My first time barefoot (April 2009)

I was truly inspired by Chris McDougall when I attended his talk at Run and Become about the new book he'd just published: "Born to Run". A fantastic read for runners and non-runners alike. In a nutshell, there seem to be two main ideas that he'd like us to take away after reading the book: 1) we run biomechanically correctly when we run barefoot, therefore any shoe/trainer/wedgy heel/ etc. will cause us to move incorrectly and get injured and 2) we need to re-evaluate why we run - try to enjoy it more instead of getting bogged down by distance goals, race strategies, timing....

So, after his funny, informative and thoroughly interesting presentation, the very next day I decided to try running barefoot. I'd read about the concept in Runner's World and in various online articles so I knew I needed to be careful and not expect too much from my first attempt.

Well. Ouch, is all I can say. I had no idea that the baby toe on my right foot was in such a position that when I ran it would rub on the ground until it bled. Despite the tenderness I was expecting, I had really not anticipated the sharp agony of landing on jagged bits of stone, sticks and gravel - it really hurt! I managed maybe about ten minutes of barefoot (very slow) running before deciding to call it a day and go home to examine my wounds.

To my surprise though, there were very few. I had visions of shredded bits of skin hanging off my feet but was pleased to find my feet were actually smoother than before. No one had told me about the exfoliation benefits of barefooting! There really was only just the one blister and a slight stinging, burning sensation along the sole of my foot - which sounds unpleasant but it wasn't at all. My feet felt wonderfully alive.

Strangely enough though, the overriding feeling from running barefoot was one of joy. I'd gone with David (it's slightly less embarrassing if two of you are doing it) and we giggled and laughed and felt like young kids having fun and.....well, playing! Don't you remember those days when you'd spend endless hours in the sunshine rushing around with friends playing tag, practising rolly polly's and returning home at the end of the day exhausted, dirty but pleasantly tired and happy? When was the last time you felt like that after a run?

I was hooked!