Barefoot Running Step by Step: Barefoot Ken Bob, the Guru of Shoeless Running, Shares His Personal Technique for Running with More Speed, Less Impact, Fewer Injuries and More Fun [Paperback]

Roy M. Wallack (Author), Barefoot Ken Bob Saxton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2011

Barefoot running has garnered lots of attention due to the mega-bestseller Born to Run while products like the Vibram® FiveFinger Shoes have tripled in sales and top athletic companies like Nike® and Adidas® are declaring barefoot running the next big thing. However, barefoot running involves more than simply taking off your shoes and hitting the track and Barefoot Running Step by Step teaches runners how to train their feet and body to run barefoot properly and in a way that will dramatically reduce injuries.

Barefoot Running Step by Step separates the facts from the hype covering the latest research and running techniques behind this key trend. Written by noted barefoot runner and instructor Ken Bob Saxton and running journalist Roy Wallack this guide outlines proper techniques for running barefoot properly and incorporating the practice into their running regimen for a better stride, longer endurance, and fewer injuries. Barefoot Running Step by Step is the most comprehensive book on the hottest athletic trend.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"Barefoot Ken Bob is The Master. Long before anyone else was even talking about barefoot running, he was perfecting the art . . . Now, after twenty years of teaching, experimenting, and "merry marathoning" (as he calls it), the first and best source of barefoot-running knowledge is bringing his ideas to print. And it's about time."
--Christopher McDougall, author of Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Super Athletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

"Ken Bob Saxton, a pioneer of the modern barefoot running movement, has logged more miles in his birthday shoes than just about anyone I know, and he has helped countless people run barefoot. As one would expect, this delightful book, full of wit and wisdom, is an invaluable guide for anyone who wants to run barefoot, avoid injury, and have fun."
--Daniel E. Lieberman, professor of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University

Learn Barefoot Running from the Master!Almost overnight, barefoot running has exploded onto the fitness scene. However, it involves more than simply taking off your shoes. In fact, everything you've learned about barefoot running is probably wrong--unless you've learned it from Barefoot Ken Bob Saxton. The leading instructor and proponent of unshod running, he has completed seventy-six marathons barefoot, survived an astounding marathon-a-month challenge in 2004, and gone on to top that with sixteen marathons in 2006, including four in a fifteen-day period--all barefoot. Barefoot Running Step by Step separates the facts from the hype, outlines Ken Bob's personal techniques, and details the latest research on the newest trend in mankind's oldest sport. Whether you run barefoot occasionally, part-time, or full-time, you'll find methods for improving your form, staying injury-free, dramatically improving your speed and performance, and having more fun.
Ease into it: The steps you need to make the transition from running in shoes to barefoot running as painless and easy as possible.
Improve Speed: Barefoot running's injury reduction benefits are well-touted; however a new landmark study proves that barefooting--even part-time--can make you faster.
The Bent Knee: The hidden secret to perfect running form. How this crucial adjustment will keep you running stronger and injury-free for life.
Vibrams and Minimalist Shoes: Barefoot running is not a transition from shoes to minimalist shoes to bare feet. It's the other way around. Why you need to run barefoot before you use other footwear.
Start From the Head: Proper barefoot form doesn't start at the feet. Discover how to get the correct body biomechanics.

Barefoot Running Step by Step is filled with series photos and illustrations that show you the "do's" and "don'ts" of barefoot running, the latest research, and Ken Bob Saxton's personal experiences and insights for running barefoot for life.

About the Author

Roy M. Wallack is a Los Angeles Times health and fitness columnist and former editor of Triathlete and Bicycle Guide magazines. A participant some of the world's toughest running, cycling, and multisport events, including the Boston Marathon, Badwater UltraMarathon, Eco-Challenge, La Ruta de los Conquistadores, and TransRockies Run, he finished second in the World Fitness Championship in 2004. Wallack has written for Outside, Men's Journal, Runner's World, Competitor, Bicycling, Mountain Bike, and authored Be a Better Runner (2011); Run for Life: the Breakthrough Plan for Fast Times, Fewer Injuries, and Spectacular Lifetime Fitness (2009); Bike for Life: How to Ride to 100 (2005), and The Traveling Cyclist: 20 Worldwide Tours of Discovery (1991)  

