Finding My Feet

A few years ago a good friend of mine took the bold decision to live a barefoot lifestyle. Steve Bloor of Natural Feet is bio-mechanical podiatrist with a particular interest in foot and lower limb mechanics. He was instrumental in the development of a barefoot trail created by the National Trust and also runs a weekly barefoot walking group. Following conversations with Steve I decided to try out some barefoot activities for myself. I read 'The Barefoot Book - 50 Great Reasons To Kick Off Your Shoes'. It reminded me how important proper foot function is to the ankles, knees, hips, pelvis and spine. I learned that removing the artificially flat, smooth cast of a shoe improves proprioception (the ability of the body to know exactly what position and where the limbs are relative to the rest of the body).

For about a year now I've been experimenting with a little barefoot running and walking. Last Autumn I attended a workshop run by Anna Toombs and David Robinson from Barefoot Running UK. They evaluated my shod running style and then taught, evaluated and corrected my barefoot running technique. Thanks to my training as a chiropractor much of the theoretical instruction was just revision, however I came away realising that running in shoes and running barefoot are quite different activities. When running barefoot, strides are shorter and faster, knee lift is higher, the feet strike the ground fairly flatly and are directly under the hip when ground contact is made. You also run with very light steps.

The past winter has felt very long and cold and I've not been inclined to brave the world while barefoot on more than the odd occasion. Spring finally seemed to arrive in Liverpool two or three weeks ago, so since then I've put my 'best (barefoot) foot forward' and got out for some barefoot walking and running at least a couple of times each week.

Yesterday was the 2013 International Barefoot Running Day. Official events were organised in countries all over the world. The UK event was held in Brighton. Unfortunately the distance between Liverpool and Brighton is over 270 miles, so it was impractical to join the official UK event. A small group of keen 'athletes' joined me for our own local event around Hesketh Park in Southport. We ran a refreshing 2km around the circumference of the park on the wonderfully smooth  and forgiving surface of quarry tiles. Thanks to those who joined me in our little local Barefoot Running Day. My appreciation also goes out to Steve, Anna and David for their invaluable instruction, which has helped me find my feet again.