Comment from cactusfoot
Time 2009 October 31 Sat at 12:54 am

Ken Bob,
Love your site & all of the support. Very new at BFR, very sensitive & tender feet that have never seen light of day… I am trying all of your techniques, posture, relax, knees bent, relax, cadance (easy cause it hurts), relax…. It works, but only for a short distance. My feet can only stand it so long. I have decided that since I am such a wuss, perhaps I should walk before I run. I have progressed to the point that I can walk short distances on rough pavement that I could never have walked on before… progress, yes but painfully slow. Some blisters, but not bad. I consider that progress as I hope they turn into calleses & ease the sensitivity…. I seem to have plateaued. My question now is how long does it take before I begin to progress any further? I try telling myself that it has taken me a lifetime of shoes to soften my feet. Will it take years before I can feel comfortable without shoes?
Thanks for your help.
Cactusfoot

Comment from kayetech
Time 2009 November 2 Mon at 8:24 am

Cactusfoot,

Don’t get disheartened, it takes a while to transition from foot-coffins to freedom! Keep at it, and you will get there. Make sure you vary the terrain you are walking/running on and concentrate on your form. Slowly building up is key, you just need to make sure you keep varying the terrain. Good luck!

Kerry

Comment from Barefoot Ken Bob
Time 2009 November 2 Mon at 3:00 pm

Cactusfoot,

Yes, you should walk, before running. Your feet have just been born, essentially, reborn coming out of a protective womb, after a very long time. I’ve never seen a baby come out of a womb, ready and able to run miles and miles, barefoot or otherwise.

Take your time, play with your feet, and the earth, and experiment with letting your feet get intimate with the terrains you will, eventually, be running on (barefoot).

This ain’t about building calluses – those are caused by bad running technique, and unnecessary rubbing of the skin on a surface (either the inside of a shoe, or the earth). Let your feet teach you, instead, not to rub, to eliminate friction, to go limp, when it hurts, rather than tensing up. Blisters are intermediate calluses. If you are getting blisters, it is the same cause, and should be avoided. Let the blisters, also, teach you, what not to do.

I can’t answer how long it will take you specifically. But, yes, if you haven’t played, walked, or run much barefoot, recently, or especially as a child, it will take a bit longer, not only to strengthen your feet, but to learn how to respond to what your feet are trying to teach you.

So, take the time, don’t walk or run enough that it hurts. If it hurts, then it is time to make a change. First try changing the way you are standing, walking, or running. Second, reduce the amount you are standing, walking, or running barefoot, until you have learned to stand, walk, and run, very gently.

Imagine you’re trying to sneak up on someone. You’ll immediately change the way you move, and reduce friction, impact, and other harmful effects of moving badly.

MOST importantly, HAVE FUN!

Comment from new_guy
Time 2009 November 4 Wed at 11:10 am

After 3 runs in VFFs I am hooked! I hope to go completely barefoot soon…

The techniques described here seem pretty natural to me but I am having difficulty finding the stride going downhill. Any suggestions?

Comment from Barefoot Ken Bob
Time 2009 November 4 Wed at 11:30 am

New Guy,

You’ll actually be able to FEEL how natural the techniques are, if you take off the footwear. the above techniques are just a starting point. Save the footwear for after you have benefited from your tender new soles teaching you every subtle detail about how to run, gently, gracefully, efficiently, and naturally.

Running downhill is a lot more exciting. However, techniques are basically the same – just some are more important over various terrains (which is why beginners should be practicing on various terrains). Learning to run in footwear, compared to actually barefoot is like the difference between singing with ears plugged, and singing with the ears un-plugged. You can’t really correct the subtle differences between being on-key and off-key, if you can’t actually hear the subtle differences.

AFTER you have started running BARE foot – you’ll want all the feedback you can get on the down hills – check this out, and other articles in the “hills” category:
http://runningbarefoot.org/?p=1539

Comment from Barefoot Tavis
Time 2009 November 5 Thu at 3:35 pm

Ken Bob,

I think I sprained my Achilles Tendon. In fact, I’m sure of it. After a brisk 2-miler this Monday morning, I felt great, best ever, but now, after only having run a total of 20 miles barefoot in the past 3 weeks, I think i’ve pushed myself a little too far, too fast.

Two days ago I noticed some swelling under and around my left ankle bone on the inside of my foot, and bending down on my ankle produces pain inside the ankle as well. So is it the Achilles, or have I torn some other ligaments?

For therapy, i’m stretching the foot as much as possible throughout the day, icing it twice a day or so, and taking some ibuprofen. And, i’m haven’t run since Monday, which has been very, very difficult! I’m so anxious to get outside and run barefoot again!

Any advice from the pro?

Comment from bmarshallpf
Time 2009 November 14 Sat at 9:14 am

Barefoot Tavis,
I started running in Vibram Five Fingers for a bit and after one run at night, I woke up with a similar pain (I think) that you are facing. It turned out to be a sprained posterior tibial tendon. I thought it healed after a day of rest, so I began my barefoot running routine (which I had ironically planned to start right after this run in the VFF’s,) but the pain came back the next day. I’ve been forced to shut down all forms of running for the time being to let it heal, but after a few weeks, when everything feels right again, I will resume barefoot running. Hopefully this helps.

Comment from Barefoot Tavis
Time 2009 November 14 Sat at 7:37 pm

bmarshallpf,

that website helped tremendously. that’s exactly where i’m feeling pain, it’s NOT the achilles, but a tendon that runs of the inside of my lower leg. Many thanks for the information.

FYI, it is almost completely healed, although still a bit tight when I bend my ankle too far in a stretch. my advice, is keep icing, and keep stretching all throughout the day. also, i’ve been on one or two runs, all under 1.5 miles, and went very slow. after, being warmed up, i was able to stretch and ice and this has yielded good results. make sure you keep walking barefoot in the meantime, and definitely stay away from the VFF’s.

Thanks again,

Tavis

Comment from jones
Time 2009 December 1 Tue at 7:52 am

Ken;
I am a 32 years old male, and just recently get into running, and runninf barefoot, or should i say, get back to running barefoot after a long 20 years of running with shoes. Last week i start with running slowly on the running track for 1/4 miles. I am not sure am i do it the right way, i could hear the sound of “boop~boop” each step i land. My toes were like grabbing the ground each time the foot land. My question is does our feet or running form adjust automatically when we run barefoot? I will try the technic you mentioned in this page on my next barefoot run.
*strange enough there is a bruise spot right above my right knee, (after second run), no pain though, just dark blue spot.

Comment from Barefoot Ken Bob
Time 2009 December 1 Tue at 8:50 am

If you had started barefoot, as an infant, your technique would have had plenty of time to adjust, by gradually increasing, at first, how long you stand, and let your feet feel and play with the ground. And later, by gradually increasing how far you walked, and felt and played with the ground with your bare feet…

The problem, of course, as adults, it’s very difficult for us to take the time and patience of an infant taking their first barefoot steps.

The solution is a combination of experimenting, feeling, playing with the ground with our bare soles, and using our brains to learn from the experience of others. Thus, this page, with the basics of how to run.

Take what you learn here, practice a couple of aspects at a time.
Pay close attention to what you feel, hear, and see, as you run.
Then go through the list occasionally and check how you’re doing – and which aspect of technique you may want to play with for the next few minutes.

Whenever you think you may not be running far, or fast enough, think of how long it takes an infant to go from birth to running a few miles… And remember, your feet have just been “reborn” from the protective environment of your shoes.

