Episode: 464
Title: HPR0464: Barefoot Running
Source: https://hub.hackerpublicradio.org/ccdn.php?filename=/eps/hpr0464/hpr0464.mp3
Transcribed: 2025-10-07 21:09:22

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Good evening, welcome to another hacker public radio.
My name is Dan and it's been a long time and today I'm not going to talk about anything
Linux like I usually do but instead I'm going to talk a little bit about
barefoot running because it's something I got turned on to. I've been running and
at least since I was like 13 or 14 I started running and it's just been a blast.
I've always loved it and you know to get out there and just challenge
yourself to how far you can go and it's just it's fun and we got turned on
to barefoot running largely from reading a book called Born to Run by Christopher
McDougal which is a fantastic book and I highly recommend picking it up. It's
very motivational, very inspirational about the Tata Romara and the tribe and
the the Compre canyons down there in Mexico that are big proponents of running
in bare feet or orachi sandals which I'll talk about in a little bit but in
a nutshell one of the big proponents of barefoot running is running
naturally and the people who espouse this idea have indicated that it helps
them overcome a lot of injuries that they used to sustain and wearing
modern footwear while running. It's forced them to run in a more proper manner
in a more stable manner to reduce impact and shock on the the knees in
particular but the rest of the body and it's helped them run longer and some
people say it gets you in touch more with the earth and it's just all around
fun thing and it also forces you a little to be a little more aware of your
surroundings. Watching a video which I'll have a link to of Christopher
McDougal by the New York Times he said you know the interviewer said what a
lot of people say to me is well what about glass on the ground or or metal or
rocks or whatever something that could hurt your foot and he said you know I got
these two wonderful tools my eyes that I use if I see a glass or rocks on the
ground I just you know move around that I don't step on it which is you know
true and get some of the misconceptions I guess at it away because barefoot
running is fun and it helps build up different muscles in your body but one of
the things that you probably might be misconceived about barefoot running is
that it actually hurts and it hurts a lot. Now at first when you start start to
run on the barefoot I recommend starting for walks go for long walks or short
walks whatever and if you're gonna run if you're already running you know
start in five minute increments if that but go out there on a couple of
websites I'll be linking to to learn actually how to run and run barefoot to
begin with and start with short runs but you'll notice that you're running on
concrete on the cat or even on gravel. At first you might have a little
discomfort at the bottom of your feet but where it really starts to get
painful isn't the soles of your feet you adapt pretty quickly to that especially
if you build it up and take it easy but where you're really gonna start to her
is in your calves and at the top of your feet is where you're gonna notice the
most of the pain and that's because you are starting to use different muscles
than you've ever used before you're using the your foot as the way it was
a biomechanically designed to be used on surfaces you're not dependent upon
shoes with arch supports or different heel and sole thicknesses to cushion
that your your foot's going to adapt more to the way that it is naturally
designed for impact and walking and or running. A lot of this is covered in the
book born to run they'll talk more in detail about it and how the philosophy
that people are actually born to run and have the capabilities of running faster
and longer distances than practically any other animal out there that can
outrun a horse you can outrun deer and buffalo and that's how some of the
early hunters would actually operate they would run their prey down and it's
some interesting stuff on that in the book and you can find it on Wikipedia too
but you're getting started out some some people say take it easy go with a
hybrid of a type of shoe called the vibram 5 fingers which is a it's close to
running barefoot as you can get without running now these suckers are designed
to fit your foot almost perfectly there are a couple millimeters thick in the
sole and they run you about 75 bucks okay but there is closest barefoot running
you're going to get with that actually doing it so if you want to invest the
75 bucks that's up to you another cheaper way to go is get a Hirachi sandals
which you can get over a barefoot Ted dot org and he makes them customized he'll
make them for your feet for about 50 60 bucks I think or you can order a kit
for anywhere between 20 and 30 bucks mine was a 30 bucks with shipping and
handling and you can make your own sandals if you want to and I haven't had
that arrived yet I'm looking forward to it but nonetheless other people say if
you're gonna do it just go out and do it and start running and that's how I did
it again I started off walking out out front of my house taking a long walk
paying attention to how I'm walking kind of getting keeping my my whole torso
and body aligned straight with with my feet when they land so that when my feet
land on the ground when I take a step forward I'm not actually stepping out in
front of my body I'm stepping right in line with my body so with my legs bent
God what would the angle be my legs bent and for cushioning at a significant
angle I don't know exactly what it would be let's see maybe 30 or more
percent if that so that it's cushioning a little springy but straight down so
that from my foot all the way up my body it's just one straight line keep your
hips forward your shoulders straight your back back straight your head straight
you want to you want to run with looking almost like you're driving like 12
seconds ahead looking forward but also using your eyes to scan the ground in
front of you because you don't want to be stepping on glass you don't want to
you know if you can avoid it it's not about it's not about pain you're gonna get
a lot of pain but it's not about pain tolerance as much you want to avoid pain
as much as possible so you know if you have a choice between running on gravel
and running on concrete run on the concrete where it's a little more comfortable
for your feet I mean you'll build yourself up over the long run but there's a
misconception you know people think well if you build your foot up you get
calluses that'll be good now because when you're running on different surfaces
