Barefoot running is not fast food.

Barefoot Gentile

Barefooters
Apr 5, 2010
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The new wave of barefoot runners really need to toughen up a bit. Let me start by saying that you need to be dedicated and put in the miles to become a successful barefoot runner, period. Barefoot/Minimal running shoes is the major down fall of hindering people achieving their goal to be a barefoot runner. I understand it's spring, and this when all the wannabe fan fare barefoot runners come out of the wood work, and resurrect out of their barefoot running shoes and want to run barefoot, then crash and burn, bitch and moan, etc, etc...

This is just like the typical American, we want things fast, we want it now, and we don't want to wait. You need to stop complaining about every single boo boo, blister, or how your soles are tender a week into barefoot running. This does not happen overnight, but more like years. So you have a choice, continue to flip flop between footwear and running barefoot, and get nowhere. Or lose the shoes and improve. It's quite simple.
 
I don't disagree with you Gentile, everybody does want everything right now without working for it, but that is why we have to take the time to remind them of the right way to do things. The best results from anything only come from working hard and building slowly . This has been what I have done for the last 3 years and I have had success and enjoyment with my running even when I had to transistion due to the extreme cold. A 'Gentile' reminder every once in a while is a good thing though. :barefoot:
 
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And success you have had, especially with the cold conditions! I was training for my second marathon, which was going to be barefoot, and I knew the majority of the course was going to be chip-n-seal and limited smooth roads. I emailed Barefoot Rick (The Barefoot Rick) if he ran this course and how I should approach it. He simply said continue to run on "torn up" roads and it gets easier. 99% of others told me to carry some kind of footwear. That right there is the mentally of a barefoot runner.
 
In fact, we are so lazy, we even want our food chewed before we put it in our mouths.

Okay, not really, but you get the point. ;)
 
Gentile, I know you mean well but I kind of think this site was created, according to TJ in other posts, as a resource for those that are in the transition and need advice (paraphrasing). We newbies, I still consider myself one even though I've been doing it a year, sometimes need advice from people like you who are more experienced. I kind of find it slightly offensive the way you worded this post. I really agree with a lot of what you say though and as usual, you were spot on with this advice although slightly offensive (still like and respect you and your advice). Oh, and btw Gentile, I really liked your blog post on walking barefoot and agree that it is harder to walk barefoot. This blog post of yours inspired me to go out for a walk tonight barefoot and I even ran (ok jogged) for a quarter mile. First run in 3 weeks today for me! I went off road for a bit walking and forced myself to walk on everything, no matter how painful it might be.
 
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This does not happen overnight, but more like years. So you have a choice, continue to flip flop between footwear and running barefoot, and get nowhere. Or lose the shoes and improve. It's quite simple.

Thank you. That's what I've been looking for, right there.

...and TJ, not only do I want my food chewed for me, but I want it to be fed to me like I'm a baby bird...
 
Gentile, I know you mean well but I kind of think this site was created, according to TJ in other posts, as a resource for those that are in the transition and need advice (paraphrasing). We newbies, I still consider myself one even though I've been doing it a year, sometimes need advice from people like you who are more experienced. I kind of find it slightly offensive the way you worded this post. I really agree with a lot of what you say though and as usual, you were spot on with this advice although slightly offensive (still like and respect you and your advice). Oh, and btw Gentile, I really liked your blog post on walking barefoot and agree that it is harder to walk barefoot. This blog post of yours inspired me to go out for a walk tonight barefoot and I even ran (ok jogged) for a quarter mile. First run in 3 weeks today for me! I went off road for a bit walking and forced myself to walk on everything, no matter how painful it might be.

Thus my reason for liking all the posts in this thread. ;)
 
Thank you. That's what I've been looking for, right there.

...and TJ, not only do I want my food chewed for me, but I want it to be fed to me like I'm a baby bird...

You mean...regurgitated. :D
 
Hey BG, as I posted on your blog, I think it makes a difference whether you come to barefoot running as a barefooter or as a (shod) runner. It seems like only a certain percentage of shod-to-barefoot runners end up really embracing the barefoot lifestyle. I would think for those who do, there really isn't the same need to commit to BFR. Once you 'get it' there's no turning back. You love it and so do it, no matter what sort of transitional tribulations you may experience.
 