Comment from jsindelar
Time 2009 December 28 Mon at 8:05 am

On the return stride, do the toes point back or forward? That is, do the feet release all the way through so the toes point backward, or in lifting the whole foot as you say, do the toes keep facing forward all the way back to the foot plant? I’m partly curious because I found that running on brushy terrain, I could keep my feet higher and thus out of the brush by releasing my feet all the way through; it felt kind of like flying, my feet dipping down through the brush to find a foothold, then flipping back out of the way. Also an alexander technique teacher I was talking to told me to release all the way through when walking… but I don’t think this fits with the model of lifting the whole foot at once, does it?

Comment from Barefoot Ken Bob
Time 2009 December 28 Mon at 8:26 am

jsindelar,
Listen to the force… I mean, Listen to your feet. You don’t want to have the tops of your feet kicking against branches and bushes, that would just make running … difficult, and not so much joy. So, depending on the terrain, or underbrush, find the path (for your foot) of least resistance. This may be with your toes pointed way back, or it may be you aren’t pointing your toes forward enough… lifting your foot “level” enough. Play, experiment, carefully, but have fun.

Comment from slowpokejudd
Time 2009 December 28 Mon at 6:08 pm

I’m also trying to learn, or re-learn, how to run barefoot.
I live in ND, and right now the temp is almost up to 0.

so, i’m trying to use a treadmill to get it down. My feet blisered some, and get pretty hot on the treadmill.

Any advice on the use of a treadmill? I don’t think it’ll be above freezing outside for a couple months.
Any advice on these dillemas?
Also, how the heck would I start my own post? I guess I’m not only slow at running.

Comment from Barefoot Ken Bob
Time 2009 December 29 Tue at 6:51 am

slowpokejudd
Check out the “User Submissions” page (in the About menu)
http://runningbarefoot.org/?page_id=1204

Comment from shancat
Time 2009 December 29 Tue at 7:06 am

Great site! I haven’t begun barefoot running yet, I hope to this weekend. Yesterday I really focused on improving my form and running according to how you’ve outlined it here. It felt completely foreign and strangely comfortable at the same time. I’m not sure I’m getting the foot plant right though….should I be landing completely on my forefoot? My calves are very tight and sore today which makes me think I was not getting it totally right. But maybe my form was so bad before this makes sense? Also I was planning on running a half marathon in April and I’m not sure how to keep up the mileage while adapting to a new (much better) way of running. Thanks for any insight!

Comment from Barefoot Ken Bob
Time 2009 December 29 Tue at 7:45 am

Do NOT focus on the foot landings! Focusing on foot landings will only ensure that you push your foot into the ground harder than necessary.

Now, that said, DO pay attention to how your feet are landing – - – but do not try to force them to land in a certain way… If they are not landing correctly, then something else is wrong in the larger scheme of what the rest of your body is doing. Once you get that corrected, then you can fine tune the landings…

Now, with that said, you should use your entire sole for running, imagine you are standing on a bed of nails. You would want to distribute your weight across as many points of support as possible.

While running, the same is true, as terrain can (and should) be rough sometimes – our ancestors didn’t only run on beaches and manicured lawns.

As you start running further, and want to fine tune your landings to reduce friction even more, curve your foot gently – think of a rubber ball landing, it lands on one tangent, then as more force is applied the surface contacting the ground expands.

Now, think of a suction cup landing, the outer edges land first, then spread. Think of how much friction that would cause, if your feet did that.

So, basically, land ball of foot first, but relax, and allow the rest of your foot to follow, the heels and the toes… Anything less, will strain, not only your calves, but also the skin on your soles.

But, remember, your landing should be more a reflection of the rest of the basics… As in the original article above,
# If your heels are pounding, bend your knees, let your hips fall forward, use quicker, shorter steps.
# If your heels are not touching at all, relax your ankles and knees, letting the heels come down.
# If your feet are slapping, try lifting your feet earlier and/or quicker (faster cadence).
# If your feet never reach the ground, then you are lifting you feet too early
# Relax, relax, relax!

Comment from slowpokejudd
Time 2009 December 29 Tue at 6:13 pm

thanks BKB.

i’m not much of a talker, but i like asking questions.
Any advice on using a treadmill?
I’m not sure how often I’ll get outside barefoot during the winter in ND. I don’t mind below zero normally, but barefoot could be tough.

Comment from pester2×5
Time 2009 December 30 Wed at 4:00 am

I just stumbled upon this site, I have done some barefoot training in parkour but not as of yet running. I’ve always preferred running barefoot but my running routes are higher risk of glass, etc. I have run like this before and thought it felt much more natural, but though it looked silly.

Comment from Barefoot Sal
Time 2010 January 2 Sat at 12:13 pm

Dear Barefoot Ken Bob, Barefooters, and Barefoot Wannabees,
Barefoot Sal Strikes Again!
Two nights ago, I ran in my second “official” 5K. It was the “Year-to-Year Fun Run” at Point Mugu Naval Base in Ventura County. The run begins at 11:55pm New Year’s Eve, and you literally run into the New Year. Along the course, I kept an eye on my watch and led a group of us in a 10-second countdown to midnight, “Happy New Year!”
The active.com website said, “Course will be well-lit with flashlights and bon fires.” No it was not! A few yards into it I thought, “Is this a good idea?” It was paved, and I wore a cap with a mini-headlight on it, yet still, visibility was quite low. More than ever, I had to be completely awake; aware of each and every step! Halfway through, I felt much more confident and started to pick up my pace. I finished quicker than I had anticipated. The course was a flat and easy, Z-shaped, out-and-back x2.
Before the event, I asked a couple of race officials if there would be water along the course and they answered in the affirmative. Perhaps they thought I meant “will we be running in water?” As opposed to “will there be drinking water?” The good news is I now know that I can go 5K without taking-in water; one less thing with which to concern myself.
What a great way to start the year. I’ll stick around this distance for a while, until I feel lighter and more confident, then we’ll look at 10K, but no hurry.
Happy New Year!

Comment from jones
Time 2010 January 3 Sun at 8:06 am

my friend said the same thing about “silly” when they saw me running barefoot. “you run like that sneaky raptor in the Jurassic Park!” I guess it is because of that short stride.
It has been a month of trying + experiment + being watched by countless big eyes, and i have yet to find out exactly how, I have to keep repeat telling myself to relax and quickly pick up the foot. The landing is much more silence now, and the toes don’t grab on the ground that much.

The foot start to pound when i am feeling tired and lost control, usually after 2.5km. So I just stop and reward them by standing/walking really slow on the grass for a while before i walk home. When I bend my knee (to avoid heel pounding when landing), it felt like it is very difficult to lift it again, am i bending too much?

Comment from Catscradle
Time 2010 January 6 Wed at 7:48 pm

After reading all those instructions I got to wonder if it’s natural if one has to think of all those things. My running (currently with shoes) just happens, shouldn’t the right way to run barefoot just happen? It just seems to me that it takes what is suppose to be fun and natural and turns it into a chore. Yoga Bierra once said “How can you hit and think at the same time?”, I just have to paraphrase that and say “How can you run and think (this much) at the same time”. I’ve been running well over 30 years and I really want to give this a try and all that time I’ve never once thought about running, I’ve just run. As a matter of fact one of the greatest joys of running for me is turning my mind off completely. I naturally just kind of shuffle along with a very low foot rise (having once tripped over a frost heave, lol), but all those instructions are a bit much. Could you pare it down to the essentials?
BTW, since reading “Born To Run” I’ve already bought a pair of old school shoes (60’s era Tiger Mateos). If those work out I’ll progress to lesser and lesser shoe, I’ve been running too long to change over night.
A brother in running,
Steve.

Comment from Barefoot Ken Bob
Time 2010 January 7 Thu at 8:30 am

Catscradle,

No. It’s certainly not natural to have to think of all those things while running. However, it’s not natural to learn to run or walk, while wearing shoes. As I’ve said many times, “if we all had learned to walk and run in bare feet, this website would not be necessary.

