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Who am I?
My name is Joe Berrones. I currently live in Carbondale, Illinois and am pursuing a degree in Kinesiology from Southern Illinois University. Within the past couple of years I have discovered a love for running. I trained for my first marathon (with shoes on) and after I was done running that race, I had lost my love for running just as fast as I had gained it. I no longer found running fun. It had become a task to run 3 miles, when a few weeks earlier an 18 miler wouldn't have sounded that hard. While I was running the marathon (St. Louis Marathon 4/15/07) I saw a guy running with no shoes on. His name, Barefoot Rick (www.barefootrunner.org). He not only finished the entire marathon barefoot, but he beat me by 40 minutes! This absolutely blew my mind that a person could run this distance with no shoes or socks. I did some research on the topic and at first I thought it was nuts/foolish. The more I read and learned about barefoot running the more it began to make sense to me. If you can't run without shoes on, then you aren't running the way your body was designed to run. I thought to myself, "hmm, they have a point", those points i will discuss in a different article, however, you learn how to run the way your body was meant to run, softly, gently, efficiently, thus preventing the harsh heel pounding of modern day shod runners. Feedback from the ground is the best indicator if you are running incorrectly. Shoes prevent this feedback, encouraging bad running form/technique therefore increasing the likelihood of injuries. I began to toss around the idea that I, too, could be a 'barefoot runner'. I still remember the first time I went out barefoot with my doughy feet, I didn't listen to the 'barefoot legends' by starting out slow on grass and work my way up. This is so your feet get used to taking a little 'tough love' from the ground before moving on to concrete. If you know me though, no way, I was going to try this full steam ahead. Well, to say the least, 3 blisters, a bloody big toe, raw painful feet, and 1.2 miles later I was born, Barefoot Joe.

Barefoot Mileage Since May, 2007

 361.7 miles (Updated: 10/15/07)

My girlfriend (Liz) and I before Lewis and Clark Half Marathon

Both of these pictures were taken 9-16-07 at the Lewis and Clark Half Marathon in St. Charles, MO.

Why do you run barefoot?

There are many different reasons that I run barefoot. I will list a few of them and then discuss them.

  1. It is very FUN!
  2. It feels great.
  3. Much better form.
  4. Pain-free running.
  5. No more pounding like with running shoes.
  6. Smooth, effortless stride.
  7. No blisters, caluses, black toenails or heel rub.
  8. Save money on shoes. :)
  9. No better coach then the bottoms of your feet.
These are just a few reasons why I do this off the top of my head. After you learn how to run barefoot correctly it's the most liberating experience ever. People need to understand that barefoot running is very different then shod running. In my opinion, barefoot running is a completely different sport then shod running. They aren't nearly the same thing. You learn to stride short and fast, efficient strides. The foot should never have to 'push off'. By landing in the correct position with your weight over top of the foot due to a small stride, the foot acts like a natural spring, springing you to the next foot. If you try to run with a shod running technique with no shoes, you'll be sorry.