Do "barefoot" runners need a different warm-up?

Question

I normally run 10-15 km training runs. My warm-up has always been nothing more than starting very slowly- I run the first 3 km at a crawl, really. A few months ago I switched to "barefoot" running, and I've been warming up in the same way. But then I managed to injure myself (as I detailed in this question) despite having done my normal warm-up.

There are two excellent questions here about running warm-ups - one is a general question, and this one is about the intensity of the warm-up.

My question is this- does (long distance) barefoot running require a different warm-up from regular running? Did anyone here make changes to their warm-up as a result of switching to barefoot running?

Answer 1

I do the same minimal warmup with barefoot running, as you said, just walking and running slowly. Nothing else has to be changed, beyond that you want to increase the distance that you run at a more gradual rate until your feet have properly adapted to running without shoes.