The Barefoot Experiment

When I visited the doctor today, as part of my ongoing regular treatment and rehab, I was filled with questions, concerns and hypothetical scenarios to discuss. My injury is getting better.  It truly is.  So much so that I’m on the verge of easing back into running.  Yet I still have this nagging sensation in the back of my mind, a fear perhaps, that my injury is somehow related to an underlying biomechanical problem. I have no reason to think that it is.  Everything indicates that biomechanically,... (more...)

Even the smallest of injuries can feel like it's brought your training to a permanent end. More often than not it's opportunity, not disability, that injuries offer. Running injuries affect more than just the body.  Be it a blister, sprain or open wound that merely forces a single run short, or a fracture that sends you to the sidelines for weeks or months, injuries take their toll on your psychological well-being every bit as much as your physical health. Four weeks into a delightfully... (more...)

Thanks to a heads-up from Skora Athletics via twitter (@skoraRunning), I recently read a nice little article from Marine Corps Times on the subject of barefoot running. “The human body is a marvel of engineering and perfectly capable of running without the aid – or really the restriction – of shoes,” says Palma, a founding officer of the recently launched Barefoot Runners Society, which is organizing chapters across the country. He says he has been a kind of quiet evangelist for... (more...)