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This is just like the typical American, we want things fast, we want it now, and we don't want to wait. .

becomes pretty apparent once you're been swimming outside the fishbowl for a while ... gets kind of frustrating, too.
 
I think the approach people take is down to if they came to barefoot running out of necessity or just as a thing to try because it was the talk of the town. I fall into the former camp, running in shoes was just not working for me, it was a miserable experience and had been for years. That is why I took my time and I would say that it was well over a year before my brain and feet began to understand how to cooperate, now it is just natural for me. So, if you are going to try it for just a few weeks or a month and make a judgement that it doesn't work they you are part of the "fast food" mentality, you need to slow down dramatically and put in the many hours and years that it takes.

Neil
 
I hope you're not referring to my post about barefoot running 12 miles and having tender soles (because I actually wasn't complaining, I was checking on whether there was some form issue I was missing). I have been running regularly, consistently barefoot since beginning last summer. People have questions and want input. Your disdain for new barefoot runners and minimalist shoes is a detriment to it growing. You sound like an arrogant know-it-all and that is not just based upon this post. If you want the movement to grow for the benefit of all and for individuals and don't actually just want to be a barefoot elitist -I think you need to chill out.
 
This is the tough thing about a barefoot running forum. Like in the RW forum, once there was the sticky at the top, when ever a"newbie" showed up to ask a question they were referred to the beginning sticky and then asked what kind of beer they drank.

Nothing wrong with this model, this it just how it is; after a while there's not much else to say about running barefoot that hasn't already been said so the conversations tend to lean towards beer, bodily functions beer and naturally, shoes.

When someone who doesn't know about the barefoot resources available to them begins to run barefoot they will inevitably get hurt. Then they use google and find us either here or at RW. By this time they want to know why they got hurt and we counsel them as to proper transition and technique.

As I said before, there's really not much to say about running barefoot. You take off your shoes, transition and run. that's it. This is why a purely barefoot forum would be almost a ghost town, it would be boring.."I ran barefoot again" "I stubbed my effin toe again" I like beer..."

I don't believe there to be much value in lecturing new runners; when they ask advise we'll give it, some will say throw out the shoes all together and some will say use the shoes as needed. Whatever, there's no right answer for everyone and unless there is a big flashing "START HERE" link on the home page sending newbies to a troubleshooting page, we'll continue to see these problems and we'll continue to tell them to slow down and spray Windex on it, and drink more beer. Sweating this stuff really isn't worth the effort.

***I just typed a bunch of words, they may make sense and they may not. I'm not proof reading this crap...post reply...
 
Ah, that would be "the other place," Ram. Let's get with the program. ;)

And, honestly, you all, Gent doesn't mean to cause harm, he just likes to stir it up now and again. He does have valid points at times, just not in the way I would deliver them.

I so get what Steph is saying here, Gent (and Ram), whether you already get it or not, there are lots of new folks out there who do not get it yet, who are struggling, and with our guidance...and kindness...we can help them along the way. THAT is what the BRS is all about...to help others, so they don't make the same mistakes we have; to share our experiences, so we can limit the number of people who suffer from TMTS; so we can build a community where we can rely on each other when things get tough; so we can run in packs instead of alone to show others we are not so odd; so we can spread the word to shod runners tired of being injured about a whole 'nother way to run that may benefit them, etc., etc. It is our job as veterans to foster a spirit of community here, so, let's be careful with the way we deliver our messages to one another.

Believe it or not, there are a lot of good conversations that take place around here that have to do with barefoot and minimalist running, not just beer and chicks, you guys. (I know, sorry to disappoint.) Look at the number of forum topics in the other forums, not just The Barefoot Pub. I don't feel it is as easy as "take your shoes off and go" for everyone, although that is the way I did it. Don't forget, we were brought up in shoes. It is difficult to break bad habits, especially when our bodies have become addicted to those bad habits. Some people can do it on their own, some people need a little insight through forums such as this, others need face-to-face instruction. Sometimes, we just need each other to fill in the blanks. And when we need a little laugh or pick-me-up, we can head over to the Pub!

BTW, we do have a Library we are trying to get back on the site (soon) that has Jason's 101 program in it for new comers, so hopefully, that will help as well.
 
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