Running Press

News and articles from Running Training Plan

The Barefoot Running Diaries

Between July 2009 and April 2013 we ran a project here that welcomed runners  to document their experiences of running barefoot.

Twenty six people participated, some wrote only an intro and maybe a post or two, others contributed more detailed reports. One in particular, Soul Man, wrote 74 entries on his journey into running barefoot.

There is no doubt the Christopher McDougall's book, Born to Run, created a huge interest in barefoot running and a major shake-up within the running community, from beginners, to coaches, to shoe manufacturers. Whilst much of the hype has now diminished, the legacy has been a re-evaluation of what it means to run naturally. These posts in this section provide a glimpse into the lives of just a few runners who tried it.

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Week 4: ITBS is back…OH NO!!!

I’ve gone from Feast to Famine in the matter of 48 hours.  After my breakthrough last week, I feel that my concentration has really fallen off. This Monday, I went out for a 1.25 mile run and right around the 1 mile mark I began to feel my old antagonist ITBS creeping back into my left knee area.

Now don’t take me for an idiot. I knew when switching last month to Barefoot running that read more

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Week 3: Ouches to Oooohs

3 more runs this week.  .89, 1, and 1.13 miles.  2 miles total all Barefoot.  

This week was full of ouches and tip toeing around debris everywhere in the road. I was a little upset with my performance in the first 2 runs, but had a “break out” run on Friday that had to be celebrated with 1 or 7 beers that night at a local watering hole.  

It only took that 13 minutes to convince read more

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Week 2: Progressing

2.63 Miles in 3 runs.  I am following a pretty strict plan of increasing by 1/8th of a mile every run and added .75 miles of VFF’s to my last run because of how cold it was.  This week was even colder than last week.  I am not quite outside long enough to get frozen but it’s not very comfortable.  I feel like I am having a bit of a problem working on my form because I am so uncomfortable and read more

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Week 1: So Far So Good

Wet, Cold, Rocky, Wierd…but my legs feel great!!! 3 runs down, .75 miles covered.  I can say that so far that these small distances are just what the doctor ordered.  I am not quite sure if anything has been “cured” since my 3 weeks off and now beginning Barefoot, but I haven’t had any of the usual pain.  I guess that’s good for any distance at the moment.

Things read more

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First Barefoot Run

When all else fails, try running barefoot! Well not really. Since my completed marathon, I, like many other people, have suffered from a few nagging injuries. I’m not really sure what caused them, or if it had anything to do with my actual marathon, or the shoes I was wearing, or just plain stupidity on my part.

But the truth is, I’m injured for really the first time in my adult life. After a read more

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Barefoot running in the snow.

Possibly enthused by the recent articles in the newspapers, I decided to take the running shoes off again. I have been taking a break whilst a slight, but stubborn, Achilles tendon problem improves. The recent cold weather proved too much temptation and I just had to see what it was like to run barefoot on snow covered roads.

It was, admittedly, just a short trial, but it was an interesting experience read more