Just Completed 100+ Miles Of Running Barefoot

I quit using running shoes in April of 2010 and transitioned to Vibram Five Fingers. I've logged 854 miles in Vibrams this year but it wasn't until I experienced some top of foot pain that I really started studying about barefoot running. This is the same pain I experienced in mid-2009 when I first started using Vibrams and gave up after 3-4 weeks later figuring my feet just couldn't handle it.This time I had been running about 4 months so figured something else was up.

Turns out as good as Vibrams are for minimalist running, they can allow you to develop an improper form, which is what I had done. That bad form is what caused the pain on the top of my foot. When you develop this during a run, you won't make it much more than another 2-3 miles and then you'll be walking, in pain.

After a week of laying off and doing some research, I decided that barefoot running was needed, barefoot as in nothing on the feet at all. This has helped my form quite a bit and made my Vibram runs more enjoyable.Of course, you have to build the bottom of your feet for it. You don't develop blisters or calluses (if you do, you are doing it wrong), your feet just develop a very thin layer that is like plastic. It doesn't look or feel gross, just very smooth and a bit tougher than your arch. It took me three months to build up to running five miles on the sidewalk barefoot and now can do eight or nine. Barefoot running is now a part of my weekly schedule. Every Tuesday, if it isn't raining, I run between six and eight miles barefoot. You don't want to run barefoot in the rain because the water softens your skin and your plastic layer will be gone, requiring weeks to rebuild.

This morning, I hit 107 miles barefoot. It was a nice leisurely run around the neighborhood and Mission Viejo Lake. I love the looks I get as I pass people. I passed a girl this morning that was running. She, like me, had her iPod going but runners always exchange a "hi" or "good morning" or at the very least a wave. I said good morning as I passed her and she reciprocated. Then, even over the music playing as I was now 10-12 feet past her I heard her gasp and exclaim "Oh my God!" It was either my tight and extremely sexy butt that elicited the reaction (there - get that mental image out of your head!) or my bare feet as I sailed by her.

I know a lot of barefoot runners do half and full marathons totally barefoot. Not sure if I'll ever do that, or if I even want to, but a pure barefoot run every few days is essential in my opinion to keeping proper form.