Everything Old Is New Again

It seems as though Christopher McDougall's exceptional book, Born to Run, introduced the world to the concept of barefoot running. While it's true that most of today's barefoot-style runners will point to McDougall's book as their inspiration, it would be somewhat more accurate to say that Born to Run actually reacquainted the running world with a part of its history that got lost in the ubiquitous (and relatively recent) onslaught of marketing messages from shoe companies.

One example is Abebe Bikila who won of the 1960 Olympic marathon running barefoot. In fact, his biography is titled Barefoot Runner: The Life of Marathon Champion Abebe Bikila. According to Wikipedia, "After the race, when Bikila was asked why he had run barefoot, he replied, 'I wanted the world to know that my country, Ethiopia, has always won with determination and heroism.'"

Twenty-four years later another barefoot runner made Olympic history, although in a decidedly different fashion. Zola Budd was a white South African runner who had broken multiple world record in her career. Because of a boycott by multiple international sports organizations against her country for its policy of apartheid, Budd moved to Great Britain to participate in the 1984 Olympics. What was billed as a showdown with American champion Mary Decker in the 3000 meter event turned into one of the most famous episodes in the history of women's track when Budd and Decker collided and neither captured a medal.

So, the next time someone asks about your decision to run barefoot, you can just say that you're rolling "old school." As the lyric to the classic Peter Allen song explains, "Everything old is new again."

Barefoot Running Song of the Day

Muskrat Ramble by Sidney Bechet (180 BPM).

Sidney Joseph Bechet was one of the pioneers of jazz. Along with Louis Armstrong, he helped create a style of music that was new and uniquely American. This cut dates back to 1940 and never fails to put a little more bounce in my stride when I'm running.

Worth The Drive

When people hear about barefoot running for the first time, a common and unsurprising reaction is, "What about stepping on glass?" There are several plausible responses that question but I usually start by suggesting a little bit of research to find someplace to run where glass and other debris isn't going to be an issue.

Like many casual runners, my regular runs all used to begin and end at my front door. The streets weren't immaculate but, of course, my running shoes provided a buffer between me and whatever detritus I might encounter. As I began to experiment with barefoot-style running, my neighborhood routes remained perfectly adequate with a pair of Vibram FiveFingers or huaraches. When I decided that I wanted to try going totally barefoot, however, the unpredictable condition of the roads gave me pause. In spite of the admonitions of dedicated barefoot runners like Barefoot Ken Bob, I wasn't quite prepared to navigate my neighborhood with nothing on my feet. I needed a different strategy.

Fortunately, I live Florida's Seminole County where the local government has invested a great deal of money and effort into providing its residents with a terrific network of trails for running, walking and biking. Now, a ten minute car ride is all it takes to access miles and miles of flat, smooth asphalt that weave in and out of beautifully scenic vistas. Suddenly, running completely barefoot became a perfectly doable proposition. To tell you the truth, I still don't run barefoot in my neighborhood or on unfamiliar courses (sorry, Barefoot Ken Bob!), but it doesn't matter. Running on these wonderful trails is so delightful, so relaxing that I do it whenever possible... and would do so no matter what I'm wearing on my feet!

If you've never checked what's available near you, here is a great place to start. You might be pleasantly surprised to find a wonderful new venue for your running, whether or not you choose to go barefoot.

Barefoot Running Song of the Day

Never Ending Song of Love by Delaney & Bonnie (92 BPM).

When most people compile a playlist for running, there's an inclination to select hard-charging songs to drive the workout. While my own playlist certainly reflects that tendency, I've found that more melodic choices often compliment barefoot-style running extremely well. Today's selection is a great example of a song that fits into the "soft, silent, speedy" motif quite well. Enjoy!

Practical Proprioception

The word proprioception refers to your ability to feel your body's movement and to sense the absolute and relative position of your various body parts. At a fundamental level, for example, you can close your eyes and still know whether your left arm is extended in front of your body or hanging at your side. Proprioception is an important component of barefoot-style running. It's your most important tool for maintaining the proper carriage and stride, the key to injury-free running.

While feeling the position of your body might sound simple, it's not always as easy as our example above might suggest. When we feel that our body is doing one thing, it is often doing something different. This is especially true as we adopt a new stye of movement. (It's also true as we get fatigued during the course of a run.) We might think we're carrying our torso above our feet when we're actually leaning forward or we might feel that our knees are bent too much when they're hardly bent at all.

The key to overcoming these misperceptions is find objective feedback that you can use to calibrate your proprioception to the realities of what your body does. The eyes of a coach or running partner can be a terrific asset. They can tell you if you're really in an "ears over shoulders" position or if you're actually leaning from your waist. If you do your running alone, there are still ways to get objective information about what your body is doing. One of my favorite is to find my shadow on the ground and notice what it's doing. Your reflection in a store window as you run past it works well, too.

This "calibration" process will make your proprioception more accurate over time. You'll be able to feel what your body is doing, sense what it's telling you, and stay injury-free as your run.

Barefoot Running Song of the Day

I Got Stung by Paul McCartney (182 BPM).

This is McCartney's remake of an old Elvis Presley hit. When I run to this, it feels like I'm going 100 MPH!