Baring My Sole

I love being barefoot. I only wear socks if the temperature dips below 25 degrees or so, but I can never wear socks to bed. I spend most of the summer months sans shoes. I keep a spare pair of Birkenstocks tucked in the pocket behind my driver seat in case I need to go into a store or do something that require shoes, but my preference is for perpetually naked feet.

I have envied runners such as Zola Budd and Abebe Bikila who have chosen to run barefoot, and in doing so, have excelled at their sport. I look at the litter-strewn gravelly shoulders of the roads and the broken-stick-and-tree-root-laden trails that I run along and think that barefoot running would not work for me. So, I have tried several different types of running shoes that would provide me with enough room to wiggle my toes (a wide toe box) and enough padding to cushion my underpronating, high-arched feet. After a lot of trial and error (along with several blisters, calluses, black toenails and sore knees) I settled on the Asics Nimbus 11's. I can't help but wonder, though, what it would feel like to run free--unencumbered by shoes.

I have made a New Year's Resolution for 2010. This year I will run barefoot! I am awaiting the restock of the Vibram FiveFingers KSO's. These will be my "training" shoes and my inclement weather foot cover. But I WILL run barefoot in AT LEAST one road race.

Barefoot running seems to be getting a lot of press these days. In this past Sunday's newspaper insert, Parade Magazine, there was an article entitled "Is It Better To Be Barefoot?" which spoke about the benefits of running barefoot. I also recently read and article in Runner's World magazine, "Should You Be Running Barefoot?" Runner's World also has a Barefoot Running Forum on their website where like-minded minimalists can get together to share their insights and experiences. The evidence seems pretty overwhelming that feet were designed to perform their best without shoes. It makes perfect sense to me and I am eager to test out the theory, but not right now when it's 20 degrees and the roads are covered with snow and ice. I am looking forward to Spring and the availability of the Vibram's.

I have to wonder, though, will it put more strain on knees? Will my feet ache from the constant contact with rocky asphalt? Will I be able to improve my speed and form? So many questions and only one way to get answers: wait and see. Only 75 more days until the "official" start of Spring, although I hope to start my barefoot journey well before then. I will keep you posted.