Barefoot running injuries (notably repetitive stress injuries) caused by heel striking in padded running shoes. The barefoot movement has prompted some manufacturers to introduce thin-soled and flexible shoes such as traditional moccasins and huaraches for minimalist running. Throughout most of human history, running was performed while barefoot or in thin-soled shoes such as moccasins. This practice continues today in Kenya and among the Tarahumara people of northern Mexico. Historians believe that the runners of Ancient Greece ran barefoot. According to legend, Pheidippides, the first marathoner, ran from Athens to Sparta in less than 36 hours. After the Battle of Marathon, it is
Running in Ancient Greece of foot races in ancient Greece. The standard distance that these races were measured in was the "stade" (where one stadia is approximately 185 meters). The one-stade race was the most prestigious; the mythical founder of the Olympic Games could allegedly run it in one breath. Other running events included a two-stade race, and the "Dolichos", which was a long-distance race that was 20 or 24 stades long, or about two and a half miles. For races longer than one stade, runners would have to turn 180 degrees around a post at each of the two ends of the stadium