I recently started posting on the facbook page for a running club not far from me. I will meet a lot of their members at the Barefoot Fest in a couple of weeks and looking through their pictures I see tons of Luna sandals, Vibrams, and other minimal shoes. So I've been slowly sneaking in comments about running barefoot first, running half marathons barefoot with no blisters, improving my running with barefoot, how I will wear Vibrams when it is too cold for barefoot, how you need to feel the road to adequatly change your form, yadda yadda. Then I post a picture and they all say, "OMG, you mean litterally barefoot!" Um, yea.
I've taken to clarifying with the phrase "Skin on pavement," but people still miss the point. It cracks me up how blind people are when something goes against what they expect. I'm sure 10 years ago if you said you ran barefoot, people would understand you to mean nothing on your feet. Now they just assume you mean a barefoot shoe.
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| Yes, I know I am heel striking in this picture. It was a crazy fun finish line sprint and I reverted back to my old form for a minute or two, it happens :-) |
5 comments:
I'm encountering the same thing. I tell people I run barefoot and they think Vibram Five Fingers. Shocked looks abound when I say that I run with nothing on my feet.
When it's too cold I run with Vibrams and other minimalist shoes. I find my stride changes to much with something on my feet -- and not for the better. Sometimes ground feet hurts, but ultimately it's better than overstriding and pounding.
I wonder if in another 10 years anyone will be left who remember what "barefoot running" really means.
Hey Wendy, it looks like from your picture that you're doing heel strike?
Nah, by the time my weight comes down, I'm on my whole foot :-) Plus, it was a finish line sprint after 13 miles so form was pretty much out the window, LOL.
Hey, I think barefoot running is fantastic! If I had started running many, many years ago, perhaps it might have seemed something doable for me, but not now. I'm too old! As to your comment on my blog, I have NO idea why Adrián thinks I could do a 5K in 25 minutes, and frankly, I would be lucky to get through the thing without walking. But I don't want to disillusion him so soon. Ah well...
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