Ken Bob Saxton is the leading instructor of barefoot running in the country, featured in Runner's World, The New York Times, and the bestseller Born to Run, by Chris McDougall, who calls Ken Bob "The Master of Barefoot Running." He has completed more than 75 marathons barefoot (and one marathon in shoes), including running the Boston Marathon several times and surviving an astounding marathon-a-month challenge in 2004, which he topped with 16 marathons in 2006, including 4 marathons in a 15-day period--all barefoot. "Barefoot" Ken Bob, as he is popularly known, has trained thousands of people across the country in person at his workshops and educated thousands of new barefoot runners throughout the world, from Mumbai to Oslo, via his popular website TheRunningBarefoot.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Fair Winds Press (May 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592334652
• ISBN-13: 978-1592334650
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 0.7 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,487 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #75 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Running & Jogging

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

109 of 111 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good content but a some drawbacks November 28, 2011

By J. Fulton

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

At the outset, let me say that my review is not meant as a critique of the authors or the content on running. For those things, I think the book is very good. But I had three issues with the book.

First, a lot of the book is devoted to Barefoot Ken Bob's personal story, his journey into barefoot running, and his exploration and learning on the topic. If you enjoy this, you will like this aspect of the book. If not, you will find yourself flipping pages to find the content.

Second, there is basically the same information available for free on the internet. While the authors here do a good job of covering the major points of barefoot running, there is so much out there for free that its hard to justify spending money to get the same thing. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with buying the book to support or reward Ken Bob for maintaining a great website. But between the various gurus out there on this subject, it would be hard to find something unique that justifies buying this book. Look up Lee Saxby, Chris McDougall, Mark Cucuzella and you will find massive amounts of online information about barefoot running, including great drills, tutorials, the works. This is an area where books were just too late to the scene.

Third, well, its a book! Its not an easy thing to explain how to change their running stride and give them the tools to make the changes and stick them out using text and two dimensional images. Even though I enjoyed and learned from the book, I found myself time and again checking out the videos in websites from the above mentioned individuals, including Ken Bob, for a better picture of what this looked like. Stride mechanics are not easily conveyed in two dimensional images and I would highly recommend viewing lots of videos and even having someone take video of you while you run in order to help you diagnose and improve your form. Think of all the tools you would use to retrain/improve your golf swing. This is very similar.

Finally, its worth a word about the transition. That has to be one of the biggest issues. How to move from the classic big running shoe - heel strike method to the barefoot/minimal footwear/forefoot landing method.

Ken Bob is pretty adamant that the best way to do it is to take off the shoes and start with short distances. Be a baby runner again. Even if you can zip through 10 mile runs, he would have you start with 5 minute runs totally barefoot and build up from there and build slowly! This lets the skin of your feet, ankles, Achilles, and calves learn how to operate again and also serve as a feedback system on your form and fitness.

I completely agree with this (with a caveat in a minute). If you take off your shoes and get out on the concrete and run 200 yards, it feels different. In those short little runs, and as you build, you quickly "feel" how well you are doing and that is key in changing your form. You don't want to hide bad form but expose it and correct it in as few steps as possible.

What I think sounds impossible is trying to mix and match heel strike and forefoot running. The idea of running a little bit barefoot and then putting back on classic running shoes and logging more miles the "old way" seems nuts. I should also add that its actually a lot harder to run forefoot style on with traditional running shoes because the heel is so thick.

But where my personal experience differed a little was that I found that the skin of my feet was my biggest hold back. Even when I felt like I was running well barefoot, the skin on my feet hurt so much after a certain amount of distance that I stopped even though everything else felt good. I found some minimalist running shoes (merrell trail glove for me) provided me with cushion from the sharp ground that let me work on and focus on other parts of my form, not just how much that last little pebble hurt my skin. I was actually able to relax more with minimal shoes because I wasn't hesitant about the pain in the sole of my feet. To make a safe transition, I still rigorously control the amount of my "barefoot style" running and am building up very slowly. I still plan on running completely barefoot for short distances because I think total barefoot is the best way to retrain form.

One final note, at the end of the book, Ken Bob includes some comments from other notable barefooters, some of whom are at odds with his approach in some respects. I really applaud that, an author who is not so dogmatic that he cannot accommodate alternative approaches.

