Born to Run…Barefoot

Oh the weather outside has been frightful and it’s finally beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Yet all I could think about this weekend was running. Barefoot. Outside. Let me explain…

Barefoot running seems to be one of the latest fads in running, yet can something that was the footwear of choice for millions of years really be considered a “fad”? The tennis shoe wasn’t even introduced to the United States until 1917, so what were we doing before that?

I like to think that when the great forefathers of our country needed to get rid of stress, drop those pesky extra five pounds or fit in their corsets, they went out for a run – dare I say it – barefoot.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Janak Patel, a retired professor of engineering at University of Illinois and avid barefoot runner. Janak, 63, has been running for nearly 15 years, yet just started running barefoot this past spring – completely on a whim. While out running in Mahomet on a grassy trail in Lake of the Woods, he simply had the urge to kick off his shoes and finish the run sans-footwear.

Running a trail race in May 2011 - barefoot.

“It just felt so natural – and so good,” says Janak.

Janak’s running really began by accident when he ran a 5K in crystal Lake Park for his daughters’ school. He said he wasn’t physically fit enough to even run the race and at the end of it, he pulled a muscle stepping off the sidewalk. That was a huge wake-up call and made him realize he had to get back in shape. And running was the answer.

Now an avid trail runner, Janak is part of a running group who runs various trails throughout Central Illinois. Only one of the other members runs barefoot, but what Janak enjoys most about the group are the friendships he has established.

“The social aspect of running groups is so important,” he says. “When it is a bloody cold day and the last thing I want to do is run, I just look at those 15 people waiting for me in the parking lot and that is enough to get my going. It just helps so much.”

Throughout my conversation with Janak, I had one lingering thought: “You MUST have stepped on something sharp/pointy/object-that-did-not-feel-so-good…”

This past year on his birthday, Janak was running a special “Birthday Run” with his trail group. It poured rain the night before and the trails were under 6-8 inches of water (which he actually loved because it meant he could run in the mud). However, on one of the sloped hills, Janak stepped on a large thorn that went straight into the arch of his foot. After pulling it out, blood gushed out of his foot and seemed like it would never stop and clot. He finally just got tired of holding his foot up and wanted to finish the run.

So he did, finishing just as strong as he had pre-thorn.

THAT is dedication.

Janak tries to stick with a running schedule, typically running at least two mornings a week and then weekend trail runs with his group. He ran just over 1,300 miles in 2011 alone. His daughters used to call him crazy for getting up early for his 6 am runs. And while there are many mornings when he much rather stay in bed, he always tells himself that he needs to at least go out there and try, and if he doesn’t feel like finishing, he can come home.

“And I have never come back without finishing,” Janak says with a grin on his face.

Like I said, I had a sudden desire to just go out and run barefoot after talking to Janak. He just made it sound so natural and carefree, just like when you were a kid running around in the streets without your shoes (don’t worry Mom and Dad, I always looked both ways for cars). So I asked Janak, “What do you recommend to someone who wants to start running barefoot?” A few pointers from the Barefoot Connoisseur:

• Start SLOW. Don’t expect to run at the same pace you are used to running with your Asics.
• Do things around your house and outside barefoot first. Whether it is vacuuming, gardening or just going up and down the stairs, train your feet to function without that extra padding.
• Start running on grass for a few months before hitting the pavement. Janak prefers the trails to concrete for a variety of reasons, one of which being there is much more shock absorption and less pressure on the feet.
• It will take a while to toughen up the skin on your feet, but it will become very strong and less likely to be affected by the normal wear-and-tear from running barefoot. However, since the arch of your foot never really touches the ground, it doesn’t get tough like the rest of your foot (Janak had to learn that one the hard way…)
• Avoid running barefoot if it is too cold outside. Janak’s rule of thumb is if it’s 45 degrees or below, he laces up the tennis shoes. The last thing you want is to be mid-run and have your toes go numb. Doesn’t make for a very pleasant remainder of your run.

As we finished our chat, I realized that I was interviewing someone on running without shoes for Body n Sole’s blog. Body n Sole – you know, the shoe store…

I started to laugh. Janak said, “Oh don’t worry, I got a $500 gift card to Body n Sole last year for my birthday. I wouldn’t think of buying my shoes anywhere else.”

Good man.

Wearing some good quality shoes...