Minimalist shoes

McDougall, a regular marathon runner, on the verge of throwing in the towel due to multiple injuries, went to check for himself the beneficial effects of this theory by immersing himself in the heart of a tribe of Mexican Indians, the Tarahumaras, able to run for hours without hurting themselves in a steep landscape of mountains and equipped only with a pair of very fine sandals. From this experience, he concluded that the running shoes that existed were not good for the man, that they caused injuries and that it was better to do without them running barefoot or almost without them. inventing and adopting minimalist shoe models. One of these models, the Vibram Five Fingers, has since been a great commercial success.

Minimalist shoes have not yet revolutionized the running economy, but they are gaining market share and growing activity alongside other running shoes whose sales stagnate when they do not go down. "In France, minimalist shoes are starting to become more and more popular," says Frédéric Brossard. All the big brands have ended up getting used to it, but we are rather on an unmature micro-market that could be estimated at 10% of all sales. "

Running barefoot or with minimalist shoes is not a matter of course because it is a question then for runners, previously wearing traditional shoes, to completely rethink their way of running. There are several kinds of minimalist shoes depending on needs and levels. Frédéric Brossard and Daniel Dubois list six: the huaraches, the foot gloves, the barefoot shoes, the minimalist ones, the so-called transition shoes and the natural run. To familiarize yourself with the minimalist stride, they already advise you to go barefoot and run like this on an athletic track or on a paved road.

Then run normally by simply reducing the usual amplitude of your stride to find that you do not put the heel, but that you advance anyway. So much for the beginning of an apprenticeship that can be complex over time and that sites like Courirpiedsnus.com can help you to better approach. "It takes three to six months of adaptation," says Frederic Brossard.