Barefoot running is cheapest? Apart from the greater risk of injury due to running on stones, glass and other nasty objects. Not to mention what you might actually step in. I'm sure I will never run barefoot.
Almost every barefoot runner would have thought the same before they tried it. People often underestimate how well the body reacts to impact, ie. bones become stronger and LESS prone to injury
There's a paradigm shift currently moving to more minimalist footware, a shift the shoe companies are finally catching on to - why the shift?
- because research has been done (conclusive research) showing that the closer to the ground you feet are the better running form that develops (esp barefoot running), resulting in less injuries. In essence, by putting inches of padding under your foot you create biomechanical adnomalities which wouldn't be there if you ran naturally
Do the research, if you still feel the same there's nothing lost. But you might discover this is a good thing also...
I'm no barefoot warrior - I'm 8 week into it and so far so good. I've done a stack of research and I know a couple of barefoot runners who have had remarkable results. RW.com (USA) have a whole forum section all about barefoot running, technique, introduction training etc with 1000's of barefoot runners - here in the UK we are catching on, sloowwwwly
Watch where your feet are landing, start slow and build up and who knows where BF might take you
Andy
myrunningtips.com