So… the deal is, yes, it is a chore to LEARN to run, or actually to UN-learn the bad habits we allowed ourselves to practice while shod. But, as with any skill, Yogi Berra batting skill included, it is difficult to learn, but once learned, easy to “just do it”.

By the way, you don’t “progress” to lesser and lesser shoes. The best way to learn to run barefoot, is by listening to the bare soles. The instructions I wrote are to help people get there sooner – after all, if we had started out learning to walk and run barefoot, it still would have been several years before we could run miles and miles barefoot.

The essentials then…

Remove your footwear…

Listen to your feet and body…

If it hurts, change the way you’re running…

If it still hurts, take a rest…

Relax, and have fun.

Comment from Catscradle
Time 2010 January 7 Thu at 9:24 am

FWIW, today I tried to at least incorporate a couple of things. You seemed to stress knees bent and back and neck straight, so I concentrated on those 2 pieces. Since I’m running on snow and ice I have to keep my head down gazing about a yard in front of me or I might wind up on my butt. Where I felt it most was in the thighs and a little in the butt, to be expected I would think. I did notice immediately a different foot fall from that technique. I had to take a recovery walk part way through and then resume, but I got in my run in.
I’ll give it an honest shot, but don’t know that I’ll ever be fully converted to shoeless.
Thanks for your answer to my original post.

Comment from new_guy
Time 2010 January 7 Thu at 9:38 am

“Remove your footwear…
Listen to your feet and body…
If it hurts, change the way you’re running…
If it still hurts, take a rest…
Relax, and have fun.”

Words to live by, and not just pertaining to running!

As a newcomer to barefoot running I am making the transition from shoes gradually. What is working for me, after about 4 months of experimentation, is mixing my workouts. For my long Sunday runs I am still wearing shoes, but during the week, especially when I do my hill intervals and always for cross training I am either barefoot or wear VFFs.

I mean no disrespect to the barefoot purists, but a more gradual approach is working for me. My goal is barefoot all the time, but as a friend says, “If you run 20 miles into the woods you have to run 20 miles to get back out.” After spending about 48 years in shoes it may take me a while to be rid of them.

Comment from xcal
Time 2010 February 1 Mon at 1:42 am

Hi, I just got my VFF’s last week. I see your point about starting off naked, but I often run on fairly hazardous terrain…stones, glass, messy construction sites dump their stuff on the pavement/road, etc… anyway, I started ‘almost barefoot’ on Friday (walked out of the shoe-shop in my VFF’s), then ran/walked 7km on Saturday morning, and spent all day around town in them, then played a little cricket in them on Sunday, then ran/walked 9km on Sunday evening. I have 2 Q’s:
1. with my shoes on, I would simply scan the terrain for large objects every couple of metres, but I’m now constantly looking at the ground in front of me! i.e. my head/back is angled downwards instead of being vertical. I’m stiff today, but haven’t felt strain yet but I expect to feel it soon. Should I give this time to correct itself, or should I do something(what?)

2. I have some aches/pains, but will train kung fu tonight (in my vff’s) and plan to rest tomorrow. I read EVERYWHERE that we should start the barefoot journey very slowly…am I overdoing it? I’m listening to my body, and am not hearing it shout ‘STOP’ I heard ’slow down’, hence the weekend’s run/walk instead of ‘run’.
thanks

Comment from Shawnajosephine
Time 2010 February 8 Mon at 10:52 am

Hi, just learned about barefoot running and am astonished at what I’m hearing. I’m flat footed, wore orthotics when I was young, hated them! and refused as a teen. I’ve been in flip flops ever since and just started running 5 years ago. I’m flat footed, and bustier than most chicks, let alone runners, so shoes seemed like the most important aspect of staying injury-free. Regardless, I was injured the first 2 years – all the time. I still have back, knee, and ankle. I love running, but hate my limitations. I am excited to see what running barefoot can do for me.

I don’t want to sacrifice my regular runs because I’m only able to do short ones barefoot. Anyone else easing into barefoot running with walking and/or short miles running, while maintaining high mileage in running shoes the rest of the time?

Comment from seasick-sailor
Time 2010 February 24 Wed at 1:48 pm

Yo Barefoot Ken Bob, I know you and others are proponents of no footwear at all, not even minimalist such as VFF, but some of us are better advised to wear some protection from any injury that might cause a breach of the skin barrier on our feet. I’m talking about us diabetics. Even if we do have good sensitivity down there (as I still do), the complications resulting from a simple cut that doesn’t heal properly due to reduced circulation can mean that we may have to learn how to run as a pogo stick instead of on two feet. I just started this great adventure and find that with the VFF I can still get most of the sensation of BFR but without the increased chance of cuts or punctures to the feet. Not saying it won’t happen so I’ll have to be very careful, but even the VFF are liberating compared to the foot coffins.

Love your site and the great discourse amongst members.

Comment from Barefoot Ken Bob
Time 2010 February 24 Wed at 2:18 pm

Hi seasick-sailor,

The diabetic issue is not news to me… Also, people who have no feet should not run bare foot.

Nonetheless I don’t buy the argument that your feet will never be cut, blistered, and suffer damage inside footwear.

I’ve even seen blisters on Barefoot Ted’s feet after running in Five-Fingers (granted he had just finished running 100 miles)

In my experience, EVERY time I ran more than 15 miles (often less) in footwear, my feet were blistered and/or bleeding. And yet, only rarely have I cut, blistered, or otherwise damaged my feet while running barefoot! And I have run a lot more miles barefoot – mostly because it has caused me less injury!

I attribute my experience to being more aware of running gently, and running as if I care about my bare feet. This seems a better defense against such damage, than to expect protection from devices that cause my feet to bleed!

So I guess, unlike me, you’ve never had blisters or abrasions from wearing footwear?

In any case, but especially for those with reduced sensitivity (due to diabetes or whatever), we should actually inspect our feet for damage before, during, and after running – WITH or without footwear – but it’s a lot easier to see your feet without footwear!

I’m not even diabetic, but at the very least, every time I take a shower I inspect my feet for damage while washing them.

Comment from seasick-sailor
Time 2010 February 24 Wed at 2:40 pm

I appreciate you getting back to me. Yes I have had injury inside my shoes and I do inspect my feet thoroughly. And I don’t expect to get away injury free with VFF either, just fewer injuries. I will, however, take your comments under advisement and after I have a bit more experience, revise my position if warranted.

Again, thanks. Cheers.

Comment from caj1956
Time 2010 March 3 Wed at 5:02 am

Shawnajosephine: I am a absolute newbie working bf and with VFF KSOs and committed to transitioning to being stictly bf. But I am doing my second marathon in a few weeks 92nd of the year) and am no where near trying a bf or VFF effort (although I am thinking of doing some of the distance carrying my shoes). So I have decided to make it through this next race as a shod-runner.
But I am loving the bf experience so once this next race is completed I am going to start my running career over as a full bf runner. I will use the VFF as a means to have some protection through the end of the cold and during the hot southern summer pavement days ahead.
I will note that I ran 17 hilly miles in my shoes last weekend and I couldn’t help but try to adjust my stride from what i have already learned in mf bf practice.
LOVING BF!

