Post of the Year (So Far, At Least)

This post from Chris McDougall's blog is a terrific encapsulation of what barefoot running is all about for me. Someone should make a tee shirt with this line: "I’m a fan of form, not footwear." If there's a fundamental principle that undergirds this whole barefoot-style running thing, it's dedication to the kind of approach to running that's described in that quote.

The New Stepping Onward Video

You might have noticed a link on this blog to an organization called Stepping Onward. If you haven't clicked over to their site yet, I'd like to encourage you to take a look when you have a moment. Stepping Onward is a startup non-for-profit organization here in Florida that was inspired by the great work that Back on my Feet is doing in other states. It was started by my friend, Claire Grove, a year ago; I've been involved as a volunteer since shortly after the organization began.

To mark Stepping Onward's one year anniversary, we've created a video to use for general informational purposes as well as for fundraising and volunteer recruitment. You can see the video here. We'd be eager to hear what you think.

Natural Stride on iTunes

My barefoot running track is now available on iTunes. The foundation of the track is five minutes of original music at a pace that's precisely 180 BPM (beats per minute), the ideal pace for barefoot-style running. On top of the music, there's coaching advise that will guide a runner through an easy, pain-free transition to barefoot-style running.

Check it out on iTunes, then grab your iPod, get rid of your running shoes, and have a great barefoot run!

Track Shack's Watermelon 5k in Orlando

I've run all of my races and fun runs over the past year with minimalist footwear, i.e. Vibram FiveFingers or huarache sandals from Barefoot Ted. For last week's Fourth of July Watermelon 5k here in Orlando, I decided I'd try going completely barefoot. This decision was made with at least a small amount of trepidation because some of the roads around here are gritty enough to be uncomfortable and I didn't have the time (or inclination) to check out the course beforehand to see what it was like. (Truth be told, I lined up barefoot but kept a pair of huaraches tucked in my waistband, just in case.)

As it turned out, everything was fine. About half of the course was brick which was a blast to run on. And while barefoot running has gained a great deal of popularity over the past year, it's still enough of a novelty that it continues to cause a fair amount of murmuring and finger pointing at the start of the race. All in all, it was a terrific experience at another first class Track Shack event.

Barefoot Running by Michael Sandler

On an almost daily basis, I come across runners who have read Born to Run, Chris McDougall’s now-classic paean to barefoot running, and would like to get shed their shoes but aren’t quite sure how to go about doing it. They have the interest but lack a clear action plan to get started. They’ve perused the Web and found plenty of information but much of it was contradictory or hopelessly arcane or frustratingly incomplete. A definitive resource for barefoot running — something akin to Jim Fixx’s 1977 classic, The Complete Book of Running — did not exist. At least, not up until now.

Michael Sandler and Jessica Lee’s new book, Barefoot Running, is a comprehensive, well-conceived, and well-written guide to barefoot running. After spending a few weeks with Barefoot Running, it’s difficult to think of a question it doesn’t anticipate or an issue it doesn’t address. Sandler and Lee take the reader by the hand and guide him or her steadily through every aspect of the transition from shod to shoeless, highlighting potential pitfalls and illuminating time-saving shortcuts.

The book is well organized and profusely illustrated. And did I mention that it’s pretty well written, too? And while Barefoot Running addresses some of the more academic aspects of the movement to run without running shoes, the book’s focus is squarely on practical information for readers. In just under 300 pages, there's surprisingly little fluff or filler.

I had the pleasure of meeting Michael Sandler and Jessica Lee when they were in Orlando recently promoting their book and they’re terrific ambassadors for barefoot running. If you’ve ever thought you’d like to try barefoot-style running but didn’t know where to begin, Barefoot Running is the resource you’re looking for. I recommend it without hesitation. With Michael Sandler and Jessica Lee’s new book, your feet will be in very good hands.

Barefoot Running in Oviedo-Winter Springs Life Magazine

Let me take this opportunity to thank Mary Pando and all the folks at Oviedo-Winter Springs Life Magazine for the terrific profile they published about barefoot running (featuring your favorite intrepid barefoot blogger). The article itself is only available in the print edition at the moment, but as soon as it is published online, I'll post a link here.

Sunday morning, as I lined up for the start of a local 5K, I had the wildly entertaining experience of having a nearby runner ask, "Are you the guy in the Oviedo-Winter Springs magazine?" When I admitted that I was, she said that she and her husband were just reading about me before the race. If Andy Warhol was right, then I hope my remaining fourteen minutes of fame prove to be as much fun as that one! (My son, who raced with me, kidded me the rest of the day about my "fans"!)

Update: You can click here to go to the online archive of the magazine. The article is on page twenty.