Birth

Fitting that my first day of barefoot running should occur on the day of the birth of my son Maxwell, it was a good day to be born.

Having just got a pair of Vibrams a few days ago I decided I was ready to actually go for a short, slow run in the rain and begin my barefoot experience in earnest.

It was glorious; 54 degrees, rain, wind, iPod ... the works. As I leashed up the dog and closed the front door I had to concentrate on holding myself back from bolting down the steps and out onto the lawn. A drastic change to footwear requires thought and care to avoid injury - not the least available to me at these early stages are stress fractures and pulled muscles. I have to learn to run again, unlearning the cushioned stride and relearning the child's gait.

Since my feet have been swathed in socks and cushioned shoes for almost 40 years I certainly don't have the callouses to go truly barefoot, so the Vibrams are the next best thing. 3.5 mm of rubberish tread means you can feel every leaf underfoot, every pebble, the splash of a puddle and the squish of still damp earth between your toes.

This sounds a bit scary; who wants to feel pebbles underfoot when you are running? A rock in your shoe is aggravating at best and always a show stopper. But a stone in your shoe is not the same as a stone underfoot. Your feet know what to do, how to cope, how to bend and how to absorb them even if you (like me) have forgotten.

Watching my children run around barefoot every day through gravel and rocks, sharp oak tree leaves, across pavement without a care in the world is proof that our bodies are capable; this afternoon I got reborn into that wonderful youth of running barefoot without a care.