I have previously blogged about barefoot running and how bad research on barefoot running gets reported. Now we have a publication in Nature that has been widely reported in the media and touted by the barefoot running community. The interpretation and use of this research has been so bad, that the authors took the unusual step of posting this disclaimer on their website:
There are many discrepancies in the way the press has reported our paper “Foot strike patterns and collision forces in habitually barefoot versus shod runners” (Lieberman et al., Nature, 463: 531-565) .....Please note that we present no data on how people should run, whether shoes cause some injuries, or whether barefoot running causes other kinds of injuries.
Now we have an anti-barefoot running website that has been set up to critically analyse the claims made. It appears to have touched a raw nerve in the barefoot running community. They do not like it when they get criticised, but think it is acceptable for them to criticise others ... don't figure! Even a Fench running website is highlighting the barefoot running debate.
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