Comment from lu_morning
Time 2010 March 28 Sun at 9:59 am

I’ve ran barefoot on treadmills in the past and recently got back into running. I started running in huaraches. Since your site has been my inspiration for barefoot running and have provided valuable information, I thought I ask here. I ran my first barefoot run maybe half a mile around the neighborhood sidewalk yesterday. It was great and I didn’t feel anything wrong in the run. I then ran over 3 miles in my huaraches. I notice today that near the tips of my toes on both feet, they are a little raw and tender especially the big toe and 2nd toe. I have that issue on treadmill when I ran bare in the past for longer distances around 2-3 miles. There is no blister or anything. I will experiment but thought you might provide inputs. Do you think pushing off with my toes as oppose to lifting horizontal the foot is the cause because in my mind I thought I was lift my foot horizontal. Thanks.

Comment from Barefoot Ken Bob
Time 2010 March 28 Sun at 11:02 am

The question is, “Do YOU feel pressure on your toes just before lifting your feet?” Also, you can occasionally look at your feet to see if you are pushing down (don’t get in the habit of staring at your feet while running). Another good source of feedback is to run on soft sand or mud, and take a look at your foot prints. The goal is to make nice clear, un-smudged, footprints of even depth. In mud, you’ll also feel your foot slipping if you are pushing off. If you are lifting your foot straight up, and setting it straight down (underneath your center of balance), should be no problem.

Comment from lu_morning
Time 2010 March 29 Mon at 5:04 pm

Thanks, for the advice. I ran a little today. The pavement was wet and I found out the sand and tiny rocks will stick to a wet sole. Who knew? So I ran a little slower knowing I’m running on sand and tiny rocks. Since my toes are little raw, I was careful I didn’t push off and had my toes curled up a little so that they don’t slap the ground and when I lift, I lift with my feet with my toes a little curled up also. I also focused on trying to be vertical. Considering the wet condition, I think it’s an improvement. Like you say, my feet will let me know what I’m doing wrong. When I get a chance, I’ll try your feedback methods also. Thanks.

Comment from Lassez
Time 2010 April 15 Thu at 3:11 am

I’m having some trouble with bending my toes up when pushing off and when landing.
In my neighbourhood I can only run on asphalt, chip seal or rough cobblestones, so whenever I’m doing something wrong I immediately feel it.
After every one of my last 5 or so runs my toes hurt and the skin had suffered quite a bit of abrasion for only one mile.
So I try to bend my toes up a little like you say, and it works ok, but I can’t seem to relax either my feet or my ankles when I do that. They lock in position a little and my calves start burning quickly even on my short runs.
How can I manage to relax AND still bend my toes up?
It’s like every time my foot touches the ground it wants to grab it and hold on to it even and I really have to will myself to keep the toes up, but I can’t manage for long, any advice that goes beyond “bend your toes up” would be very much appreciated.
Thanks a lot.

Comment from Curt Busse
Time 2010 April 15 Thu at 4:12 am

I have this same difficulty bending my toes. Even worse, I have hammer toes: my 4th toe actually wraps partially under the 3rd on both feet. But fortunately after 3 months running barefoot on these same types of surfaces I am not getting abrasions or blisters on my toes.
I have learned that there are some words and expressions to avoid using on Ken Bob’s site and one of them is “pushing off.” Make sure you are landing gently and lifting your feet. Maybe you are trying too hard.

Comment from Barefoot Ken Bob
Time 2010 April 15 Thu at 6:53 am

Curt,

It’s not the words that need to be avoided, but the action they describe. And if we’re using the words to describe the action we’re doing, even if it isn’t an accurate description, it does teach the inaccuracy to other beginners… So, I’ll keep hammering away at people to run gently, and to be accurate about describing running gently.

Comment from river_runner
Time 2010 April 15 Thu at 8:12 am

Lassez,
I think that you should bend up your toes when your foot comes down. When your foot touches the ground, you can let your toes gently touch the ground as well (like your heel does). Look at the animated two feet on the right side on top of this website – the toes do touch the ground for a moment, after the foot came down. That is the moment when the foot is absolutely relaxed. Then at the same time you are lifting the foot again you slightly bend up your toes again. Anyway that’s how im doing it, and how I do not hurt my toes. And I also think it is very important to focus on lifting the foot (not pushing), and that the forward movement results automatically while you are “letting your hips fall in front of your feet”. I also sometimes play around with leaning my torso a littebit forward, like Danny Dreyer describes it for Chi-Running ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UYkAB18wgs&feature=related ).

Comment from Barefoot Ken Bob
Time 2010 April 15 Thu at 8:51 am

Lassez,

That is right, as far as I know – at least that’s how it works for me. Just like people get confused about letting the heel touch the ground. When we say curve the toes up, that does NOT mean that we are trying to keep the toes off the ground completely. The heels and toes should be allowed to touch the ground.

I like to use a ball, and a suction cup to explain the difference. Push a rubber ball into your desktop, and the skin spreads out across the desktop, but there isn’t any significant friction. Now push a suction cup into a desktop, the outer edges touch first, then slide outwards, as pressure is applied.

Now imagine your foot… it is better to be like the ball, with the skin stretched out before landing, rather than like the suction cup, sliding outwards during loading!

Comment from Lassez
Time 2010 April 18 Sun at 1:59 pm

Wow, I just had a wonderful time running barefoot.
At first I didn’t really feel good about running today, since my run yesterday felt a bit awkward and I didn’t expect today’s run to be something to write home about.
I took my “short route” of only about 1k, but as I ran I started feeling really good about myself and when I came by my house again I felt like I could go on for another lap, so I did.
And then I did another one, running a total of 3 kilometers (~2 miles) without consciously changing anything about my gait or anything, it just sort of made click and there I was, running twice as far as I’d ever run barefoot before!
I only stopped after 3k because I thought that if I overdid it today I would regret it tomorrow. I couldn’t stop grinning like an idiot during my last lap because it just felt so good.
This was definitely my most enjoyable barefoot run ever.

Comment from Freund
Time 2010 April 22 Thu at 2:11 pm

I am new to barefoot running have been building mileage barefoot for the past couple weeks. I now sit comfortably at three mile runs, as a 14yr old, while being able to end barely breathing any different than normal. My only problem is, as my feet seem a tad tougher than they used to be, they also seem more callused. How should I go about to combat this problem?

Comment from Barefoot Ken Bob
Time 2010 April 23 Fri at 9:53 am

I’m guessing you spent your early running barefoot weeks trying to toughen your feet, rather than paying attention and trying to learn to run more gently, without causing abrasion…

The solution is to avoid “combat”, or any kind of attitude that makes you think about being tough, abrasive, or combative…

Run GENTLY on a variety of surfaces, making sure not to do any skidding, slipping, or twisting of your feet while in contact with the surface. Be sure to bend your knees, and lift your feet, quickly and often.

Secondly, most of your running, like 90%, should not leave you out of breath. Try relaxing, and running at a pace that doesn’t leave you out of breath.

When I was your age, I thought I hated “running”, because that’s the way we learned to run in physical education class. But, I spent much of my time running with our dogs through fields and forest near our home. It just didn’t occur to me that I was running, because I wasn’t out of breath, and I was having fun.

Have fun,
-barefoot ken bob

Comment from Freund
Time 2010 April 23 Fri at 2:05 pm

Thanks Barefoot Ken/Bob. I see running as a time of thinking and just a fun way to exercise. I’ll make sure I start bending my knees and lifting my feet more. Now I know to not run myself to exhaustion, which I have basically been raised as to this point of doing or being told to do. Once again thanks Barefoot Ken/Bob.

P.S. ~ Could my friend maybe ask you a couple questions over your site on barefoot running? After reading christopher Mcdougall’s “Born to Run” we were inspired to do our next projects on the topic. Him doing barefoot running vs running shoes and me doing mine on the Tarahumara.
Again thank you for your time

~Freund

Comment from Barefoot Ken Bob
Time 2010 April 23 Fri at 3:44 pm

Freund,

Your friend can certainly ask questions about Running Barefoot on this site – but first, do a search to see if the question has already been answered. Secondly be sure to post the question publicly, for everyone’s benefit, rather than sending me private emails.

