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Could something as basic as taking off your shoes really make a noticeable difference to your life and the way you move and run?  Based on my own recent experience and that of a growing number of barefoot runners around the world, I would say that the answer is definitely yes; taking off your shoes and going barefoot can and will make a huge difference, not only to the way you run and move but also to the way you think and feel.

Not one to worry too much about what other people think, I’ve been wearing Vibram® Fivefingers for the best part of two years now, for weight training, running, walking and everyday life and have often toyed with the idea of going fully barefoot. Unfortunately, up until now, I have never really managed to build up the courage to take that extra step, so to speak, and actually go barefoot. Then I met Barefoot Ted (BFT) and attended his Introduction to Barefoot Running Clinic (held for the first time in the UK thanks to Matt Wallden and Primal Lifestyle) and that made up my mind; I was going to shed the minimal footwear too and get back to basics; no shoes, no Fivefingers, just my own two feet. I’ve been barefoot now for a couple of weeks and, even though it is still early days, I know deep down that there is no going back.  The idea of wearing a conventional shoe now feels very claustrophobic and fundamentally wrong, like wearing a wetsuit on a hot day, before you get into the water.  All you want to do is peel it off and let your body breathe.

As far as I was concerned, wearing Fivefingers seemed about as close to going barefoot as you can get and I just assumed that not wearing them would be pretty much the same kind of experience, just less sweaty and more painful on the feet.  It seems that I was very wrong.  Being barefoot is an incredibly liberating experience and allows you to re-connect with your body and the world around you more than I could ever have imagined.  Realising that you were born with the perfect vehicle and all of the tools you’ll ever need to move effectively is highly empowering and just knowing that you don’t actually need shoes to go for a walk or a run is so simple yet such a profound discovery that it is enough to change the way you approach life.  As a species, we human beings are so caught up in a world of technology, improvement and consumption, desperately trying to scratch an itch that doesn’t really exist, that we often forget how clever Mother Nature is.  We always strive for the high-tech approach yet the answer is almost always low-tech and already staring us in the face, or in this case, attached to our bodies.  It seems that we have forgotten who and what we are and what we are capable of and that there is actually very little else that we need to achieve our potential, above and beyond what we were born with.

Barefoot Ted

Although I’ve recently come across many people using the monicker ‘barefoot’, Barefoot Ted is most definitely one of a kind.  I had a vague idea of what to expect, thanks to Christopher McDougall’s book, Born To Run but camping out with Ted and 8 other barefoot running novices in the English countryside for a weekend was a life-changing event for me.  Barefoot Ted is highly inspirational, highly entertaining and very humble, all at the same time.  When he talks, it is difficult not to drop what you are doing and listen along, whether the topic is running or just about anything else.  The lasting impression I got was of a truly genuine man who is deeply passionate about who and what he is and does.  People like this don’t come around all that often.

BFT’s approach to barefoot running is deceptively simple and highly effective.  Rather than the usual reductionist, biomechanics focused approach, Ted’s take on running is much more intuitive and natural. It is about rediscovering your feet and your capacity for movement and learning (once again) to listen to your body.  It is about doing what feels natural and comfortable to you, rather than trying to achieve some kind of perfect – and therefore unattainable – form or technique.  Most important of all perhaps, it is about rediscovering the dormant capacity within you to run (something it seems we were designed to do), sans shoes, and ENJOY the experience at the same time.

Introduction To Barefoot Running Clinic

I’ve attended one barefoot / minimal shoe running workshop before and have been experimenting with the techniques I learned for about 8 months, with varying degrees of success and always wearing Fivefingers.  I’ve had a few ankle and calf problems in this time and have struggled to run for any great distance and really struggled with getting myself into the ‘ideal’ running position and where and how to land on my forefoot.  Running in the position I learnt in this first workshop made me feel very unnatural and awkward, so I was keen to see if Barefoot Ted’s approach would be any different and easier for me to pick up.

