The reason why I stopped running barefoot ..

Marco1971

Marco1971

Barefooters
Jun 24, 2010
20
3
3
52
Glen Ridge NJ
#1
A long time ago I was not a runner. Every time I tried to run my knees would hurt. Hence, I tried running barefoot and lo and behold, my knees stopped hurting.

This was 2010. In the space of 6 months I went from non-runner to running 5 miles every 3-4 days, barefoot and everything was great ... this was between spring and fall of 2010.

But then 2 things happened that made me stop running barefoot:

1 - winter. Running on ice/snow does't really work for me (and I can't do vibrams) so ... I had to transition to shoes. Which was hard but I got it done and was able to run through the whole winter.

2 - hecklers. I had more than a few episodes of people calling me out, yelling at me, insulting me or (in one case) almost running me over with a car (2 drunk college punks). Not to mention that some of my friends and family relentlessly and insistently called me crazy and insisted that I stopped.

Because of this, once I transitioned to shoes, I simply never went back.

For reasons I can't explain though, I miss running barefoot. For reasons I can't explain ... I just liked it better.

These days I run 7 miles a day, 4-5 times a week successfully and with minimal pain other than blisters and inflammation caused by using shoes.

I'd like to go back to barefoot running though so ... any advice about how to resolve those 2 problems would be appreciated:

1 - winter: how do you guys do it? I can use shoes, it's not problem. Is that how you guys do it? or do you go BF no matter what? (PS: this past winter doesn't count because ... well it wasn't a real winter).

2 - hecklers: how do you guys deal with this? do you guys even face something like this or have I just been really unlucky? do you ignore people that look at you funny? do you ignore people that call you out, family that calls you crazy, etc? I know that it's silly if not downright stupid that I am allowing other people's opinions to influence the choices I make in life. I shouldn't ... and that's a whole different topic but I'd really like to hear your opinion about this.

Thanks!
 
#2
1.) It gets easier as you go. You just have to WANT it.

2.) Grow thicker skin. This is about YOU, not them.
 
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#4
1. Winter: I wore bedrock sandals and their merino wool ninja socks during snowy runs this winter and it worked great. There are also plenty of nonVFF minimal shoes you could wear to handle winter months from companies like merrell, new balance, vivobarefoot, altra and others. Yeah it sucks to have to wear something in the winter, but you gotta do what you gotta do and wearing huaraches and socks (or another minimal shoe option) beats transitioning back and forth from "normal" shoes every winter.

2. Hecklers: family hecklers are tough, and you would think you could count on family to be supportive. Not much you can do about that aside from saying "please respect my wishes and leave me alone about this". As for strangers, if they give you a funny look, give them one back. If they heckle you, heckle them back. If people are just giving funny looks, you can either ignore them or I've found that nothing unnerves people giving you the stink-eye like looking them hard in the eye and giving them a big smile. Personally I try to go with one that looks like I'm about to lunge over and bite them. ;)
 
#5
Dear Marco,

1. Winter is a matter of getting used to. And there are definitely limits. I can handle down to about -7 C (20 F). It's important to be warmly dressed on the rest of the body. I layer heavily, and the most important thing is my wool hat. Also, wear tight-fitting clothing. I know that many men don't like tights. But, I was a cyclist before becoming a runner, so tight-fitting lycra is second nature. Loose-fitting clothing does nothing in the cold. Here is my rig at freezing:
  • Wool hat
  • 3 layers of capalene/polypropolene tops
    • Innermost layer: thin and tight-fitting long underwear top
    • Mid-layer: mid-weight
    • Outer layer: heavy-weight. If it is windy, I might put on my "windstopper" cycling jacket instead.
  • 2 Layers on the bottom
    • innermost: long underwear
    • outmost: lycra running tights. Mine have a bit of "fluff" on the inside, so they insulate well
One tip for wet weather (that I have not yet tried) is to coat the upper part of your foot in vaseline. The greasy jelly keeps the moisture out and the heat in (so I am told).

2. Hecklers. Well, there are several strategies.
  1. Ignore them. If you don't look at other people, they'll be less likely to comment.
  2. Ignore them. If you care what others think, they can smell it, and they will heckle more.
  3. Ignore them. Do you think that Lance Armstrong ever cared what rednecks thought about his wearing lycra?
  4. Delight in it. See it as a challenge to tip the world's apple cart.
Today, lot's of people were out walking where I run. I got giggled at by 3 groups of pre-teen girls. I got one question: "Aren't you cold?" To which I responded friendlily: "Not with my wool cap." I got a few looks of puzzlement. And I got 2 separate thumbs up and one big smile from a rather attractive runner.

We all get the joke: "Hey, did you forget your shoes?" I usually ignore it. But, I have shouted back, "How many times do you think I have heard that dumb joke?" In one instance, the heckler's buddy burst out laughing as I said that. The last thing I heard him saying was "You dumb ass."

If you really like barefoot running, then it would be a shame to let the hecklers get to you. Just remember, they only heckle because you make them feel insecure, just like rbondi said. This is especially true of the jock types. After all, barefoot is way more macho than fast.

And, the BRS is always there for support and advice.

Hope you stay with it.

Cheers,
Paleo
 
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#6
Winter - Man up.

Hecklers - Man up.

JK.

Seriously, in the winter, do what you've got to do to get through.

As far as the hecklers, why do you let that bother you? Other than the whole, "I'm going to run you over with my car...", who gives a lump of feces what other people think? You don't run for them do you? You run for you so run how you like... In this case, with pure bare feet.