Also our Yahoo group is a great place for discussions:
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/RunningBarefoot/

Comment from Freund
Time 2010 April 24 Sat at 6:43 am

Thank you for your quick response. I see no other way in posting the questions. If they are anything that could benefit others might as well be public. I unfortunately do not know his questions and will have to contact him to get them or just have him ask them here himself. Thank you for the link to your yahoo group.

Comment from juliarunner
Time 2010 June 3 Thu at 4:53 pm

have just started running barefoot, did two very short barefoot runs this week (1/2 mile each) alternating with my regular 5 mile runs in shoes. Have now been feeling crunch sort of twinginess in left achilles. possibly achilles tendonitis? have resolved to take two days off, ice and ibuprofen. any more advice? ideas as to why? too much too fast?

Comment from abik
Time 2010 June 4 Fri at 3:08 am

Hi Juliarunner, I have not experienced any seriuous injuries from shoes, nor from barefootrunning, but I allso tried during transition to keep running shod for a short while, the trouble i experienced was that every time I ran on shoes I ended up with suspicious pains near the shins, I think in my body could not handle alternating shoes and bare feet, or very probable I unlearned running shod.At that point I chose for barefoot running. anyway to me it was quite difficult to maintain both techniques, so During transition I walked a lot barefoot and did a lot of cycling and Iceskating Cycling still mostly shod in winter;-)
Combining running on shoes with running barefoot might be even more dangerous than running in shoes at all, at least I unlearned shod running a lot quicker than I expected.

Comment from juliarunner
Time 2010 June 4 Fri at 11:28 am

thanks for the ideas. My dad (who is also a runner) and I figured out that I have achilles tendonitis, but I think its just because of th enew running style. My calves probably aren’t srong enough yet. I plan to take two or three days off, hopefully I’ll get better fast. I go crazy when i can’t run! =)

Comment from Barefoot Ken Bob
Time 2010 June 5 Sat at 5:52 am

NO! If you think your calves need to be toughened up to run barefoot, then you are not running correctly. ANY pain is usually an indication that you are not running correctly. AVOID pain. Relax your calves. Let your heels touch the ground. If the heels feel like they are pounding the ground, then bend your knees more. If your heels are not touching the ground, relax your calves more. DO NOT just hope you’ll toughen up enough to continue running inefficiently – I see far too many people hurting themselves and not being able to run for months after that! Seriously. If it hurts, you need to make changes to the way you are running!

Comment from juliarunner
Time 2010 June 6 Sun at 7:17 am

ok. thanks. am nearly over the tendonitis now, will probably take one more day off just to be safe though. when i start up again, should i start barefoot or should i go back to running w/ shoes just to be safe?

Comment from nb99
Time 2010 June 16 Wed at 6:57 am

Hi

New to the barefoot game but very keen to give it a go. Currently recovering from a bout of Achilles tendonitis but trying to stay patient enough to let it recover before starting into it so reading as much theory as I can and walking around the house barefoot to get used to it a little in the meantime. My question is regarding the bending of the knees which seems to be a real golden rule. I can’t understand at which part of the stride it’s important to do it. Am I bending my knees more to try to back-heel my bum at the end of the stride or bending it more at the start of the stride (but this is effectively a knee lift which is a no-no from what I’ve read on this site). I can’t really get when exactly I’m meant to bend it. Any help in explaining would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Comment from Barefoot Ken Bob
Time 2010 June 17 Thu at 5:26 am

Practically the whole stride is about bending the knees. Lifting the foot and bending the knee is really the same thing. We lift the foot by bending the knee (not by lifting the knee – at least not high). We move the foot forward by moving the knee forward (not necessarily lifting the knee high). And when we land, we relax to allow the knee to bend more, which loads our springs. Then as our body move forward, in front of our foot, the springs release automatically, and we continue lifting our foot (rather than trying to push our foot into the ground).

Practice a Groucho Marx walk. Then practice fast cadence – think of our your feet spinning, like peddling a bicycle, you’ll need to be sure to lift the foot. If you try pushing the foot into the ground, you’ll never get a fast cadence, because you’re launching your body up into the air, and it takes too long to fall back down. Thus focus on lifting the feet early, and lifting them very frequently – think of the Road Runner and Coyote cartoons, with the feet spinning.

Comment from valmarie
Time 2010 June 22 Tue at 12:26 pm

I am completely intrigued. I’ll be honest…I’m not sure I can imagine myself totally running barefoot but the advice about posture and form is INVALUABLE and will definitely be used as a training tool. I’ve been suffering from Morton’s Neuroma and my first thought was, “There is no way I could run barefoot, I can hardly even walk barefoot anymore.” Then I read the tips and incorporated them as I ran in place in front of the computer. I was SHOCKED to find myself darting about the room, BAREFOOT, over my linoleum and wood floors, PAINFREE. I don’t understand how it works but apparently the neuroma was caused by some kind of poor posturing. I have been “warming up” before my runs doing very slow walking, then Chi walking (assuming that’s what I’m doing from what I know about Chi running) and eventually I find the pain goes down enough to run on it. I thought I was doing a good job at watching my form but I am really learning as I peruse this site. And who knows…maybe one of these days I’ll hop on the treadmill shoeless!

Comment from nb99
Time 2010 July 9 Fri at 6:12 am

Hi

Sorry for delay in follow-up reply but have finally just got over my Achilles problem. Firstly, thanks Barefoot Ken Bob for taking the time to reply – the Groucho Marx image is a good one to illustrate the type of gait needed. Went for my first run in 5 fingers (I know it’s not the same as barefoot but I’m trying them first). A couple of blisters on the soles today but nothing serious. Loved the feel of running “barefoot” though and no reaction at all to my Achilles which is great. Just want to check one thing – with the high cadence and low running style, it feels like one foot is almost always on the ground, almost speed-walking style – is that how ti should feel? Thanks

Comment from Barefoot Ken Bob
Time 2010 July 9 Fri at 8:03 am

nb99,

The problem with minimalist footwear, while trying to learn how to run barefoot, is not simply that they are not the same – but that they actually do not allow you to take advantage of all those beautifully sensitive nerve endings in your soles, which really want you to know when you aren’t running gently enough, or when you are running too much. Therein lies the DANGER of blocking these sensations so that you can run further than your bare feet are ready to run.

Comment from nparasida
Time 2010 July 15 Thu at 3:57 pm

Wow awesome site! Thanks for all the info. I was athletic when I was younger then I got “runners knee” it was so bad I just gave up everything and got fat. This year I decided I had enough and started working out more but the knee problems started to return. Last week, I accidentally had to run a little over a mile, more like a sprint, barefoot through the city to catch my ride. To my shock not only did my knees not hurt, they didn’t swell up either. I noticed as I was running that it was so much fun, and that it feel very freeing, and I was able to adjust my running to what felt good immediately. I am glad you have this site up, now I think I will start walking barefoot and work up to running if I can. I’ll let you know what the progress is! Thanks again

Comment from Babylonbrother
Time 2010 July 18 Sun at 3:41 pm

Hey Ken Bob, and everybody else! Thrilled to be here among the kindreds!
I’m transitioning… and loving the barefoot moments. I’m doing the ironman in 4 weeks, and sadly I won’t be ready to run in BF, but I’ve incorporated BFR in my workouts, and the barefoot stuff is quickly becoming my favorite part. Had a great run today, felt fast and light (6-7 km), but unfortunately came home with blisters on the balls of my toes… the 3rd and 4th toe on my right foot. Any thoughts?
I’ve done the same route a few times in VFF, and it’s been fine, but after finding this site I’ve left the VFF’s on the shelf for a while.. Am I digging my toes in? Or is there something more sinister at work?
Any comments would be much appreciated- from the guru himself, or from anyone who knows more than me:-)
Cheers from Denmark!
Christian

Comment from Barefoot Ken Bob
Time 2010 July 19 Mon at 8:29 am

no one knows more about what your body is doing than yourself. The blisters are your body telling you that you probably are digging in your toes – but that’s just my interpretation. Still, it costs you nothing to try curving your toes up GENTLY. We do want the toes to land, as well as the heel. We would like to use the entire sole of the foot for traction and weight distribution. Yes, the ball of the foot should land first, but the rest of the sole should follow. Thus, bending the knees keeps the heels from slamming into the ground first, and relaxing the calves allows the heel to touch afterwards. Likewise, GENTLY curving the toes up, keeps them from slapping into the ground before the ball of the foot lands, but being GENTLY curved up, allows them to land on the ground immediately after the ball touches.

