VOA标准英语2012--Growing Number of Runners Opt to Run in Bare Feet

 

Growing Number of Runners Opt¹ to Run in Bare Feet

Michele Musacchio runs without shoes whenever she can. She started running in her bare feet nine months ago because she was looking for a way to exercise without joint² pain.

"My hips³ had been hurting, my knees had been hurting, not a problem with the running," she said.

President of the Los Angeles Barefoot Runners Society, Ken⁴ Bob Saxton believes the cause of joint pain is often shoes.

"They allow us to run very sloppily⁵, they allow us to slam our feet into the ground with higher impact with a straight leg with our knee locked up so that all that impact go straight into the knee and into the hips," he said.

Saxton has run 79 marathons in his bare feet. He says when he sees sharp objects such as glass on the ground he runs around it or on top of it without getting cut.

"Most of the glass just lays there and as long as you come straight down like this and pick your foot up nothing happens," he said.

Harvard University Professor Daniel Lieberman has studied how shoes have changed the way people run. In a Skype interview with VOA, he says 30 to 70 percent of runners suffer injuries.

"Why have we failed to lessen⁶ this epidemic⁷ of injury? I would argue is that we put too much faith technology in shoes, in orthotics, in things you can buy, and what really matters is how you run," said Lieberman.

Lieberman studied runners, from members of the Harvard track team, to runners in Africa who have never worn shoes. He says barefoot runners have better form.

"They tend to have good posture⁸. They tend to take shorter strides. They tend to not land hard on their heels," he explained.

Lieberman says barefoot runners tend to land on the balls of their feet. He says most people who run in shoes land on their heel, which could cause damage to the body.

Physical therapist Robert Forster specializes in proper running technique and has worked with Olympic Gold Medalists Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Florence Griffith Joyner. He says running without shoes may help strengthen the foot, but can also lead to foot injuries. 

"I just see it as a movement, that’s not necessary," he said. "We just hate to see the injuries that could be avoided because there’s not enough padding in the bottom of the shoe."

Forster has treated injuries caused by running without shoes.

"Bruises⁹ at the ball of the foot, especially in the big toe can actually fracture some small bones in those tendons and that can be a real serious problem," he said.

Lieberman says many people get injured running without shoes because they do too much too soon.

"It is true that if somebody who has been wearing shoes their whole life and then suddenly takes off their shoes and go for a 10-mile run, they will injure themselves, for sure. I guarantee it," he said.

He says new barefoot runners have to take it slow and give the body time to adapt. 

1 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

2 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

3 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

5 sloppily   

adv.马虎地，草率地

参考例句：

• Do things neatly, not sloppily. 办事要利落，不要拖泥带水。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Land market after behind-the-scenes plotting concern: how much land can act sloppily? 关注土地市场重重黑幕：有多少土地可以胡来？ 来自互联网

6 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

7 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

8 posture   

n.姿势，姿态，心态，态度；v.作出某种姿势

参考例句：

• The government adopted an uncompromising posture on the issue of independence.政府在独立这一问题上采取了毫不妥协的态度。
• He tore off his coat and assumed a fighting posture.他脱掉上衣，摆出一副打架的架势。

9 bruises   

n.瘀伤，伤痕，擦伤( bruise的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was covered with bruises after falling off his bicycle. 他从自行车上摔了下来，摔得浑身伤痕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The pear had bruises of dark spots. 这个梨子有碰伤的黑斑。 来自《简明英汉词典》