82 of 89 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars How to make running fun April 17, 2011

By Curt Busse

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is the fourth book on barefoot running to appear in rapid sucession after Christopher McDougall brought worldwide attention to the subject with his bestseller, "Born to Run." Of the four, this one ranks at the top.

McDougall's quote on the cover of this book says it all: "Ken Bob [Saxton] is the master." During the 1990's Ken Bob discovered that he could run barefoot without the pain that he had suffered in shoes. He started the first web sites dedicated to running barefoot as well as a popular message board at Yahoo. Over the years he has freely shared his wisdom, wit, and enthusiasm with others interested in making the same transition and has mentored some of the other greats like Todd Byers, who recently completed his 100th barefoot marathon(!).

That alone was enough to encourage me to buy this book, but when I saw that his coauthor was columnist, author, and sports enthusiast Roy Wallack, I was convinced. Roy's book "Run for Life" is one of my all-time favorite books on running. So I had lofty expectations when I purchased Ken Bob and Roy's book online - and I was not disappointed.

Although the book is coauthored, it is narrated from Ken Bob's point of view. There are lots of interesting stories, historical accounts, and pearls of wisdom; the book is well-organized, informative, humorous, and entertaining. I also really like the big pages and illustrative color photos.

The book starts off with Ken Bob's personal account why he started running barefoot and how he discovered some of the important principles laid out here. After a chapter discussing some of the advantages of running barefoot vs. shod, the authors launch into the core of the book - roughly a third of the 239 pages - on running technique and drills for improving that technique. This is the best and most thorough discussion of "how to run" that I have ever read. Whereas traditional running books emphasize how to train and work out, this one focuses on on how to run and have fun.

Next comes a critical chapter about a big problem faced by many barefoot newcomers: doing too much too soon, or as the authors call it: "Barefoot Running Exuberance Syndrome." Transitioning from shod to barefoot requires patience and discipline, and here the authors give an important set of rules on how to "keep it fun."

Not unexpectedly, there is a cautionary chapter on the use of minimalist footwear. Here Ken Bob offers little compromise. Minimalist shoes, no matter how thin, still provide enough protection and support to allow you to run with poor style. If you wish to run in minimalist footwear, the approach emphasized here is first to learn to run properly in bare feet.

The authors then present evidence that running and training barefoot can improve performance. They conclude with a collection of stories, brief biographies, and testimonials of barefoot runners. I found this part the most enjoyable.

I am thankful to the authors for not making me wade through yet another chapter - standard among running books - full of charts, tables, and diagrams about how far I should run, how many times a week, and how often I should do hills, sprints, repetitions, and fartleks. Although they do provide a couple of small tables, their approach is entirely pragmatic and refreshing.

Also absent (thank goodness) are the standard chapters on stretching and cross-training (although the authors do recommend bicyling). All of the exercises described here are geared specifically to improving running technique.

How long does it take for a typical shod runner to transition to barefoot? The impression given here and in some of the testimonials is on the order of several months. However, it will not be so easy for everyone. I am now 18 months into this transition and am still challenged by three decades of self-inflicted damage from running in shoes. Fortunately, this book has given me a fresh jolt of ideas and inspiration.

If I could turn back the clock 30 years with the knowledge I have now, the very first thing I would do is remove my running shoes and throw them in the trash. Young shod runners today have an amazing oppuntunity to learn to run gently and without the pounding. Even many baby-boomers like me can still undo some of the long-term damage and have fun running - especially when learning from the master.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Definitely worth a look... December 14, 2011

By Fred Smith

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

For the past two years, I've been trying gradually to get back into running after a "break" of nearly 40 years. But my progress had been constantly hindered by calf, knee and hip problems. I read "Born to Run" which opened my eyes to the concept of barefoot running so when I saw this book, I decided to see what it is all about.

This book has gotten me to rethink the way I've been running, or trying to run, all my life. Although I'm still wearing shoes, I have been gradually incorporating Ken Bob's principles of light, gentle running into my routine and, for the first time, I can run regularly without pain! For me, that is huge! In this book, Ken Bob does a good job describing the philosophy of barefooting and breaks down the technique so that you can understand and actually do it. As he says, barefooting is more than just taking off your shoes. It's a relearning of how to run. I highly recommend this book to anyone, even if you don't plan to shed your shoes.