Originally Posted by
howeeee
Wrong all the African long distance runners have been running barefoot for years, with little injury. While us Americans were running on cushy shoes always injured.
A football team training a couple of laps around the track is not the same as a runner going 50 miles or more a week, you are comparing apples to oranges. Running on grass to train for a marathon wouldnt work, you would be injured before the race.
Almost every marathon is run on concrete and asphalt , I dont what planet you are living on.
I am a former long distance runner finished Marathons and hundreds of smaller races.
By the way go look up the health of former football players, many can barely walk after 45 years old.
I'm not so sure about the Africans suffering from few running injuries. They've had their share as well, whether bare foot or shoe'd. I haven't seen any specific statistics on it, but I've seen a number of the pros injured. If their is a lesser rate, it is probably due to size. They do tend to weigh a little less than American or European pros & their is probably a much stronger correllation to running injuries & weight than any other factor.
I've ran a number of ultra-marathons on my own training for ironman distance triathlons. Once a week in the mornings before work. No problem with running them in shoes, wouldn't want to shoeless.