I recently started running barefoot.
Up until a few months ago, I never liked running. In fact, for years, when people asked me if I ran, I would answer, “Only when chased.”
Instead, to get my exercise, I’d head for the nearest hill. By hiking up nice steep hills, I could work myself into a frothy delirium and never risk the bodily wear and tear of running.
But these days I’m living in a place that’s flat as a board. Freakishly flat, for miles and miles. So to get my exercise, I started running.
Unfortunately, running hurt like crazy. After a while the shin splints faded away, but there was this one small area of my inner calf that hurt no matter what I did.
I tried different kinds of shoes, different orthotics and arch supports, even an insert that you had to bake in the oven before you used it the first time.
But the same pain kept coming back. I gave up running, figuring I’d just have to make do with walking really fast.
Then I heard about running barefoot, and I decided to give it a try. After all, what did I have to lose?
Oh. My. God. I LOVE IT!!!
The muscles used, and the motions made, are completely different than in regular running. Instead of landing on your heel, rolling forward, and pushing off with your toes, you land on the front of your foot, gently touch your heel to the ground, and then lift your entire foot off the ground.
When I first started out, I wore Vibram Fivefingers. But I kept reading that when you are learning how to run barefoot, you should go completely barefoot on the hardest pavement you can find.
I thought that sounded a little extreme. Surely, keeping at least a little bit of rubber between my feet and the ground, and spending most of my time on dirt and grass, would be the best way to ease into it.
But one day, I figured I’d take off my Vibrams and see what happened. And it was amazing.
A hard cement sidewalk is a completely unforgiving environment in which to run barefoot, so you have no choice but to do it right, and your body will give you immediate feedback if you do it wrong.
As a result, from the very first step, running barefoot on cement is amazingly smooth and gentle.
In fact, it’s more gentle than running in shoes. I know, it’s totally counter-intuitive. But it turns out it’s so true.
Muscles I didn’t even know existed are appearing in my feet now, but other than that, at the end of the day my feet feel like they did nothing all day but walk around on padded carpets.
Now, if you run in shoes, and if it’s working for you, don’t lie awake at night wondering if you should try running barefoot. It’s like starting all over again — new muscles, new technique, new everything. Even if you’re a seasoned runner, it’ll be a month before you’re ready to run even one mile barefoot. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
But if you want to run, but can’t because it hurts, or if you just want to get back in touch with your inner Kalahari bushman, give it a shot. It’s not just exercise. It’s zen.