going to wear those calluses off so you will build your tolerance up and you
will build your foot up a little bit but don't expect to have hard calluses that
are just going to you know be impenetrable feet you know leather
tender leather where you're going to be able to step on broken bottles and and run
across thumbtacks and everything you know without any pain now it's not about
tall so much about pain tolerance is pain avoidance and as you run and get more
adept at doing this when you hit stuff like rocks or gravel you'll be able to
land on your feet on those on those obstacles and avoid injuring yourself by
moving your foot around it or adapting to it so you get more acquainted with it
start off concrete, macadam, take a walk, watch your form and just be careful
of what's in front of you and then that's what I did for about a week and a
half then I started running less than a mile is what I was you know I was running
five six miles a day and I dropped back down to less than a mile just to get
accustomed to it and you'll build yourself up because the first month at least
you're going to be in a lot of pain you're using muscles you've never used
before and make sure you give yourself ample time to rest but you're going to
notice as time goes on that pain is going to start to subside you're going to get
more use to it I highly recommend looking at some of the resources I'm
posting with this look at videos on how to run barefoot the New York Times one
that the interview did interview with the Chris McDougal was fantastic you
know he starts by by bouncing a little bit getting almost like a pogos stick
and bouncing and bouncing on his feet and then when he feels like he's ready to
go he takes off sometimes what I've done is I'll start walking for a little
bit and I'll increase my pace and get a little bounce here and your body just
feels like it wants to go and you start taking off so two things learn about
how to run properly how to run barefoot properly you don't want to land on
your heels you want to use your whole foot as much as possible you want to as
you're running again like I said your foot falls in front of you like gravity
pull it down you don't have to stop down like gravity pull your foot down as
as your back foot is going behind you you lift off and like gravity pick your
foot down so you essentially you only have one foot on the ground at a time it
becomes a nice light motion like you're almost falling forward constantly a
little bit of like hopping or whatever it's it's not hopping so to speak but
you're falling forward at a light pace quick feet run from your hips your legs
don't run from your feet all right it's not like pushing off but it takes a
little bit to get accustomed to as you're doing it watch it but most importantly
after you take you know my advice you'll you'll watch some videos and you read
about it how to do it listen and feel your body as you're running because you
are going to be able to know what works for you what your body feels like
doing and what's comfortable for you pay attention to that because again it's
not about hurting yourself it's about adjusting your body so that you're
running in a more natural position you've been running with shoes for a
long time you're gonna have to relearn how to run barefoot and you're gonna
feel it in your ankles shins and the top of your feet so pay attention that if
it starts to hurt you know you could work through it a little bit but don't
overdo it stop it's not about endurance at this point it's about building
yourself up take it slow they recommend you know to start off with go for a
five-minute run for a week then you know put your shoes on and finish the rest
of your run you know build that up to 10 minutes the next week you know you're
not gonna be out there running six minute miles and bare feet as soon as you
start out you're gonna be running a lot slower but most importantly enjoy
yourself check it out give it a shot you'll be surprised again what most people
say is God doesn't that hurt your feet doesn't that really hurt now once you get
into it about the first two or three times you go your feet are gonna be a
little sore afterwards but you know you're gonna learn that it's not the
bottoms of your feet that hurt it's gonna be your lay your your calves and top of
your feet it was just surprising also you're gonna get a lot of people turn
you know looking at you funny turning their noses up you thinking you're
crazy and yelling at you as you're running you're gonna get a lot of heckling
and I got a lot of that people look at me like I'm crazy for doing it on the
road people are saying where are your shoes man what's wrong with you you know I
even have people asking me if I need to ride somewhere they think I'm homeless
I went out walking you know and running in my parents' neighborhood and I was
walking up to people the one lady I knew from growing up and the other one was
I always waved to her on the on the road when we're pulling in to where my
parents live and she's like can we give you a ride somewhere sir are you lost
and I'm like no you know I those are my parents I grew up in this neighborhood
I would just out for a barefoot run they thought I was like lost you know
people you get that weird thing the people are nice to you but they're
looking at you like you're some kind of weirdo so you know I stopped and
explained to them what I was doing and they were cool and it was nice catching up
with some of the neighbors but you're gonna get a lot of weird eyes queer looks
and and some people thinking you're just outright nuts but you know you go
out there with a positive attitude and a smile on your face and you just enjoy
yourself because it's who gives a damn what they think but where I found the
most acceptance is you go to a place where a lot of people are running
parks trails or whatever and I went I went barefoot running at Nolan Park which
is a nice five five and a quarter mile loop and I had a lot of people you know
I was running by and you know hey you're doing it the hard way and give me the
thumbs up and one guy was running he came up to me he's like he had you
really born to run I was like yeah I did and he's like yeah I want to try this
sometime and like it's really infectious and the interesting thing about that
is you know you got to think once you get into barefoot running you'll probably
be passionate about it and you want to you know spread the word but consider it
this way if you're out there running in a place like a park where a lot of
other people are running consider the fact that out of all the people that
those other you know that you pass and all the people that those people pass
they're probably going to remember you because you were out there running in
