I run cross country at my high school, and all through the summer I would run for about a half mile on the grass field barefoot after practice to strengthen my feet. We just had our first race last Wednesday, and all of my friends were complaining about running in racing flats, while my feet felt fine after the race. And my training shoes have almost no support (esp. in the heel), they are Brooks Cascadia 5's. If you want to read a really good book about barefoot running or just running in general, read Born To Run. It will change the way you think about running.

I have 2 pairs of FiveFingers that I train in. They are nice. I wear Tevas during the summer and Keen boots the rest of the year (including on patrol).

Uh, I mean to say I always wear Keens to patrol in.

Thanks Flora! And yes, it is true, the fastest runners run barefoot, and yes they stand on the balls of their feet. If you look at all mammals, they are all standing on the balls of their feet. That "backwards" joint is actually where their foot ends.

yes yes!

I'll bet that you are QUICK!


Since I learned MANY details about the feet, I cannot stop looking
at people's feet and walking

Haha yea I am pretty fast, but where I do really good is long distance stuff on trails (like 13-18 miles). I look at feet all the time too, it is kinda interesting. DaVinci always said that the human foot was the best engineered part of our bodies.

I wrecked my feet in the 1980's and
am thrilled to find how ot make them better now.

My invented shoes are great!

If I stop typing, I might be able to post photos