That said, this gentle curving also stretches the skin out BEFORE landing. The alternative is that the skin spreads out while on the surface, as we apply our weight. This results in horrendous friction, and is the reason to land ball of foot first, and then allow the rest of the foot to land.

Also, at the tail end of the step, be sure to focus on lifting the whole foot, not pushing the ball of foot (and toes) into the ground, to unnecessarily launch your body up into the air.

Comment from Babylonbrother
Time 2010 July 19 Mon at 11:48 am

Hey Ken Bob, and thanks for your quick reply. This site is truly
a great source of knowledge.
I took a walk barefoot tonight… like I’ve been doing for a few weeks. It’s really nice. It occurred to me if you had considered putting up some video of you (or someone like you) running barefoot? It would be great to be able to visualize what it is you’re doing….:-)
Is that possible? Or do you have some other suggestions?

Cheers
C

Comment from syn_ack
Time 2010 July 27 Tue at 6:10 pm

I’m just starting to do barefoot running (I’ve been walking barefoot for about 2 months, I’m starting to get light and efficient at it). However, I went out for a run today (about 40-50m) and the outside of my foot was really hurting on every landing. I think its scraping the ground since about an hour after, there was a thick callus and when I took a shower, the area was cracked and looked like I massacred it. Its the section from the base of the pinky toe to the raised part of the outside.
Does anyone have any ideas how I can fix this? (would shortening stride help?)

Comment from abik
Time 2010 July 29 Thu at 3:57 am

Syn Ack, I first thought you meant 40 to 50 meters, but i think these were minutes, probably your technique was not ready yet, shortening stride might help, if zour stride was too long anyway probably you have been scraping your feet at landing, practising technique is very difficult on longer runs, I started running barefoot mainly with series of 200 meters 400’s and thousands,
before slower distance running. The very beginning was to run in place and gradually increasing foreward movement .

Comment from abik
Time 2010 July 29 Thu at 12:54 pm

Well I first want to compliment Ken Bob for the clear descriptions on how to run, this website has helped a lot, I am in my third year of running barefoot and I run a lot more and also faster than before (well 20 years ago I ran well in shoes, but that was before running shoes had become castles of foam.)

Secondly I would like to share a personal record; The 200 meters “fakir asphalt” it is the stuff you find between waters in the netherlands, anti slip, asphalt with a topping of rough sharp split stones. I have had some difficulties with a sensitive spot in my left foot forcing me to rethink running form, especially relaxing my forefoot. I turned out to be able to run a certain stretch of this stuff rather well lately and i got the idea to make a game of it, allso since the marathon of Amsterdam has a stetch of horrible road between kilomter 20 and 23
Today after the interval training with the club I went to a piece of this asphalt and I cut it up in 200 meter pieces walking 100 meter in between . And I thought can I run fast on this stuff? I clocked one of these 200 meters (completely painless) in 44 seconds, incredible pacefrequency, bent knees, using the entire foot heart rate was over 170 at the end, but it worked. Anyway, since barefoot running is a game, I feel extremely satisfied, as with killing a monster in some stupid video game;-), or learning a new construction in a foreign language.

Comment from syn_ack
Time 2010 July 29 Thu at 6:04 pm

abik, i meant meters. I can’t even get a minute of running barefoot. (though my shod running wasn’t exactly up to par aswell) Along the sides of my feet (along the outside of my big toe and along the outside of the foot) is all callused. Unfortunately, I just realized that the pain I was having in my arch wasn’t from week flat feet, but rather from posterior tibilal tendonitis. So I can’t exactly run that much until they get a little better.
I think I was taking to long a stride (when I looked down, I could see my feet land).

Comment from abik
Time 2010 July 29 Thu at 11:03 pm

Oops, excuse……
Shorter strides can certainly help, the amount of energy in vertical velocity tour feet muscles etc have to deal with is the square of the amount of time spent in the air, so that will help a lot. Overstriding often goes along with braking and pushing off.
Spending as much time as possible barefoot can allso help. I did a lot of dancing barefoot in my first barefoot running summer.
Another time excuse for my misinterpretation of “m”
Maybe I overstrained my brain by figuring out miles per minute and fahrenheit on this website;-)

Comment from Babylonbrother
Time 2010 July 30 Fri at 6:47 am

Does anyone have any advice about barefoot walking? I walk around a lot in my bare feet just to get used to the sensation:-)
Of course when I run, I run on the front of my feet, but when I walk my heels still hit the ground first….
I can’t work out if that’s “Just the way it is” or if I should strive towards more of a flatfoot-strike?
Comments are welcome!

Cheers
Christian

Comment from Barefoot Ken Bob
Time 2010 July 30 Fri at 8:59 am

FIrst of all, I do not recommend running on the front of your feet. I land ball-of-foot first, then the toes and heels touch-down immediately after.

But, this isn’t something you should be “trying” to force your feet to do. They will land this way, if the rest of your body is doing what it needs to do.

If I bend my knees, and gently curve my toes up, and let my feet land, the above sequence happens naturally.

And the techniques described above, and in the How page, should be practiced, first, while standing (preferably in some rough gravel – for increased sensation). This experimentation or play helps teach us how to listen to our own body, and make adjustments, to avoid pain, and find comfort (even on “uncomfortable” surfaces).

The difference between walking and running technique is simply a matter of degree, speed, or more technically, “flight”.

- be sure to read through the How page:
http://therunningbarefoot.com/?page_id=525

Comment from abik
Time 2010 July 30 Fri at 2:47 pm

Well, if I walk barefoot I just walk, and I think I am designed to land my heels first while walking, never really thought a lot about it, and i do not think there is anything wrong with landing your heel first. I allso think there is no dramatic difference between walking with shoes or without shoes (apart from blisters smell and other malheur if walking too much in shoes) Never encountered any problem letting my heels touch the earth first. Of course walking barefoot is far more comfortable than walking shod, but that is where the difference ends, I can even walk on shoes if i want to.
Running is different, running on shoes has become allmost physically impossible. but to return on subject, I started running barefoot on the front of my feet, not the best way to run, especially on rough terrain, or on long slow distances but I simply couldn’t do any better. I gradually learned the right way to tense and relax my calves and other muscles to let my heel touch the ground, I would not concider running with floating heels a serious problem in the beginning, especially if pace frequency is good, I came over this naturally, but still run frequently with floating heels, but a lot more smoothly than in the beginning, presently I run about 50 to 70 kilometers per week on all available terrain. Fast intervals on street or grass I run most of the time “heelless” distances are mainly covered BHB.

Comment from anthro
Time 2010 August 18 Wed at 5:35 pm

Five fingers or Nike Free or sandals are not the best solution for barefoot transitioning, in fact they could make it worse. Here is why.

