The running phenomenom has gained popularity over the past decades in Malaysia. However, running with shod or barefoot is still a debatable topic among runners and researchers. As such, this study investigated the effects of running with shod or barefoot on the predicted VO_{2 max} and ground reaction force (GRF). Twenty subjects (7 males and 3 females in each of the group) with no barefoot experience (EG, AGE: 20.1 ± 2.1 years, Running Experience: 2.6 ± 1.2 years and CG, AGE: 20.7 ± 1.7 years, Running Experience: 3.0 ± 1.3 years running experience) participated in this study. Predicted VO_{2 max} was calculated from 2.4 km run test while GRF for left leg (LL) and right leg (RL) were obtained from force plate analyses. Subjects were divided into 2 groups which were experimental (EG-barefoot) and control (CG-shod) groups based on the pre-test results. Both groups completed 6-weeks of intervention programme with twice a week of running training adapted from Mullen et al. (2014) at outdoor running track. The study found significant improvement in VO₂ of EG as compared to insignificant improvement in CG and revealed a greater reduction in the GRF for BF compared to shod runners. Results showed that EG improved significantly in the VO_{2 max} during post-test as in compared to pre-test (42.9 ± 7.5 vs. 40.7 ± 7.4 ml.kg^{- 1}min^-1; p=0.09). However, no significant difference was found in GRF between pre and post-tests in EG (LL: 1380.3 ± 271.8 N vs. 1340.4 ± 177.0 N, p = 0.59 & RL: 1389.1± 313.2N vs. 1326.3 ± 218.7 N, p = 0.43). In CG, no significant changes were found in VO_2max and GRF (p>0.05) between pre-and post-tests. Even though the results of GRF did not show significant improvement in both groups, ~ 3.5% of slight decrement in GRF was found in EG. We speculate GRF can be reduced further with the increase of training volume. Thus, barefoot running training can be a tool to improve running performance in recreational runners.