I read a fascinating book recently called "Born to Run". The storyline is about these native Mexican runners called the Tarahumara who run amazing distances (50, 80, 100 mile races for days at a time) well into their 70s and 80s without many of the problems/injuries runners in America experience. They do this without the "benefit" of modern running shoes or anything other than a sole of leather or tire rubber for shoes.So I thought I'd give it a try (the running without modern running shoes, not the 100 mile races). I actually tried barefoot running first, and loved it. I could feel the ground, my stride changed and I didn't have the big impact from leading with my heel (very painful doing that
barefoot), and I could actually feel the ground. Unfortunately I was abrading off the bottoms of my feet faster than my calluses were growing. Enter www.invisibleshoe.com. I stumbled onto this website where they sell Vibram (sole material for shoes) and nylon with Do-It-Yourself videos on how to make modern running sandals. I figured I could make those myself and went ahead and did so. It has been awesome. Same feeling as going barefoot, without the abrasions that were such a problem.
I get a bunch of funny looks from people when I wear them, but honestly they are so much fun to run in and it feels really fun to run again.
