Barefoot Running... Predictions for 2010

This last year has been a banner year for barefoot running.  Here are just a few of the major events that occured:

• "Born to Run" was published.  This event really put barefoot running on the map.
• Chris McDougall goes on media tour to promote book, ends up convincing hordes of people to give barefoot running a try.
• The Runners World Barefoot Running Forum is founded and becomes a major resource for new barefoot runners.  
• Ted McDonald's Minimalist Shoe Google group experiences an avalanche of new members.
• Three of us (that I know of) run a 100 miler in Vibrams (I ran Hallucination, Ted ran Leadville, and Leif Rustvold ran Hunderd in the Hood.)
• Rick Roeber is closing in on 50 barefoot marathons.
• Many great barefoot resources become available online (http://barefootrunninguniversity.com/resources.html)
• Several races add a "barefoot division"
• Vibrams become crazy popular; become difficult to find.
• Barefoot Running University was launched.  Yes, that's a shameless plug.
  

This leads me to my predictions for 2010.

• The soon-to-be-launched Barefoot Runners Society will become a national organizational force in the barefoot running community.
• Barefoot and minimalist running clinics will continue to develop (http://barefootrunninguniversity.com/clinics.html)
• Individuals will continue to push the envelope of barefoot running.  Personally, I would like to run a 100 miler barefoot.
• Barefoot running clubs will begin to spring up throughout the country.
• Peer-review empirical research will be published adding further support to the practice (there's already a sizable collection of empirical evidence supporting BFR: http://barefootrunninguniversity.com/research.html)
• Major shoe manufacturers will roll out new lines of minimalist shoes (ala Nike Frees) to capture the upswing in minimalist footwear interest.  They may also remarket their current minimalist lines (racing flats) as barefoot-friendly.
• POSE and ChiRunning will REALLY embrace barefoot running and tout themselves as being THE way to learn barefoot running, which will annoy me even more.
  
• A host of books and movies will be released about barefoot running (including my own book that should be released sometime in January... stay tuned!)
•  More members of the medical community will embrace barefoot running, nay-sayers will point to "too much too soon" injuries as evidence that barefoot running is bad.
  
•   Hollywood will embrace barefoot running which will cause us long-time barefoot runners to groan... we will have officially reached "fad" status when Joel McHale makes fun of us on "The Soup".

2010 will be a huge year for barefoot running.  This is a movement that will reshape the running industry.  It promises to be an interesting ride!

Barefoot running, Vibrams, and winter traction

So far, I've done about four snowy runs barefoot and three in Vibrams.  The results- Vibrams suck for traction on trails.  Barefoot offers surprisingly good footing, but is difficult when the temps drop below 25 or so.  The positive about Vibrams... they really force you to work on trail running skills.  There's nothing quite as scary as flying down a hill at a 5:00/mile pace on what are essentially ice skates. 

The winter experimentation continues...

New Barefoot Motto...

Barefoot Running... because we care about the sweatshop kids.

Barefoot Running, Running Barefoot, Vibrams, and any other keywords that will attract fellow Barefoot Bloggers/Webmasters!!!

I have recently come across A LOT of people that have started blogging about barefoot running. Some are brand new; some have been doing it for some time. I have also come across a large number of new websites dedicated to barefoot or minimalist shoe running. My ultimate goal is to unite the worldwide barefoot and minimalist shoe running community to help promote our common cause. As a means to that end, if you are currently blogging about barefoot or minimalist shoe running, have set up a website, or are writing articles, PLEASE CONTACT ME!!!! I will be happy to add your link to my sites. There are a lot of us out there... we just have to find each other!

Best of luck in your adventures!

-Jason Robillard

Second Barefoot Book; Winter Running

What started as a slight modification of the original barefoot and minimalist shoe book I was writing has turned into an entirely different project.  I have since decided to separate the books with the new one being directed toward the brand new barefoot or minimalist shoe runner.  The previous book will be geared toward a wider audience.  The beginner book is nearly complete and will hopefully be printed by mid-January.  The other book will continue to be a work in progress as I collect more information and continually update by sending out the newest pdf to the individuals that have purchased it.  

In other news, my experimentation with winter barefoot running has netted mixed results.  Trail running has been better than expected, even in very slippery snow/mud conditions.  I really feel as though I am honing my barefoot skills as a result.  Both trail runs have been about 28-32° with still winds.  I did find a definite limit, however.  We had a blizzard this last Thursday.  I saw it as an excellent opportunity to test winter barefoot running.  Air temp was 15°, -2° (F) with wind chill.  I ran .33 miles through about 12" of snow.  It was horrible.  I still have some residual "weird sensations" on the tips of a few toes as a result.  There's no frostbite, but still... it was a bad idea.  I have since learned that 23° appears to be the magic "frostbite" number.  Warning to all BFRs... as the temps approach that mark, exercise extreme caution!