The clinic started with a long and fascinating introduction to BFT’s philosophy of barefoot running, including a reference to the Hindu deity Hanuman and how we, like him, need to be reminded of our own innate abilities.  Next he discussed his own experiences and journey towards barefoot running and some of the common problems he encountered along the way.  He also touched on the problems with ever increasing cushioning and technology in running shoes and the correlation between increased padding and increased impact.  Despite apparently great leaps in running shoe technology, people are still getting injured and many view running as a painful and unpleasant experience, when it doesn’t have to be this way.  Barefoot Ted encouraged us to reconnect with our feet and with our bodies, learning how to move more softly and quietly, without impact and ‘internal hard edges’.

With BFT’s take on the basic theory and why of barefoot running covered, we then moved on to some practical drills.  Ted’s goal was to get us to master what he calls the ‘persistence hunt trot’, a light, high-cadence, flowing trot that can be sustained, as the name suggests, for long periods of time.  Interestingly, Ted had us start out on tarmac (asphalt), a surface that many runners fear due to the jarring impact caused by heel-strike running on such a hard surface.  The idea was that if we could learn to move over such a hard surface in a light and easy way, right from the word go, then we would realize that we could run barefoot just about anywhere. When you take away cushioned soles and therefore a heel-striking running gait, the feared tarmac becomes almost the perfect surface on which to run barefoot.  Landing on your forefoot with light, quick steps and bent knees allows your body’s natural spring system to absorb any impact and help you transfer it into forward motion, resulting in improved efficiency.  Suddenly running on tarmac becomes a pleasant and easy experience.

We progressed through various walking drills on the tarmac and gradually built up to mastering the ‘persistence hunt trot’ and focusing on the key areas of a light landing, higher cadence, flowing not jarring, maintaining good posture of the upper body, lifting the feet instead of pushing off and letting our feet land under our hips instead of reaching forward with our stride.  Finally we moved on to various supplemental drills and exercises involving jumping and stairs, all intended to help us soften our landings, improve our control and move more quietly.  Barefoot Ted encouraged us to experiment and find our own individual take on his style, whilst sticking to the key principles outlined above.

I’ve always been something of a running skeptic and have run very infrequently and inconsistently, perhaps because I’ve never considered myself to be a runner, or any good at running.  Running is just not something I’ve ever really enjoyed, up until now that is.  Since I’ve been using the techniques I learned in Barefoot Ted’s Introduction To Barefoot Running Clinic, I find myself wanting to run everyday, every time I stand up in fact and keep on having to reign myself in.  With the pressure of having to run in a certain way removed, I now find myself moving naturally and easily, over increasingly long distances.  Using the ‘persistence hunt trot’, I find that I don’t even get out of breath and feel like I could keep going indefinitely, which is the point I guess.  The only problems I’ve encountered, so far, are other people’s reactions to a grown man running around the countryside with bare feet and I’m pleased to say that I couldn’t care less.  Not only has being barefoot transformed my experience of running and made me want to be a ‘runner’, it has also, physically, changed my feet.  Full range of motion, always reduced in my left big toe, has returned and my calves no longer feel tight and inflexible.  Instead of becoming gnarled and calloused, my feet are becoming tougher, yet smooth and almost leathery on the soles and, best of all, my toe spread is increasing so that my feet no longer resemble the shoes I wore for so many years.  Thanks to Barefoot Ted, I am now an unashamed convert to barefoot running and would encourage anyone and everyone to take off their shoes and learn to move again as nature intended.

There is no doubt that shunning shoes in favour of being barefoot will elicit a few raised eyebrows and distasteful sideways glances from the collective, shod herd but I can assure you that the whispered hippy comments and mild social ostracism will pale into insignificance compared to the myriad benefits of reconnecting with your own two feet and reconnecting those feet with the earth.

Resources

The above workshop was filmed in its entirety, with Barefoot Ted’s permission and will shortly be available to purchase as a DVD from the following websites:

www.ollyhermontaylor.com – natural health and fitness blog, news and products and to get your limited edition, signed copy of the book,  Born To Run, by Christopher McDougall.

www.barefootted.com – Barefoot Ted’s website and the place to find out more about barefoot running, workshops and clinics

www.primallifestyle.com – to purchase Vibram® Fivefingers, find out about barefoot running workshops and events.