About four months ago I got into a conversation with a friend of mine about the fact that I had taken up jogging. I was about three quarters of the way through the Cool Running “Couch to 5K” training program and I had signed up to participate in my first official race on Thanksgiving. Knowing that I still had a decent amount of weight to lose and that I had dealt with weight-related injuries in the past my friend asked whether or not I was worried about injuries and suggested that if I wanted to improve my cardiovascular fitness I might consider a lower impact exercise like swimming.

At the time I was a little put off by his statements, to be honest. There is nothing quite as discouraging as having someone cast doubts about the safety of an activity that you’re working very hard to master. The fact of the matter is, though, that he had a point. Running is a fantastic way to burn calories and improve your endurance, but it can cause some significant injuries if you aren’t careful (and sometimes even if you are). I’m still, by most standards, about fifty pounds overweight and I am frequently sore for a day or so after I complete a run. All of that extra weight is pretty hard on my joints to being with and jogging is a fairly high impact activity. Not only that, but some researchers now think that the fact that runners wear shoes at all makes them more likely to injure themselves.

An article posted in the January 28th issue of Nature points out that people who run barefooted tend to land on the balls of their feet as they do so. In contrast, the 75% of us who run with shoes on tend to land on our heels. The difference, it turns out, is not insignificant. Runners who land on their heels do so with an impact collision of up to three times their body weight an average of 960 times per mile, while runners who land on the balls of their feet have “almost no” impact collision.

The scientists involved in this study admit that further research is necessary before a definitive conclusion is drawn but the evidence to support barefoot running at this point seems fairly compelling. If you’re going to experiment with going shoeless, however, they suggest working up to it slowly. You’ll need to build calluses on your feet to avoid injuries on hard surfaces and develop the proper muscles in your calves. You may even want to consider getting some Vibram Five Fingers footwear. Rafe wears these things, and while they may very well be the ugliest and most disturbing “shoes” I’ve ever had the occasion to witness they might be the perfect solution if you’re afraid of hurting your feet while running without traditional running gear.

Whether you decide to go shoeless or not on your next run it is important to be conscious of your body when attempting any fitness program. We’re all doing this stuff to try and improve our health, and nothing can sideline good habits like being unable to exercise because you’re recovering from an injury. Pay attention to your aches and pains while exercising and if they seem a bit worse than the standard post-workout soreness do something different. If you heed the warning signs you can prevent major injuries from taking you out of the game completely.