s most expensive running shoe, the Nike Air Max+ 2009 iD Running Shoe. This shoe has a price of $185 at Nike.com. I pick the most expensive shoe because when something costs this much . . . I expect a lot out of the product. Nike lists this shoe as weighing 12.8 ounces for a men’s size 9. I wear an 11 so it’ll probably be a few more ounces . . . a little closer to a pound. For simplicity, I’ll use the weight they give on their site.
Let’s say I decided to run a 5K . . . just for fun. Every mile, I can expect to lift my feet a total of 2,000 times between the two of them (that’s the best estimate I could quickly find via google . . . nothing really scientific for that number). Let’s add that up. 12.8 ounces lifted 2,000 times per mile for 3.1 miles. That’ll equal 6,200 steps at 12.8 ounces per step for a grand total of 4,960 lbs. Woah! You’ll end up lifting more than two tons in shoe weight in a 5K! What if you run a marathon? 2,000 steps for 26.2 miles equals 52,400 steps. At 12.8 ounces you’ll end up lifting 41,920 lbs! I’d have to say running barefoot is a bit more efficient.
Enjoy the efficiency!
