What happens when an ordinary runner decides to kick off his running shoes and explore the idea that running shoes could actually be bad for runners?
You can read his progress from day one.
- How sore do your feet become?
- How bad do those blisters get?
- Can you run — injury free — in shoes that cost less than your socks?
- Can you really run completely barefoot?
- And — maybe most interesting of all — is it possible that running barefoot can greatly reduce your chances of getting injured?
Find out what happens to this runner and others in our barefoot running diaries. You can also check out individual barefoot running diaries by selecting names from the category drop-down menu on the right.
If you are thinking about (or have just started) running barefoot then read this little note about recommendations first.
Also, take a few minutes to read these tips on barefoot running.
If you have just started, we’d love to hear from you, and also be very pleased if you could log your early progress here so that others can see how you get on, more info about contributing.
If you wish to post your barefoot progress on this site for all to see, please read these posting guidelines first.
2 Comments
At the age of 60, I’ve just discovered “barefoot” running – inverted commas as I’m actually using Vibram KSO’s because a. It’s winter and cold, b. there’s too much dog mess and broken glass where I live, but I’ll move onto the real thing once my soles toughen up. I got these VSO’s only last week and sorry to say I didn’t follow the ‘take it easy’ advice: I loved the feeling so much my initial experimental few-hundred-yard venture turned into my usual 11km circuit through the nearby woods. But Wow! – other than the anticipated calf muscle soreness, I’m fine. Running like this seems so much more normal and seems to take a lot less effort. I’ll now never go back to a conventional heeled shoe. Just goes to show, even at 60, the years of running with shoes doesn’t mean that the body’s natural way of doing things has totally atrophied…
Thanks Nick, a great reminder that no matter how long we’ve been running there are still surprising discoveries to be made. Keep us posted with your progress and remain vigilant during the early months.
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