1. both your feet and the sole have been dormant all of your life. both the sole sensitivity and the muscles/tendons/bones of your feet are interconnected all the way to our brain. have you heard of reflexology? it really works, people who massage parts of your body to heal pain in other parts of your body. The more we walk barefoot, the more we activate this path in our body. your feet want to be used as they were designed.

This is what I recommend for those wanting to start barefoot running:

1. Walk barefoot for at least a month or two around your neighborhood. start with 10 minutes a day and increase gradually with time. eventually walk the running path that you are used to. you will noticed that within a week, your feet soles will start forming a nice layer of protection. everyone is different, but once you have this layer, you are ready to GRADUALLY running bafefoot, start with short distance and increase as you go. The only part of the body you will find sore is your calves. I recommend that during your first couple of weeks of walking barefoot, you also do 10 to 20 repetitions lifting your body using your calves by stepping on a step, do this at least once a day and let your calved recuperate.
2. do everything else everyone is suggesting on this blog; high candence, low impact, avoid heel strike but ok to touch slightly, lifting your feet slightly, etc, etc.

What about rough terrain?
You really should be able to run on most terrain, except gravel roads at first, this really takes a lot more training. you will also notice that when you run on paved roads or path, that you might step on some loose gravel everyone once in awhile, if it happens, it shouldn’t hurt much and you should be able to wipe it right off, although lately I just let it be there and carry the little pebble on my sole for several strides until it falls off on its own. remember your feet sole is already conditioned so you won’t feel much pain. if anything think of reflexology.

About Vibram Five Fingers or any other shoe:
Well… I bought a pair a month ago. I have to say that it is very easy to go back to the old bad habits of heel strikes. just the extra comfort on the soles allows you to change your strike slightly from your barefoot strike. Also, your feet is not as flexible, when I first put them on, I tried going up and down with my toes and noticed that it was very stiff to push my toes up. I really feel that there is a restrictive mechanism. if you feel that you must wear a shoe, I recommend you use a very thin sole and a shoe that doesn’t wrap plastic/rubber around your feet like a glove. instead use a wide open sandal with either leather soles or thin soles. if you have to buy a vibram, get the sprint style. but again, I don’t recommend buying or using five fingers. besides, they are well overpriced. I would much rather use a wetsock and for the price you get the same benefit. actually the wetsock might even be more flexible but it is also enclosing your feet.

Why?
all the benefits listed on this blog are true. I used to have IT band problems and some knee issues and they are gone! I also run much longer distances than ever before. about the pace… it was slower at first but I have to say that a month ago I just matched my fastest pace on running shoes, I am now running the same pace or faster….

What else besides running barefoot?
there is more to life: swimming, praying, cycling, relationships, and nutrition.

Comment from M.Wolf
Time 2010 August 20 Fri at 11:40 am

Dear Ken Bob,
First of all I’d like to thank you for such an amazing and interesting site ! I’ve just barely started barefooting (I run around the block a few times every day, occasionally stopping and walking instead) but I’ve been a “runner” for much longer (training for a marathon).. Now although both you and my feet give me good advice (!), I do have a few questions though, notably:
- Do you think that because I’m young (18) I don’t need to un-learn as many shoewearing years as, say, a 30 year-old ? (even if the answer is yes, I’m still not making the mistake of overtraining, ouch!)
- Would you know of any self-assessement “workouts” of the same kind as the ones in this video ( ) [start at and end at ]
- In the same kind of idea I guess, would you know of any exercises to make my feet more barefoot friendly ? I ask this because my floor is very smooth and doesn’t feel like it’s making my feet “stronger” or anything
- Do you think that wearing shoes (Air Force Ones) can damage my barefoot progress ? I was thinking of buying huaraches or making them myself for classes etc because I’m definitely not allowed to be barefooted.
-When you say you need to keep a cadence high to use the elasticity in our body, how do you maintain a stable, slower pace ? I feel that when I run, I don’t sprint but I’m still too fast compared to my old pace so I get somewhat out of breath after a while.
- Also my last issue is running ! I run a lot because I enjoy running, I also have never had any injuries due to running yet so it’s all positive for the moment ! I completely understand not pushing myself to avoid damage during “transition” (not that I wear VFFs of anything of the sort) but I also really enjoy pushing myself when I run so how do I transition whilst keeping up running ? Will running damage my barefooting progress ? (I run in Triax structure 11’s which have a high heel –I’ve become more aware of this since I started bf and it feels somewhat uncomfortable).

Anyways I’m sorry for posting such a long series of questions, and I hope they don’t take you too long to answer ! Thank you again for such a comprehensive look at barefooting, I’m completely hooked !

PS: I’m half french/half american and it’s very unfortunate that there is an extremely limited amount of information/content on BF in France/French so I was wondering if you’d be interested in letting me translate some of your stuff ( I’m no pro, and I don’t really have anything worked out, it’s just that I’d LOVE to share this with friends and family who don’t master Shakespeare’s language !

PPS: Good continuation ! :):)

Comment from M.Wolf
Time 2010 August 20 Fri at 11:42 am

woops, forgot the links to the video:

http://www.terraplana.com/learning-the-skill-of-barefoot-running?utm_source=TP%2BLearn%2BUS%2B18082010&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=TP%2BLearn%2BUS%2B18082010

start at 3:00 and end at around 6:15 the rest isn’t important

Comment from Barefoot Ken Bob
Time 2010 August 22 Sun at 7:57 am

Unlearning and learning are naturally much easier for young children. At your age, it may depend on your patience with yourself. How much you have to unlearn depends on how deeply ingrained habits have been pounded in.

Some things, like wearing footwear, some times, are out of our control. The key is to know when you have a choice, and when you don’t, and when is it just a matter of conforming… I’m not saying you can go to class barefoot, but a lot of times we assume we can’t do something because we never saw anyone else doing it. Or you could try to convince your parents to move to Hawaii or New Zealand where going to school barefoot is much more “normal”. Bottom line, though, don’t stress about the things you don’t have control over, and try to find the best choice that puts the least amount of harmful stress on your feet as practical in the situations where you need to wear shoes. Make sure your toes have plenty of space to spread out naturally, make sure your feet can breath, etc.. when practical, if allowed, take your shoes off and set your feet free as often as possible – making ease of removal and putting on the footwear an important factor. I’ve seen some people decline a soak in my hot-tub after a long run, for the silly excuse that they didn’t want to bother taking their shoes off, then drying off their feet afterward, so they can put their shoes back on!

Be VERY careful with using videos to evaluate running technique… What we see (and what we cannot see) in videos – can seem very different than what we feel we are doing while running. These are two very distinct point of views, and what we FEEL while running, I believe is far more important than what we look like to an outside viewer.

The problem with a very smooth floor isn’t so much that it doesn’t make your feet tougher. The real problem is that you don’t get much feedback on a smooth surface. That’s why I will encourage you to find a patch of gravel to practice on. Doesn’t need to be a big patch, and you don’t need to practice on it all day, just play around, first with standing, letting your feet relax, and get used to flexing around the stones, instead of tensing up and pushing painfull into the stones, and then later, practice lifting your feet one at a time (still standing in place), and later, following the instructions on the How to Run page, practice lifting your feet quickly. But more importantly, your feet don’t need to be very tough, if you learn good gentle running/walking technique.

My advice in transitioning depends on the individual. If you can run in shoes without injury, then there is no reason to suddenly abandon your shoes completely… just start running barefoot occasionally, and build your barefoot distance and speed gradually. On the other hand, if like so many runners, you are having problems with knee or back pains while running in shoes, then there is no good reason to continue.

I’ll be getting back to my work with translators in a few months. Currently we’re working on a deadline for The Running Barefoot Book, so I need to focus on that for the next couple of months.

