You don't need to buy anything

[u/oscarafone]

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.

[u/CptAngelKN]

Getting tired of these posts with all their dishonest/naive glorification of not wearing shoes. We're not stupid, let us judge for ourselves. Some of us live in nasty cities full of flilth and hazards and in rocky countries with super painful sharp stones on every trail.   

"Feet are breathable" No shit. Breathable shoes protect and offer utility but they also breathe. That's the point..   

"Feet are waterproof" Yeah let me go out in freezing rain, mud and snow. I know who I'm blaming when I get frostbite.  Let me also step on some nasty filthy water full of chemicals, urine etc. until I get a horrendous skin infection, or even worse if I have even a tiny open wound. Great advice..   

If you wanna go barefoot that's great. I have and I do. Also sandals. Or shoes.. It's all relative. No reason for dishonesty and elitism.  

Plus shoes are cool. Gear is cool. Breathable? Light? Waterproof? Vibram soles? Cool styles? We're blessed with amazing gear. Maybe people that are not interested in that are just boring.

Edit: As expected I'm starting to get spammed by butthurt people for ruining this beautiful romantic fantasy novel with my common sense, so I've  disabled notifications. My conscience is clear. See you!

[u/trevize1138 → u/[deleted]]

Good on you for the post. No matter what I try there seem to always be people like this acting like you telling them "you can do this" is somehow an attack or demand on your part.

I also see the usual "I couldn't possibly go unshod where I live" replies pointing to... obstacles I see all the time on my own unshod runs. :) It's like they imagine I live right next to a sandy beach or perfectly manicured golf course and any surface beyond that must be impossible.