I was recommended to go barefoot and worried about getting cut feet i decided to look into barefoot shoes and theres loads on the market today! I’ve been lucky enough to try a few… Vibram Fivefingers are my fave for running and Vivo Barefoot for every day wear.

Oh, and i’ve heard the Nike Free aren’t anything like barefooting… thats what Barefoot Ted says anyway!

Initially, there is a natural adjustment that the body has to make regarding posture and footfall, but if you relax and start slow, this change is instinctive. I have already noticed an improvement in endurance, comfort level and overall enjoyment in running (which I used to actually dislike doing when I wore shoes). Also, no more shin splints because I no longer land on my heels, over-pronate, or overextend my legs out in front of my body.

I was concerned at times about glass, nails, etc., and still stay on the lookout when running. But how often do we step on these things in our shoes? Probably not that often. I can’t even remember a time recently that I went running in shoes and came across a nail or broken glass in my path. We don’t normally think about it because we think our shoes will protect us. The risk of stepping on glass or a nail is no greater when barefoot. People immediately worry about it simply because they are barefoot and feel they are more vulerable to injury from stepping on these things. That’s like arguing that our risk of being in a car accident increases when we don’t wear a seat belt. Our risk of being in a crash is no greater…risk of injury when in a crash, perhaps increases, but not the actual risk of being in a crash. It doesn’t seem logical or rational then, to think our risk of stepping on glass, nails, etc. would increase. I agree the risk of injury in from stepping on them increases, but believe our risk of stepping on them is no greater. Even in shoes, who wants to go running in an area where broken glass or nails are likely to be lying around?
Worst case scenario, I will wear wrestling shoes if I have to wear anything at all. Some styles have very thin, split soles and virtually no lateral or arch support. The only hitch is that they still havea fully enclosed toe, which can limit proper form.

Trouble is, while the Vibram soles protect against thorns, glass, and the nasty abrasion you can get on beach sand… they don’t protect against stone bruises on rocky trails.

I’m interested in trying the Nike Free shoes. I don’t like the last that Nike uses, Asics fit me better. But the Nike Free ads are just so darn compelling.

Although I’ve seen barefoot running shoes that are almost like gloves for your feet – so you get protection from debris but the feel of barefeet.

Has anyone tried those?