A Passion for Running

Welcome to the home of Mark aka The Running Blogfather – a 40 year-old dad, husband and marathon runner who's beaten injury and is on the comeback trail!

r-b-f ramblings

passion for running category: barefoot running,pose running method,running on Tuesday, April 5 2005

Today at lunch, the Running Blog Father Ran Bare Foot for the first time. Is this member of the Running Blog Family a Really Bizarre Fool or a Really Brave Fighter? The jury is out on that but one thing definitely is certain…

He had Radically Bodacious FUN!

Today, I ran 3 miles in my bare feet and I have to say it really ignited my passion for running in a special way.

Running bare foot is an amazing experience and one I hope you try at least once. There is something very elemental…primal and natural about running sans-shoes. Feeling the ground with one’s feet is quite exilerating actually and I was pleasantly surprised to find that running on Edmonton’s asphalt paved paths – even with pebbles scattered on them, was not very painful at all. Sure, there was some discomfort, but I know that the soles of my feet will strengthen over the next couple weeks and make those minor irritations go away completely.

My lower calves are really sore right now. Undoubtedly due to the change in running form but a nice counter to that was the LIGHTNESS I felt while running. Did you know that so-called “light” shoes are actually quite heavy? Really heavy actually compared to running without shoes. I have never felt so light on my feet!

And the promises made by Ken Bob Saxton, Barefoot Rick, and Dr. Romanov were true. Running barefoot forces you to run on the balls of your feet because heel striking HURTS.

It’s all good man. From this point forward, I am going to run barefoot no less than twice per week.

Yahoo!

———————–

After the Fact Edit:

It was WAY fun getting all the reactions from runners, walkers and bikers sharing the trail. They obviously thought I was nuts (not far from the truth!) but they don’t know what they are missing! ;)




14 Comments

3647

Comment by Ted McDonald

Tuesday April 05, 2005 @

Dude!!! Way to go.

Best, Barefoot Ted

3648

Comment by Keith

Tuesday April 05, 2005 @

My POSE DVD just arrived. Only able to watch short bit of the same at the office – sorry Danny (ChiRunning), this DVD is way beyond the CHIRUnning DVD. Mark, can you find out about POSE runnnig and treadmills. thanks.

3649

Comment by beverly

Tuesday April 05, 2005 @

Wow!!

Did your feet get cold???

3650

Comment by Mark

Tuesday April 05, 2005 @

The only time the soles of my feet got cold was when I went in a dark overgrown part of the path where it was wet and there was absolutely no warmth. They got a bit cold there but warmed up immediately after I entered the clearing. The rest of my feet were never cold.

3651

Comment by LouBob

Tuesday April 05, 2005 @

OUTSIDE, are you NUTS!? What about SNAKES?? Right, too cold yet. It bothered my lower calves the first couple of times too, but it was a good sore.

3652

Comment by Mark

Tuesday April 05, 2005 @

No snakes where I live!

3654

Comment by beverly

Tuesday April 05, 2005 @

What about SNOW MOULD?!?!??!?! What about OTHER RUNNERS WITH BIG HEAVY SHOES?? What about JEALOUS SNOWMEN WHO CANNOT RUN????

:) tee hee

3655

Comment by Ryan

Tuesday April 05, 2005 @

Welcome to the insane world of barefooting! It gets better and better. I call it a new ‘sport’ because its like nothing else out there. Keep reporting!

Ryan
Vancouver, Washington

3656

Comment by Marie

Tuesday April 05, 2005 @

Yikes! I can’t say that I’ll ever have the courage to try that! Way to go Mark!

3657

Comment by jank

Tuesday April 05, 2005 @

Dirty hippie.

But keep up the good work – it’s great to hear someone else trudge out ideas. I’m just enjoying sunshine and shorts again.

3658

Comment by susan

Tuesday April 05, 2005 @

I am really fascinated by your reports on this Mark. Take care of those feet, but continue to let us know how it goes. And have fun!

3659

Comment by Reba

Tuesday April 05, 2005 @

Mark, I’m hooked too! Today was day two but I’m doing it in the school field down the street from my house. You are so right about the exhillaration, and especially the lightness. My knees didn’t hurt at all! It was absolutely amazing. I’m sending you big hugs for getting me started on this!

3660

Comment by Mark

Tuesday April 05, 2005 @

Well, that’s just great Reba. It really is fun and I agree on your sensations. Make sure you check out the links to Barefoot Rick and Ken Bob Saxton. They EACH have Yahoo forums with lots of people sharing RBF experiences!

3874

Comment by nanda

Sunday April 24, 2005 @

I am beginner/amateur runner and have been running for over 2.5 years now, mostly indoors on a treadmill. After using my Brooks Beast for 2 years, I was getting the shin pain and decided it was time for change of shoes. Tried Brooks Addiction last weekend at home on my treadmill, still the same shin problem even before running one mile; changed to my tennis shoe (I was nuts) and still the same shin pain for the next mile; Didn’t want to stop before my customary 3 mile mark, so started running barefoot. What I found next was amazing — I ran 9 more miles, non-stop on barefoot. I never ran more than 6 miles before, that too just once. As I said, I am a real beginner, normally run 3 – 4 miles a day at 6 mph (10 min mile);
Anyway, I tried barefoot running again this saturday on my treadmill and ran for 11.5 miles at 6.5 mph (had to stop because of a kids’ party). Absolutely no pain!!! ( about to develop a blister on my left foot though)
I don’t know what it is about running barefoot– I am able to run faster, without getting tired and painless.

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