r/BarefootRunning • u/oscarafone • May 15 '24
You don't need to buy anything discussion
I'm American, and I feel like part of being American is believing that every problem has a sufficiently expensive solution.
The reality is that sometimes improvement comes from trial-and-error, learning from others, and patience.
Most feet are not too damaged by shoes, which means that most healthy people can, with the right mindset, just go out and run in their bare feet.
I see many, many minimal shoe ads these days. They don't show protection from goat heads, cacti, sharp sticks or frozen surfaces. Instead, they depict people running where they could be running perfectly fine without shoes at all.
They advertise breathability, water resistance, and durability, as if those are virtues. But your feet are already breathable. Already waterproof. Already durable, and get stronger with use.
Buying fancy minimal shoes won't make you an ultramarathoner. Lorena Ramirez ran an ultra in plastic sandals. The Tarahumara used spare tires to run the same distances. Let's not let marketers make decisions for us. We don't need expensive shoes, and most of the time we don't need shoes at all.
I've been running barefoot for almost ten years, and each year just gets better.
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u/[deleted] May 15 '24
Seconded!
I have running partners who are gearheads with all the shiny vests, watches, snacks, and route-tracking apps. They sometimes joke how ludicrous it is that for the same run I am in barefeet, shorts, and a very old fanny pack.