How many times have I heard that. I wanted to hear from you. Whats the craziest things you have jumped over, ran from, chased, got scared by ? Everyone assumes the only thing of danger we encounter will be a little piece of glass. And the question is a valid one. I just run over it with my 4 X 4 truck tire self built natural treads, my feet. On a serious note I have encountered real danger running bare foot and some nasty things as well. In St Louis last week I had to jump over a dead bloated deer that was about ready to POP. fly's and maggots. In Hawaii I stepped upon toads in the road. In Utah I ran across fresh bear tracks on a solo run. In Hawaii also ran from Nee-Ne Geese that wanted to bite me. In Mexico I ran from what looked like a Zombie pit bull. I had no rock or stick and it was 97 degrees in the shade. I pretended to pick up a rock and it ran away yelping. But glass you say, sure I crushed some last seek I stepped on a 1/3 of a bottle and luckily I crushed it. I was looking at my running application on my phone. (No, I am not a purest) I was not watching where I was going when I heard a crunch. I looked down to see glass on the side walk and parts of it in my foot. I brushed it off with my had and continued my run. I once encountered a spider that was wider than my foot on the Las Vegas Ragnar, tranchula. And on a run last summer in Utah I jumped over a whip snake as it shot under my legs.
Dont you worry about stepping on glass ?
- Thread starter rik
- Start date
Rattlesnakes in Nevada and bears in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.
Popped a few toads in Guam.
Big bugs in Japan.
Snakes in Texas.
Worried about glass?
Nope. I can still see - thus - avoid.
Big bugs in Japan.
Snakes in Texas.
Worried about glass?
Nope. I can still see - thus - avoid.
NickW
Guest
Um, I got a glass sliver once in 2.5 years of bfr. Very minor. The worst things are probably these stupid little hair like thorns. I seem to get those in my feet quite often and they just annoy you until you can either dig them out or your body expels them.
I was once on a new trail. It was an area that had contained a bunch of very small saplings. The ones who built it seemed to think that the way to make it was to nip each sapling of at an angle about half an inch above the ground.
It was a punji stick trail.
It was a punji stick trail.
I think in two years of running barefoot I've seen glass maybe only 2-3 times period (and easy to avoid). So suppose it depends where you are. But it does seem to be the most common concern, like its the sole reason people wear shoes.
Worse thing I've stepped on is a rock. Thought I broke my toe. Took a month or two to be back to normal. Rocks just blend in, an often on the pavement I'm not really expecting or paying attention. I did also step on barb wire and it punctured my heel, but was in the thick part and no blood, think it might have been minor discomfort for a day or two. I did once see a hypodermic needle on the side of the road, fell out of someones trash can they set out on trash day.
Worse thing I've stepped on is a rock. Thought I broke my toe. Took a month or two to be back to normal. Rocks just blend in, an often on the pavement I'm not really expecting or paying attention. I did also step on barb wire and it punctured my heel, but was in the thick part and no blood, think it might have been minor discomfort for a day or two. I did once see a hypodermic needle on the side of the road, fell out of someones trash can they set out on trash day.
Well done Rik, as it has been demonstrated so many times, we can walk barefoot on a broken glass, it doesn't do us any harm. For some reason most people tend to underestimate the natural protection of a conditioned plantar skin.
In my almost 3 years of bfr, i've inadevertently stepped on glass many times (usually from broken beer bottles left on the street/sidewalk), but have felt pain in just 2 or 3 of them. I usually just stop and brush it off, but once i got a glass sliver that was small and apparently entered in just the right direction into my foot, so i couldn't get it out and could feel it with some steps depending on how i landed. I had to stop running and once at home i had a bit of a hard time getting it out, but once i did (using a pair of tweezers) the discomfort went away immediately. No issues since, but now I'm just a bit more aware of not stepping into small glass pieces, just in case.
Since i live in a city in the middle of the desert, goat heads are also pretty common on unpaved surfaces, so it's easy to get them if you go onto dirt trails with weed near them. I guess I've just learned to identify the kind of weed that produces them and try to keep a good distance from them. They really sting hard!
Since i live in a city in the middle of the desert, goat heads are also pretty common on unpaved surfaces, so it's easy to get them if you go onto dirt trails with weed near them. I guess I've just learned to identify the kind of weed that produces them and try to keep a good distance from them. They really sting hard!
Stepped on cut bamboo in Sulawesi, and cut off a good chunk of my big toe--almost down to the bone. Stepped on some kind of hook worm in Mozambique while diverting a stream of rainwater away from my house. Had that uninvited guest for a while. Here in St. Paul, I step on auto glass from accidents from time to time, no problem. But broken bottle glass at the wrong angle can cut quite deeply so I'm pretty careful about that.
Tipped over a Pyrex bowl in the kitchen. The bad thing about Pyrex is that it shatters into a million pieces. Cleaned it up, but didn't notice that a small piece was stuck in my foot until a few days later.
Be careful! Dangers lurk everywhere. Maybe I should get some shoes!
Be careful! Dangers lurk everywhere. Maybe I should get some shoes!
I passed over a small copperhead on the road in Valley Forge Nat'l Park on Monday morning. I went back and flipped it out of the road so it wouldn't get flattened..
Lets see, two weeks ago I jumped over a dead black snake and before that it was a greyfish it was alive and I steeped on dog poop
but never on glass.
but never on glass.
[quote="Tristan-OH, post: 138976, member: 3340"
Worse thing I've stepped on is a rock. .[/quote]
ditto, with injury of significant skin loss that took a couple months to heal well.
Worse thing I've stepped on is a rock. .[/quote]
ditto, with injury of significant skin loss that took a couple months to heal well.
Yeeks!
That must have been a sharp rock... mine was just the normal kind, and more of a sprain injury or perhaps just the impact bruising a tendon or something. Thing is, once you hurt a toe, you'll end up somehow doing nearly the exact same thing 3 more times before its completely healed. 
Nails and screws have been the biggest worry of my brother since I've started going around barefoot more. In some ways, snails and their goo is my biggest dread, the idea of stepping on one is rather gross. I haven't tread on any glass yet, although I've seen some broken glass once on the roads where I walk and run, and some broken glass on the Appalachian Trail and a trail in Valley Forge once.
When in the woods, I do keep a vigilant eye out for copperheads. The dangerous thing about them is they don't have a slither off instinct, they tend to freeze and in some environments blend in well enough that you can step on them. Getting bit by one doesn't mean they'll envenomate you, as poisonous snakes don't like to waste venom on something they can't eat. But the younger they are, the better chance of them squirting venom into you. The young ones are always the stupid ones.
When in the woods, I do keep a vigilant eye out for copperheads. The dangerous thing about them is they don't have a slither off instinct, they tend to freeze and in some environments blend in well enough that you can step on them. Getting bit by one doesn't mean they'll envenomate you, as poisonous snakes don't like to waste venom on something they can't eat. But the younger they are, the better chance of them squirting venom into you. The young ones are always the stupid ones.
Yeeks!
That must have been a sharp rock... mine was just the normal kind, and more of a sprain injury or perhaps just the impact bruising a tendon or something. Thing is, once you hurt a toe, you'll end up somehow doing nearly the exact same thing 3 more times before its completely healed. [/quote]Actually, I don't think it was sharp. I never saw it, but I think I just hit the side of the ball of my foot in a way that "pushed" the skin with a force in the wrong direction. I didn't even know how bad it was right away.
I never go out without a helmet, protective goggles, mouth-guard, gloves, nut-cup, and knee-pads. You just never know. I hadn't thought about shoes though. That's a good idea! Thanks.
