Better by a marathon’s distance than shoes

There is no question that barefoot running will go a long way toward preventing injuries.1 Having come across a suggestion in a book on marathon running to add to one’s training repertoire an occasional barefoot run on grass or similar soft ground, I gave it a try.

This was in 1987, and I was what one could call an addict, fitting in two lengthy runs per day, most days. Pushing over 150 km per week, I was frequently injured, with hamstring tears, Achilles tendon problems and other complaints. So I chose a shorter, 10-km route for my initial barefoot run.

I acquired blisters on nearly all my toes, but I felt that something wild had been awakened in me. Having bandaged each toe, I repeated the experiment the next day. And I haven’t looked back, except with gratitude to the author of that book.

No matter what distances and on what terrain (I do not mind regular bitumen, dirt road or gravel at all), I have not suffered another injury (excluding the occasional piece of glass or a fish hook at the beach), and I am very careful not to venture onto grass because of the real potential of hidden syringes and needles.

More than 20 years later, I will not go back to wearing shoes while running; I am convinced that we are born barefoot for a reason and that any type of shoe isolates the foot from (uneven) ground surfaces while forcing the wearer to land on the heel, which transmits far more force to the joints and connected structures than is prudent.

Forefoot strike is what man is born to use, and anyone can adapt to barefoot running and derive great benefit.