The founding fathers of Western civilization, the Ancient Greeks, are the best barefoot runners recorded in history.
The Best Barefoot Runners
By Dr. Sidy Diallo
The founding fathers of Western civilization are the best barefoot runners recorded in history. Some of those who nowadays claim or think they have too evolved to be able to walk or run barefoot, will likely be amazed to learn that the greatest barefoot runners recorded in history are neither the Africans, nor any indigenous people of Northern Mexico, but the “evolved” white men of the cradle of Western civilization, i.e. Ancient Greece, where the barefoot culture was a fundamental component of their lifestyle, and where the word “barbarian” (βάρβαρος) was originated to describe all non-Greek-speaking peoples, thus including all other Europeans.
When the “barbarian” Romans later conquered Greece, they zealously adopted all the ingredients of the Greek civilization, except one: the barefoot culture, simply because the Romans like most current Europeans were experiencing what I call ancestral barefoot phobia in my book Running Barefoot for Human Survival.
Running barefoot prevents injury, fatigue and comorbidities, and improves working memory. The NeoBikilas are those humans who are increasingly getting rid of any kind of shoes to run like the Abebe Bikila of 1960 and like our ancestors for three million years before him.
Ethiopian athlete Abebe Bikila, a last-minute replacement of an injured compatriot, ran the 1960 Olympic Marathon in Rome barefoot. He won the race and broke the world record. A brand had offered him new shoes, but, as they hurt him, he rightly decided to do without them. However, he afterwards agreed to wear sneakers and eventually sustained serious injuries that terminated his marathon career.
The NeoBikilas are those humans who are increasingly taking the opposite direction, by getting rid of the traditional, minimalist or maximalist shoes to run like the Abebe Bikila of 1960 and like our ancestors for three million years before him.
The founding fathers of Western civilization are the best barefoot runners recorded in history. Some of those who nowadays claim or think they have too evolved to be able to walk or run barefoot, will likely be amazed to learn that the greatest barefoot runners recorded in history are neither the Africans, nor any indigenous people of Northern Mexico, but the “evolved” white men of the cradle of Western civilization, i.e. Ancient Greece, where the barefoot culture was a fundamental component of their lifestyle, and where the word “barbarian” (βάρβαρος) was originated to describe all non-Greek-speaking peoples, thus including all other Europeans.
When the “barbarian” Romans later conquered Greece, they zealously adopted all the ingredients of the Greek civilization, except one: the barefoot culture, simply because the Romans like most current Europeans were experiencing what I call ancestral barefoot phobia in my book Running Barefoot for Human Survival.
Running barefoot prevents injury, fatigue and comorbidities, and improves working memory. The NeoBikilas are those humans who are increasingly getting rid of any kind of shoes to run like the Abebe Bikila of 1960 and like our ancestors for three million years before him.
Ethiopian athlete Abebe Bikila, a last-minute replacement of an injured compatriot, ran the 1960 Olympic Marathon in Rome barefoot. He won the race and broke the world record. A brand had offered him new shoes, but, as they hurt him, he rightly decided to do without them. However, he afterwards agreed to wear sneakers and eventually sustained serious injuries that terminated his marathon career.
The NeoBikilas are those humans who are increasingly taking the opposite direction, by getting rid of the traditional, minimalist or maximalist shoes to run like the Abebe Bikila of 1960 and like our ancestors for three million years before him.