Purpose:
The literature shows few studies on shod and unshod running performance in athletes, with most limited to laboratory settings. The aim of this study was to evaluate preadolescent 1000 m running performance when barefoot and in running spikes or training shoes.

Methods:
A sample of 22 boys and 21 girls aged 10.6 ± 1.1 years was recruited. Anthropometric data and VO_2max were recorded when completing the three study protocols in a counter balanced design. Student’s t tests were applied to compare mean 1000 m finish times while ANOVA was used to evaluate sex differences between the protocols. Pearson's correlation analysis measured interactions between the finish times, anthropometric variables, and VO_2max.

Results:
Running performance with spikes (4.58 min) was significantly better than with training shoes (5.21 min) and barefoot (5.18 min). Male 1000 m times were overall better than the females. A substantial effect of VO_2max and body fat on performance was found in all protocols.

Conclusions:
Preadolescent endurance performance was not significantly different between training shoes and barefoot; this may serve as an incentive for future research on the training of developmental age runners.