MAN UP!

Cheers and good luck.
 
#7
Thank you all ... i knew i shouldn't have asked and the whole thiwng really boils down to: man up. I guess i had to hear it (well ... read it).

I didn't really talk about this with any other BF runners 2 years ago. I just stopped running bf.

Ah well i didnt stop running, I'm still in goid shape and i was able to run bf long distance ... i can learn again.

Hey pilotrunner i have to ask: are you really a pilot? If so what do you fly? What kind of planes?
 
#9
For winter I wore VFFs along with coat, hat, gloves.

For the hecklers that I work with, I just think about the fact that I can run (many of them sit out side smoking while I run) or the fact that they need to run barefoot or not. My fam ran their mouths at me a bit at first but they eventually shut up when they realized I was commited to going bf.

Bill
 
#10
First let me say the heckling part is more mental than anything. The reason you feel you are being heckled in a negative way is your insecurities of running barefoot, mentally you don't feel comfortable yet, therefore your are not in the right mind zone and the negative will stand out more than the positive. I will admit when I first started I thought that everyone was looking and saying something, when in reality it's not that way. In the 2 1/2 years running barefoot, I think I have had a total of 3 negative comments from someone that really stood out, everything else is positive and most people are like WTF?! It actually brings a smile to my face with the reactions I get. As far as winter goes you need to start conditioning as soon as possible, test our your limits and over time you will start to adapt to the colder temps.
 
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#11
I don't really have any advice to add that hasn't already been posted. However, I find it odd that people heckle other people about bf running. I have never been heckled. Maybe Texas is just a very tolerant place? I have had heard comments like, "wow, no shoes?" and "does that hurt?" but nothing that I would call heckling.
 
#12
bubba hotep said:
I don't really have any advice to add that hasn't already been posted. However, I find it odd that people heckle other people about bf running. I have never been heckled. Maybe Texas is just a very tolerant place? I have had heard comments like, "wow, no shoes?" and "does that hurt?" but nothing that I would call heckling.
Click to expand...

This is my experience -- some people are surprised, some are bemused, some are enthusiastic about it. No real heckling. But if you're in an area with college kids, well...you're gonna get some of those.

In winter, I used cheap water socks from Sports Authority. They worked well, as much as I used them (but I was a slacker this winter, to be honest). Sandals and wool socks would probably be better, but it didn't work well with mine -- the strap slipped down the ankle. But it's worth trying, since others have had better success.
 
#13
Winter - go with the advice you're getting and my addition...start early and have lots of runs as the weather cools. You won't feel such a shock at the first snow, ice, frost, biting winds, etc, then.

Hecklers - Big smiles work with most and the rest don't matter. I run around Princeton farily often and have only gotten good words from the kids. You must run in a tougher neighborhood. As for family, BF is probably just the latest. Admit it, they'll just find something else to razz you about if it wasn't BFR. Big smiles drive most of them nuts, I've found.
 
#15
Maybe you could try trail running, much less hecklers in the woods... For winter there are a lot more good minimalist shoes than two years ago. I wouldn't suggest conditioning, it's kinda risky and might take too much fun out of running.
 
#17
No offence Flammee, but what the H-E-double hockey sticks!!! What do you mean by "I wouldn't suggest conditioning, its kinda risky and might take too much fun out of running." That is just plain stupid, I can tell you from personal experience as well as numerous others on this forum that would disagree with that. I have run through the winter for the last two seasons barefoot and have logged quite a few miles, and I have small mileage compared to others such as Barefoot Yow, Smelph, Running Barefoot, etc. See the following forum thread, Barefoot Winter Challenge 2011. It is totally possible to run barefoot in the winter, and have lots of fun doing it along the way. But you do have to be smart about and pick your spots, obviously you don't go running in -45 degree weather (I have gone as low as -29 degrees Celcius, but I had conditioned my feet to do that). My advise, research, ask questions of the great bunch of people on this forum, and take it one bare foot step at a time.

So Marco1971, if you want to run barefoot, then i say, Run Barefoot. Do what you want to do, not what others think you should do. It is all about fun and going out and enjoying yourself. Run free Marco, run free.
 
#19
The "kinda risky" part comes from if you are not going to be smart and will take risks and are used to too hopeful thinking like "I can't feel my toes, suppose they will get warm after couple of miles?", or "it's only a mile of deep snow, it can't be bad". While in both cases I managed without damage, those experiences were not particularly fun stuff. I wasn't barefoot, in the first example I was using VFFs (my toes eventually warmed, but I had case of toes going numb for half a year after that) and in the second with vivo ultras. I rather practise running than cold conditioning. Conditioning is uncomfortable and I don't consider it worth the trouble, because texture of snow and ice is such that it even doesn't feel good. So ground feel is not too important at winter and then what's a point in being able to run barefoot at winter?

Edit; Sorry if I offended winter barefooters, but I don't think cold conditioning is for everybody. Most of us do barefooting because it's more fun than shod running and cold conditioning feels kind of bit too much "non-fun".


But I'll check that challenge thing..
 
#20
Flammee, thank you for posting again, let me the first to agree with you, that winter barefoot running is definitely not for everyone, and yes conditioning is also not for everyone. But that being said, that is the point of research, and slowly trying it to see if it works for you. Of course it is plain silly to take the shoes off and run a mile through snow if you have not been properly prepped for it and or if you have no safety net. The whole point of conditioning is to continue running as the temperature slowly drops, you have to climatize your feet and the most important thing to remember is to use common sense. Nothing is worth hurting yourself over.
 
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