The Push for Minimalistic Running

As long as you are moving forward---Don't worry

            Lately there has been a lot of talk about minimalistic running, aka running barefoot or with a special shoe that mimics bare feet. I can certainly see the appeal of this type of running for some, but as an “older runner” I can’t help but believe that my minimalistic era has come and gone.

            As a child I spent more time out of shoes than in them. We lived in the country and our drive was a chirt (dirt & crushed rocks) road about a quarter of a mile from the main paved road.  My grandparents lived just down the way on that same chirt road.  I would trot down to and back from their house no less than 10 times a day. I developed some very tough feet from those visits.

            In reflection I realized that I was a runner of the truest nature even way back then. Yes I ran some competitive events when I was in my early teens and was active throughout high school. However, the most competitive events were those that included trying to beat my older brothers racing through the fields and down the road. Again, more times than not I was without shoes. Believe me when I say those fields and that road were extremely rocky and uneven. It is a major wonder that one of those many cuts that I received didn’t turn into something really bad. I have no doubt that in these days I would have contracted staff or some other horrible disease. I ran through some pretty nasty terrain and livestock area. I waded in muddy ponds and dashed through mud puddles.

Ironically it was when I was a small child of 5 and was actually wearing shoes at the time that I almost lost my foot to a horrible tractor injury. It was such a serious injury that my foot was almost severed in the middle. One doctor simply said he couldn’t do anything for me. Thankfully, I received care from a very compassionate and skilled doctor that allowed me to have full function of that foot. While I did survive, I did so at a price. Today, I have heel spurs that flair up among other foot issues. One foot is a whole size smaller than the other. I have wide feet and some major arthritis that makes me limp like I am crippled when I first get up in the morning.

Yet I still keep moving. Running is something I plan to continue until I can’t anymore. I am blessed to be able to do as much as I do. Yes the end of the day brings aches and pain and the morning is misery until I work out the kinks. But I can’t help but think about those who wish they could walk- much less run- at any age. So I will keep my complaints to a minimum.

As far as the minimalistic push is going, I say been there -done that. I leave the minimalistic push to the young people of the running world and to those who haven’t had the pleasure of the experience. These days I embrace anything that new technology can give me to make it easier for this old woman to keep on moving forward….