Tuesday, July 31, 2012

barefoot boley toh


Are you crazy ?”, My dad reacted over the phone as I told him I walked barefoot for a couple of kilometres one morning. “This is ok on clean roads in other countries. Our roads are full of crap. You will end up with an infection”

It did make me skeptical back then (Dec 2010). But I relented in my pursuit of Soleness. I read more and more about BFR (Bare foot Running). My internet searches pointed me to a book “Born To Run” by Christopher McDougall. Then came Vibrams – the five finger glove for the feet, VFF as they are popularly known. Ordered them quite hesitatingly online. But they gave me a false sense of protection as I banged a 10 k including a hill repeat, in spite of the knowledge that I needed to go slow and break them in slowly. No major injuries but I faced some niggles in my arches and Top of the foot pain (TOFP – in BF parlance). I still have the KSO’s (and a hardly used Bikila model of Vibram.) which I use when venturing to unknown trails.

So start BF slow and steady. Your soles will tell you how much distance is enough and at what speed. (Even if you are slower than when you were in shoes). If one ignores these signals may end up with injuries and debunking the BF theory. This is true with people who already run a lot of miles in shoes and expects to put in the same mileage after going shoeless.

Below are a few learnings from my quest that may help you 


  1. Indian roads are shitty and gravel found everywhere. I had to be very very slow during such stretches. Bending knees and relaxing helped.
  2. Shattered glass and plastic are common too at the edge of the roads, I am scanning the road constantly and side step such patches. Make sure you are not bending your neck and looking near your feet. Relax and keep an eye a few metres ahead. Barefoot Ken Bob (BFK) believes running in the dark helps you relax. I did try it once and found it to be true but don’t want to risk it on Indian roads.
  3. Monsoons are the best time to run barefoot – no squeaky / wet shoes. Jump into puddles only if you are sure it is fresh rain water :-). Avoid puddles near open drain and garbage bins
  4.  If you are in an office with a desk job – keep an extra pair of slippers, I remove my shoes and slip in them. Nobody minds, at least no one's complained at my workplace, yet.
  5. School kids pointing at your feet and telling their friends during morning runs and did I mention ,giggling. Wearing VFF’s on a daily basis (eg – visit to the movies, malls etc) has its share of snickers and remarks.
  6. People are curious when you run barefoot, in spite of the amount of time we as Indians spend time barefoot in the house. Be ready for questions from strangers as well as from your acquaintances doing their morning walk.
  7. Spending time barefoot in the house and running barefoot is different. 
  8. Mix BF with shod or minimals if you do not want to be a purist like BFK. I did SCMM 12 in shoes in spite of running the Pune half a month before without shoes. Why ? had a slight niggle after my 30 K training run and decided not to risk and attempt a TMTS (see jargon below)
  9. After the run – Wash your feet thoroughly don’t scrub with a hard brush as tempting as it might seem. Use a loofah and TLC.
  10. Forget about running times and PR’s and comparing them with your past shod runs. If you are faster and pain free good, if you are slower and pain free good. “Pain free” is the key. Speed  and distance will follow
  11. If you are not sure about the terrain of an event that you have signed up put on your minimals / VFF’s / huararches. Barefoot is not a tattoo that you need to flaunt all the time.
  12. Small splinters, stones, cuts are part of the deal. Don’t get put off. A sterilised needle and a helpful spouse (like mine) puts you back into action. That said I had a splinter only once.
  13. Strengthen your feet – which includes Toes (see link in Information overload below)
  14. Blisters are a sign that your form is not correct.
  15. Feet are easier to clean than shoes.  
Some BF jargon
Minimals – Shoes which have zero drop (difference in height) between the forefoot and the heel. Vibrams Five Fingers and Vivo Barefoot
Huararches – Foot wear made popular in the Born To Run book. Used by the Tarahumara tribes. Luna Sandals and Invisible shoes are huararches. This can be done at home as well.
Arch support – what’s that ?
TOFP – Top of the foot pain
Metatarsals – Your toes without the flesh and skin – the bones of the toes, each feet has five unless you are polydactyly
Stress fracture – something resulting from BF enthusiasm during the transistion form shod to BF
TMTS – Too much too soon resulting in above

Information overload

Dr. Mark Cucuzzella - must watch video on effortless running form and more

Dr. Phil Maffetone - on Barefoot running and more

Useful Link


Books on Running or other trivia (some are on my wish list)
Barefoot Bloggers

Christopher Mcdougall
Indian BF scene - Seems to have gone underground. This blog was from Anand Anantharaman from Navi Mumbai India who had also organised a BF half marathon in 2010. He also maintains this web site

Disclaimer : Information above is purely my opinion and experience and I am not a medical expert. You are responsible for your own feet and any injuries that you get after reading my post is not my doing … and there are medical professionals that you may consult before taking my opinion seriously etc, etc.

BF runs - SCMM FM 2017, 2016, 20152014, 2013 HYD FM 2013, 2012, Pune HM 2011 and training runs.  
VFF runs - Kaveri Trail HM 2011, Satara HM 2012 and training runs.
Shod runs- SCMM 2012 FM, SCMM 2011 FM, SCMM 2010 HM