page_title: Barefoot running
section_title: Minimal footwear
hierarchical_section_title: Barefoot running / Minimal footwear
caption_attribution_description: English: Vibram FiveFingers Bikila shoes, top view.
context_page_description: Barefoot running, also called "natural running", is the act of running without footwear. With the advent of modern footwear, running barefoot has become less common in most parts of the world but is still practiced in parts of Africa and Latin America. In some Western countries, barefoot running has grown in popularity due to perceived health benefits.
  Scientific research into the practice of running barefoot has not reached a clear consensus regarding its risks or its benefits. While footwear might provide protection from cuts, bruises, impact and weather, proponents argue that running barefoot reduces the risk of chronic injuries caused by heel striking in padded running shoes.
  The barefoot movement has prompted some manufacturers to introduce thin-soled and flexible shoes such as traditional moccasins and huaraches for minimalist running.
context_section_description: The alternative to going barefoot is to wear thin shoes with minimal padding. This is what runners wore for thousands of years before the 1980s when the modern running shoe was invented.
  Shoes, such as moccasins or thin sandals, permit a similar gait as barefoot, but protect the feet from cuts, abrasion and soft sticky matter. The Tarahumara wear thin-soled sandals known as huaraches. These sandals have a single long lace with a thin sole made from either recycled tires, commercially available replacement outsole rubber, or leather. The practice of wearing light or no shoes while running may be termed "minimalist running".
  Plimsolls were worn by children in the United Kingdom for physical education classes as well as by soldiers for PT. Inexpensive "dime store" plimsolls have very thin footbeds (3mm elastomer/rubber outsole, 1mm card, 2mm eva foam) and no heel lift or stiffening.
  Some modern shoe manufacturers have recently designed footwear to mimic the barefoot running experience, maintaining optimum flexibility and natural walking while also providing some degree of protection. The purpose of these "minimalist shoes" is to allow one's feet and legs to feel more subtly the ground, allowing more accurate adjustments in running style.
  Most minimalist running shoes are based within a scale from 1–10, where 1 is barefoot and 10 is a typical athletic shoe sole. The Vibram FiveFingers has separate slots for each toe and no cushioning. Traditional racing flats are fairly minimal; offering good ground feel and control. Conversely, the Nike Free line of footwear, designed as a 5, features a segmented sole which provides greater flexibility while still having an amount of cushioning, Saucony introduced the Kinvara line of shoes which feature a dropped sole, which halves the thickness of the sole and removes much of the heel cushioning, to encourage more of a midfoot strike for the foot. Though not the only company to produce socks incorporating Kevlar in the yarn, the Swiss Barefoot Company's Protection Socks are marketed for barefoot use. Following the trend, by 2011, minimalist running shoes have been made available by most of the major shoe manufacturers.
  The United States Army has banned the use of toe shoes for image reasons. However, many other barefoot-inspired shoes that do not feature individual toes can still be used in its place. The United States Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and United States Coast Guard, however, have approved minimalist shoes, including toe shoes, to be used during physical training.
  Sales of minimalist running shoes have grown into a $1.7 billion industry. Sales of minimalist running shoes grew from $450,000 in 2006 to $59 million in 2012, and grew 303% from November 2010 through November 2012, compared to a 19% increase in the overall sales of running shoes during the same time period. In the summer of 2012, both Vibram and Adidas were sued in the United States regarding allegations of deceptive claims of increased training efficiency, foot strength, and decreased risk of injury resulting from use of their minimalist running shoes. These lawsuits follow on the heels of recent settlements by Skechers and Reebok with the Federal Trade Commission over claims that their barefoot shoes strengthen the body in ways no shoes ever had before.
caption: Vibram FiveFingers shoes
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