Pedicab Man

For me, barefoot running does have it's own set of hazards such as blisters and stone bruises. Fortunately the stone bruises can be eliminated by not running in the dark and after a while your feet get tough enough not to blister on the bottom. As you can imagine it's also a long process --one I haven't completed--to get your feet in shape.

Part of my problem is the Greenway, which I run on, has lots of little stones where the dirt has worn away to expose the crushed rock RR bed. Sometimes it's more about hopping from bare spot to bare spot between the rocks than actually running. Three or four miles a week are about all my feet can handle barefoot on the Greenway. The rest of the time I run in what we BF's called minimal footwear; sandals, Vibram Five Finders and running shoes with the heel cut off with a hack saw. All these give your foot plenty of flexibility, don't have much cushion and keep you running in a mid-foot style, away from heel strikes.

So far I have not had any serious injuries after one 15 mile and four 20 mile weeks --knock on wood-- and the biggest down side is people think I'm crazy proving they can sometimes get it right.