Harvard Professor Explains How the Tarahumara Run So Well in Those Sandals

*I love that someone from Harvard studied this. And I like the finding – stiff arches. I was hoping for a recommendation to wear huaraches for a run, but no. I was also hoping for an opportunity to geek-out with this read, and yes, I did. VL

By Jessica Lopez, Remezcla

The Tarahumara people are renowned for their extraordinary endurance running abilities. They have a way of uplifting Mexican people around the world through their sporting glory – most recently, Mateo González Bautista and Silvino Cubésare won second and third place at the World Indigenous Games– despite the fact that they are often ignored by politicians and given very little in the way of monetary resources and infrastructural support.

Something that has always fascinated people about the Tarahumara is how they can run so well in rough terrain wearing only huaraches, barely-there, flat, rawhide-soled sandals. Now, we have an answer. In his paper “Strike type variation among Tarahumara Indians in minimal sandals versus conventional running shoes,” Harvard professor, evolutionary biologist and running-form expert Daniel E. Lieberman delves into the effects of different types of shoes on running form.

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