their bare feet you know they're gonna run you if you go there a couple of
times and they see a few times do you always gonna be remembered because you
stand out when you're doing it and that might encourage them or inspire them to
say hey you know I want to try this out myself because it is it is really good
so put the running shoes aside and step out there and your bare feet and give it
a shot guess parting what I would say from my experience thus far is
running on man-made surfaces like you'll see in the one video if you watch
the interview is a blessing running on concrete itself like sidewalks usually
a smooth easy run running on nice macadam is great running on broken macadam
gravely macadam is probably it's it's rough it's that's when it starts to get
rough or running on trails can be very problematic with whatever surface if it's
like pine surface or regular dirt with rocks and gravel in it that could be
tough on your feet I've I haven't done much of that I've only done it once in
Nolan and there was a lot of sand there which was pretty comfortable it's
weird at first there's also a lot of hills there and and almost like steps we
had to step up and then there was parts which were there's the real I had to
run across oyster shells at one point chip to oyster shells got to be really
careful there I tried to go on the grass as much as possible but just being
careful and taking it extremely slow I didn't have a problem at the fine
gravel parts were real small that that was a little weird running across wasn't
too bad grass always freaks me out a little bit because you can't really see
what's in the grass and although you shouldn't be as concerned around because you
know you run around as a kid in the grass all the time you very rarely hurt
yourself but when when you're running along the side of the road and you have to
move off into the you know the the shoulder and there's grass in there that's
when it starts to get really creepier freaky so if you're gonna do any of that
kind of run you might want to take a little sack with you with a pair of shoes
or sandals and that's when it's beneficial because that those are those are
really freaky scary areas running like that and if you have the opportunity you're
running down the road you're not running in too busy of an area no not a lot of
traffic always run against traffic so you can see what's coming at you it's nice
to run on the painted surface the lines on the road they're very smooth they're
pretty good but just be careful at first make sure you're always looking use
those tools that you were given your eyes they can see what's in front of you
if you come up the glass just take it slow move around the glass I've run
through broken bottles before you can cut yourself very easily but you could
also avoid it just as easily taking your time in the two months that I've
been doing it I've only cut myself once and that was running on that wasn't
actually running I was walking and wasn't paying attention to exactly where
I was going what they recommend taking with you as a pair of tweezers and
super glue so if you do step on something or cut yourself you can extract the
object be a glass or a splinter or something slap some super glue on there to
bond it up and be on your way be very careful take it easy you might want to
consider getting a tetanus shot or keeping up on your tetanus shot if you
not already just to be on the safe side I think they also these days if you go
get a tetanus shot you get a whooping cough booster with it woohoo two for one
deal so do that if you're going out on long distance run you know make sure
you take water with you keep hydrated I've also started checking out chia
seeds which are a great source of nutrition you can put those in your water
bottle if you like to they it's the same kind of seeds that you make chia
pests out of but you can get like a pound of them for nine bucks a few
dollars more if you want organic off the internet and they're really good they're
extremely high source of omega three and omega six fatty acids about it's
the best source and almost the best source that you can get in two teaspoons
are like 60 calories and they pack a lot of protein with them so they're
they're a great super food they're a little odd at first because if you ever
play with a chia pet when you hydrate the seeds they'll form like a gel
around them which is interesting I think it's kind of funky my my
wife and kids were not too impressed with the texture after they've been
hydrated but I'll just take a teaspoon or two slap it in my mouth get some
water in there and crunch them up and sometimes I'll put them in my water bottle
and you got a little source of energy in there to pick you up the rest of the
day it's like it's like bubble tea almost when you're when you're eating but if
you chew them you get like a nutty crunchy taste so they're pretty cool it's
just great you know that book born to run is incredibly infectious if you're
not barefoot running if you're not running at all you don't make you want to
get out there and run because it's it's like the easiest sport that you can get
into and remember it's out there you're going to have fun doing it for
yourself the only person that you're in competition with is yourself so don't
be intimidated by other people on the road running don't be intimidated by
people screaming at you just put a smile on your face and enjoy yourself I guess
the last thing I'll leave you with is if you're gonna go running consider running
without headphones particularly if you're barefoot running but running in
general without headphones I was since since I started running I always ran with
music or podcasts and a couple months ago I said you know I'm just it's I like
to I like to keep up with this stuff I like the music but I'm not really paying
attention to what's going on around me I'm not really in the moment not
necessarily paying attention to my body and the actual running and my
surroundings so I took the headphones off and I've been enjoying my runs a
little better on trail runs I see more animals I've seen more snakes and
turtles and all sorts of stuff I've been more attuned to my body and my
surroundings I know when a car is coming I know what's going on around me a
lot easier and I just enjoyed a lot more and I'm in the moment and it's
something to consider whether you're barefoot running or not but that's all I'm
going to talk about today I hope to get some more HPRs out in the future
continue my boot series the licensing series and some other stuff hopefully but
I hope this I encourage you to get out there and get some exercise and
consider barefoot running have a great and happy day
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