Comment from Babylonbrother
Time 2010 August 28 Sat at 8:41 am

Hey Again Ken Bob!
Here I am again, and I finished my first Ironman:-)
Got through the swim and the cycling in fine fettle, but the run was hard. WAY hard… I guess it shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all they didn’t call the event “Marsmallow-man”…
Anyway. I have been dabbling with BF for about 3 months. And i’m up to doing 6-8 km runs 4 times a week… And I absolutely love it! I’m not sure whether or not I’m ever doing another Ironman, but if I am, it won’t be in running shoes. In fact I’ve thrown out my running shoes and have vowed to never put’em back on. It’s barefoot (or VFF’s) from now on. Do you have any tips for how to get up to Marathon distance in Bare Feet? How long does it typically take?
Does anyone have any Ironman experience in bare feet?
I’m particularly concerned with the transition from stifling cycling shoes to bare feet…
Any thoughts are VERY welcome!
Thanks
Christian

Comment from Barefoot Ken Bob
Time 2010 August 28 Sat at 4:47 pm

Babylonbrother,

The best way to get to marathon distance barefoot, is first to make sure your running barefoot technique is as good as it can get… then continue improving!

Once you’ve got that, then you build up distance and speed like anything else, gradually, listening to your body and soles. Most of your runs should be easy and comfortable. If there not, then you’re either running badly, or stretching your limits. You should always try to NOT run badly, and should only stretch your limits occasionally – then rest up afterward for a day or two or as much as you need to recover.

If you’re going to run barefoot, then run BARE foot – the Vibrams won’t help you toughen your soles, and they won’t help fine tune running technique nearly as much as bare soles touching the ground. The advantage of Vibrams is that they allow you to run further and faster than your feet are ready. The disadvantage is the same, they allow you to run further and faster than your feet are ready to run!

Run barefoot, learn proper technique, by figuring out how to avoid pain (not ignore it, or mask it) and work. Running barefoot should be comfortable and easy. If it isn’t you’re doing something wrong.

The only reason I would wear footwear for running, is in cold weather, and then I wouldn’t run very far, or very fast…

As with any marathon, the key is to be comfortable with what you will be doing during the marathon. In your practice, eat the foods you will be eating, drink the drinks you will be drinking, and wear the clothes and shoes (or no shoes) that you will be wearing during the marathon. A marathon, especially a first marathon, or a first barefoot marathon is no time to experiment. That is what you should be doing during the hundreds of miles you run for fun, before the marathon. And, again, if their not easy, comfortable, and fun, then try to figure out what you’re doing before continuing.

Keep in mind, I ran 1 marathon in shoes. Then I didn’t run another marathon for 11 years. And I didn’t set a goal to run another marathon, it’s just that I was running far enough, often enough, just for fun, that I figured, “I may as well run a marathon!”… which made it very easy for me to train for the marathon, because I wasn’t training for a marathon.

Comment from anthro
Time 2010 August 28 Sat at 5:22 pm

Very well said BR Ken. The only thing I would add is that the only time I would use my vibrams is when is wett and raining, if you don’t, yours soles can wrinkle out and vanish. However, I do run when is cold, as long as you are wearing long pants, your body will pump blood to your feet and keep them warm, but it is a matter of getting your body used to it.

Comment from abik
Time 2010 August 29 Sun at 5:13 am

Well, at least my (dutch) soles do not get wrinkly and weak in wet conditions, just ran 3 hours and about 15 minutes over wet roads slippery clay etc without any problems of the kind. I dont think running barefoot in wet conditions is more difficult than dry. You might expect something similar as with a hot bath will happen but in reality the foot is more waterproof than you might expect. Otherwise I would have to whear shoes from mid october to the second half of winter.

Comment from syn_ack
Time 2010 August 29 Sun at 6:23 am

abik: I think that is right. It’s kind of like when you are sweating profusely, but your foot always stays dry, or close to. Every time you life your foot, you create wind speed around your foot causing an A/C like condition (cool moving air dries the air and the object in it). Since you are lifting your foot a lot in the wet conditions, you are creating this effect keeping your feet dry. I will say, it would be a pretty cool experiment to test to find the average hours a person could run in wet conditions before his foot turned into say 7 minutes in the shower or something.

Comment from anthro
Time 2010 August 29 Sun at 8:00 am

Well, I might have to try it out again. I still think that we have to be cautious for those living in the PNW during most of the year where it rains everyday, there is no sun and the relative humidity is in the high 80-90s, no much dry air to keep your feet dry. I might even try soaking my feet on a tube for 20 minutes and see if my feet has any wrinkles on my soles.

Comment from Barefoot Ken Bob
Time 2010 August 30 Mon at 6:32 am

anthro,

I’ve run a few marathons, and probably thousands of miles, just for fun in the rain, barefoot – with no problems. There’s a kind of self-limiting mechanism that takes effect when we begin to wear our soles thin (as I did one rainy season back in 1998, while ramping up my road mileage – more from ramping up my road mileage than from the rain – roads are especially prone to this, due to the consistent nature of the foot landing on exactly the same spot with each step).

The cool thing is, that as with all the sensations that footwear manufacturers see as a problem with going truly barefoot, sensitivity is actually the biggest advantage we can have in learning how to run better.

Anyway, as my soles wear thinner, for any reason, my soles become more sensitive, which prompts me to run even more gently (with less friction), allowing me to run further and faster with even less work…

The more we try to bypass this feedback system, in an attempt to run further than our bare feet are ready to run (in any condition), the less we learn how to run more efficiently and gently which would allow us to run further and faster, sooner, because we would be running more efficiently.

Comment from Barefoot Ken Bob
Time 2010 August 30 Mon at 6:46 am

One thing I have noticed, particularly back in the late ’90s when I was running a lot of mileage in the rain, and soaking in hot tubs more – I should be doing that now – is that, yes the skin swells, and at least at that time, with my feet, it looked like there was more wear (which at first I attributed to running with wet feet), because the layers of skin are thicker with water. I do not think that means they are weaker, but no mater, just listen to your soles, and learn to run more gently.

During a soak in my hot tub, I could see all the ridges of wear, basically looked like a crater on the balls of my feet – but, a few minutes out of the hot tub, and the moisture disappeared, and the skin looked fine again.

Again, the wear on the soles, I believe, was more because I was running a lot more miles on roads, preparing for my first barefoot road marathon (which I ran at the end of January 1999 – rainy season here in southern California, and it was torrential downpour during the first couple of hours of the marathon) – I had finished my first barefoot marathon (on trails) the previous year – also in the rain… but trails don’t wear exactly the same spot with each and every step.

Bottom line: Sensitive soles are a blessing. When you need to run more gently, your bare soles will teach you how. And if you can’t run more gently – yet, then your bare soles will tell you to take some time to heal.

Comment from Babylonbrother
Time 2010 August 30 Mon at 2:26 pm

As always thanks for the comments fellas….
A little sunshine-story from Denmark:
I started running barefoot 3 months ago… I’ve been going slowly up in miles. Anyway… Yesterday I ran my first 10 km-run in BF… and without even trying I shaved off 3 minutes of my previous personal (shod) best. I literally could not believe it. Everything felt light, and quick, and ninja-like.
So today I went for a midnight 5 km-run… and shaved a minute off my previous personal (shod) best! And this despite having done intervals on my bike earlier in the day! My feet feel fine… and they seem to be getting stronger day by day! Today I threw away both pairs of running shoes, and I can pretty much guarantee that it’s going to be an EXCEEDINGLY cold day in hell before I buy another pair! From now on, I’m Barefoot Christian! HEAR ME ROAR (miauw)

Thanks!
C