A minimalist shows up for the group run

Setting the Scene
Tuesdays and Thursday nights and Saturday mornings I often participate in group runs. Our group actually has two back-to-back times, the first session being for those who want extra mileage at a faster pace. I like to call them the early and late services. The early usually consists of me and 2 to 3 other guys.

Enter the First Timer
A new guy was there when I arrived for the first run last night. In the flash of one second, my first observations are made as I crossed the parking lot, "He is barefoot and has a dog; the normal chit chat won't be so normal tonight." Introductions... idle chat... and we're off, but only after barefoot guy ditches the shirt first.

Hey, Us Regulars Are Open Minded
We asked barefoot guy about his running. He has been running sans shoes for about a year and half and usually runs on some skin friendly trails. He tells us he loves to run every day but he was having many pains - knees, shins, ankles, etc. Once he started running barefoot, the pain went away. As he bounced off the balls of his feet, with his heel not really even touching the ground, he gave us a bit of a sales pitch, but not in a pushy way. Barefoot running lets him run farther with less fatigue, feel more connected with the trail, and run with minimal gear. We talked about the Born to Run book and the Vibram Five Fingers shoes. The dog offered no comment, but seemed pretty comfortable on our 4.5 mile loop.

The Asphalt Is At Fault
We reach the end of our loop and barefoot guy is checking out the loss of skin and blisters on his feet. Because he normally runs on trails, he doesn't have much callous. He was told what the route consisted of before we started. He wasn't too bad off mainly because he was able to stick to the strip of grass between the curb and sidewalk for a lot of the run.

Isn't It Ironic, Don't Ya Think?
On my short run back home I realized it was a bit ironic that the guy pitching the benefits of barefoot running and being injury free was the only one with injuries at the end of the run. It was interesting to watch him run and talk to him. Diversity is a good thing. I actually wouldn't mind trying it sometime, but I'm not sure about doing it on the streets. I've seen too many pieces of broken glass, stray screws and other dangers I'd rather not have embedded in my foot.