Hi from the New Forest, Uk

[Bare Gilb]

Hey guys - just wanted to say a Big Barefoot HELLO from the New Forest!

Chuffed to be part of a growing community of Barefoot Brits and look forward to getting active on this forum!

Divide my runs up between minimal trail shoes, huaraches and barefoot - as spring takes hold and summer approaches I'm hoping to reduce time spent shod - easier said than done with some of the tricky trails around here...

Any like minded locals who fancy meeting for a wee forest run just shout!

Cheers, BG

 

[Footsie]

Welcome!

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Gilb, please feel free to join the United Kingdom Chapter from the Chapters link above. Welcome! And, BTW, what is your avatar?

 

[Phil Hart]

BG: Welcome to the family. I hope you can find some like-minded runners near you, or in a pinch, work on creating some on your own. It's always enjoyable to suck other people into our craziness, particularly when they get into and figure out that it's not really crazy at all. Glad to have you with us.

 

[Bare Gilb]

Thanks guys, my avatar was a side portrait taken from an ultrasound of my son Rowan @ 20weeks. He was born on Saturday, weighing in at a healthy 9 pounds on the nose He has huge

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, which I'm hoping will come in very handy at spreading impact...​

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[DNEchris]

Congratulations!

I hope everyone is well.

 

[Barefoot Dama]

Welcome and congrats on your new family addition!
I am shock at the size of your baby's feet they are almost as big as mine I've never seeing anything like it I bet he's going to be a great runner someday.
Are you planning on raising him mostly barefoot? Keep a track of his barefeet and see how they change as he grows up. Right now his feet look flat which is very normal for a new born. I have this thought for sometime now that if a baby's feet are put in shoes from the beginning causes the baby to grow flat footed but if the baby's feet are left along then the feet get a chance to develop an arch. Like I said is just a thought cause I know nothing.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

I replied elsewhere, but I must say, Congrats on the precious little addition to your family!

 

[Bare Gilb]

I have this thought for sometime now that if a baby's feet are put in shoes from the beginning causes the baby to grow flat footed but if the baby's feet are left along then the feet get a chance to develop an arch. Like I said is just a thought cause I know nothing.

Thanks guys, hopefully he'll make a great running partner! I'm very curious to watch his movement development and will no doubt learn a thing or two along the way. I think we'll probably make sure any shoes he does wear encourage a natural walking / running gait. I was raised in shoes of all kinds and still have a nice pair of arches I'm no expert either, but I think this is mostly down to genetics...

 

[Darkand]

Hi BG, welcome!! Great to have some more people from the UK!!
You're gonna love it here mate. I've only been a part of this community for a month or two but everyone is super supportive and more than happy to answer any questions you might have!
Congratulations on the birth of your son too!! Awesome news!
When he's a little bigger, check out
www.happylittlesoles.co.uk/
for minimalist shoes for him for when he just can't go barefoot!

 

[Barefoot TJ]

When he can't go bare, socks are the best choice for babies and toddlers. Have you ever seen a baby-toddler learning to walk first barefoot, then put in baby shoes? It's basically the same reaction you see when a dog wears doggie snow shoes for the first time. Quite sad.

We are robbing the child of the feedback their soles crave when we put them in shoes. That feedback is very important to proprioception and can help to prevent unnecessary falls.

 

[Bare Gilb]

Congratulations on the birth of your son too!! Awesome news! When he's a little bigger, check out www.happylittlesoles.co.uk/ for minimalist shoes for him for when he just can't go barefoot!

Now that's a turn up for the books! Darkand, you've inadvertently hooked my wife into expressing a little more interest than the usual ... I owe you a drink mate!

When he can't go bare, socks are the best choice for babies and toddlers. Have you ever seen a baby-toddler learning to walk first barefoot, then put in baby shoes? It's basically the same reaction you see when a dog wears doggie snow shoes for the first time. Quite sad.

TJ - I know exactly what you mean. Only recently I put some vet wrap round my pointer's paws after a nasty cut and his senses were all wacked, feet all over the shop! If not barefoot I imagine Rowan will be spending a lot of time in something like these...

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Those shoes only in the winter, and even then, they have better ones. I had mine in shoes that were nothing but fleece and very room, no sole.

 

[JosephTree]

Congratulations and welcome, both.

I bet your running time is going to be impacted by the new addition. Wives are so hard to ignore when they look at you and beg for a little time to rest and for you to please take the cherub away for a bit. It gets much better when you figure out the big wheeled jogging stroller angle. The little ones either love it or just nod off pretty directly. Either way, it works both for the running and the time off for mum.

There are "running with stroller" threads in the archive (if we have an archive anymore...did it get thrown out with the trash, TJ?)

Oh, and I have a ""Rowan" here near Philadelphia. She's just turned 11 last week. It's one of those ambidextrous names, I believe. I don't remember where we got the name, exactly, though I think it was after a fondness for the European Mountain Ash, aka Rowan tree. I am an arborist, after all.

 

[Bare Gilb]

Hey JT.

Your not wrong about the reduced running opportunities!! I've tried running with the stroller, or buggy / pushchair as we call it on this side of the Atlantic but can't get on with it. My arms need freedom. Being a military man I plan on putting Rowan in a carrier on my back and putting in some slow miles, preferably up some hills!

Like yourselves, we named our boy after the mountain ash / Rowan tree that we hold with some affection. Also, we were sure he'd have red hair and since the name means 'little red one' after the red berries the Rowan tree produces it just seemed right. He's 4 months now, full of smiles and taking life in his stride - cant imagine life without him!

 

[JosephTree]

No one admits to naming a child after Mr. Bean, I think.

 

[JosephTree]

Hey JT.

Being a military man I plan on putting Rowan in a carrier on my back and putting in some slow miles, preferably up some hills!

You'll have a fine form check there. Running anything but perfecly smoothly will get you a child endangerment citation and a few granny slaps as well.

 

[Bare Gilb]

You'll have a fine form check there. Running anything but perfecly smoothly will get you a child endangerment citation and a few granny slaps as well.

No doubt! Having just seen a piece of medical advice that warns against backpack-type carriers pre 1 year I think I may have to exercise some patience and stick to hiking until he's up for running alongside his Dad, hmmmm, here's hoping....

 

[Barefoot Dama]

No doubt! Having just seen a piece of medical advice that warns against backpack-type carriers pre 1 year I think I may have to exercise some patience and stick to hiking until he's up for running alongside his Dad, hmmmm, here's hoping....

With those big feet of his he's going to leave you on the dust in no time
How old is he now, three months?

 

[Bare Gilb]

With those big feet of his he's going to leave you on the dust in no time
How old is he now, three months?

Hi Dama, good guess, he's 4 months now - well, 18 weeks to be exact! Time flies! He's running on the 99percentile for height at the mo and can only get in 9-12month vests so looks like he's gonna be a lanky one!

I can feel the dust blinding my eyes already!!