Risks with cold temperature barefoot running

[metavo]

Hello,
Here's a little intro:
I'm new in this forum. I've practised barefoot running/hiking/trotting for about two years now, this winter I decided to go barefoot as much as it's possible.
Every morning, first thing i did was to go outside and shug my feet into snow and walk for a bit until i could.
Every evening I've went for a 1-3 km run with my dog, but first full barefoot run came about 3 weeks after the first tries. Until that, to adapt, I've used my xeroshoes combined with woolen ninja socks.

Also every weekend i go hiking barefoot, the most booty things I have with me are crocs but I use them only if i can't get my feet warm enough standing on a pad near the fire.
Oh, why I don't use boots in camp? Cause boots get all moisty and that means cold. I've noticed that i can keep my feet much warmer without boots, maybe that's because i have extra wide feet and boots just interrupt my blood circulation.


That's good enough for intro, now to the problem.
Main thing that everyone with my background are worried about is when will the first toe fall of
Or whether you get a frostbite.
But, there seems to be third danger that I don't know, how seriously should i take it.
One doctor said that with permanent touch of cold it's only a matter of time, when my endothelium mechanism will fail (I have no medical degree and I may have interpreted it wrong, but she sure took my barefooting as if it would be best to introduce me to a nice soft white room). I'm no specialist but it has something to do with thickening of veins throughout the body and thus raising blood pressure until body can't take it anymore.
I wonder, how serious is that threat? My dog lives happily and i don't know any mammals with that sort of problem. Why should I?

Ok, and if this endothelical thickening isn't likely, then what are the risks i have to worry about?

 

[Barefoot TJ]

I believe, from watching others who do it year-after-year, that it is possible to continuously run in temps below freezing...as long as you're healthy.

Currently, we have a Winter Challenge going on where some of our members run in freezing temps and document their outcomes. Check it out here: http://thebarefootrunners.org/threads/winter-challenge-2013.15041/ There will be links in that thread to the previous Winter Challenges.

There's also a well-known barefooter named Barefoot Rick Roeber who has been running for many years in the snow and ice, even marathons. Here's an article he wrote for the home page about it: http://thebarefootrunners.org/threads/winter-barefoot-running-–-is-it-for-you.12941/ And he has his own site where he records his winter runs here: http://www.barefootrunner.org/winter/winter.htm

Then there's another guy who has a video we share here from YouTube, but I'm not recalling it at the moment...anyone?

As long as you run smart, you should be fine. Running smart is the tricky part though, and you've got to get it right. Others here can give you all the tips to running safe in frigid temps.

If you are still concerned, please feel free to ask our doctors their opinions in our Ask the Docs forum

Welcome!

 

[Sid]

Is this what your doc is talking about?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8921751

I wonder if this applies to everyone or just people with certain conditions or genetics?

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Is this what your doc is talking about?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8921751

I wonder if this applies to everyone or just people with certain conditions or genetics?

Like Reynaulds?

 

[metavo]

Is this what your doc is talking about?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8921751

I wonder if this applies to everyone or just people with certain conditions or genetics?

More likely something like this:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/073510979090584C

Large coronary arteries in humans are responsive to changing blood flow: An endothelium-dependent mechanism that fails in patients with atherosclerosis


It still applies for people with certain condition that's unlikely to occur in case of healthy lifestyle.

 

[metavo]

I may be paranoid but now when temperatures are over 10 C my feet won't get cold. In ways its nice but its hard to wear socks, shoes and sleeping feet under blanket or inside sleepingbag. Lets see wherher i'll adapt

 

[Bare Lee]

I may be paranoid but now when temperatures are over 10 C my feet won't get cold. In ways its nice but its hard to wear socks, shoes and sleeping feet under blanket or inside sleepingbag. Lets see wherher i'll adapt

Ha! You got classic barefooter's hot foot. That's the reason I started barefooting in the first place. I can't stand socks! Even shoes without socks can get pretty sweaty. And like you, I need to poke my feet outside of the blanket now that I'm married and have to heat the bedroom much warmer than I used to as a bachelor.

As for that condition, if you're healthy, I wouldn't worry about. Some doctors talk a lot of shit. Let's face it, you only need B-level intelligence with an A-level work ethic to get into medical school, and then it's mostly a matter of memorization and basic competence to finish. Some doctors even think 20 minutes of low intensity exercise three times a week is enough to ensure good health! I had an orthopedist tell me that my TOFP was caused by a stress reaction in my foot when in fact I later figured out that I had sore tendons caused by tight shin muscles. That's right, a Google search gave me greater understanding of my condition than x years of medical school and 20-30 years of practice.

People have been surviving in the cold for tens of thousands of years. My dad used to work on the car with his bare hands in the middle of winter. Teenagers play hockey in sweaters and no hats when it's -20C. My six-year-old daughter runs around playing in a t-shirt when the temps get above freezing again in March. There are definite physiological limits, but most of what contemporary Western urbanites consider cold poses no danger to healthy, active people. And it sounds like you've already adapted quite well, better than most of us in fact.