BAREFOOT RUNNING AND LIFESTYLE

Last autumn, only a year ago, I started running. I had to do it slowly, because I
had been injured for a long time. In recent years I had practiced particularly
cycling and running was something almost new to me. I began to remember
feelings from my childhood, when I ran free down the field in the middle of
nature, playing cowboys and Indians. First I ran two minutes, then five, later ten
minutes… As time went on I could run longer and faster.

When spring came I was able to run very well for an hour and a half. That's
when I decided to participate in the popular races and finished my first half
marathon. It was a very rewarding experience. From that moment I began to
notice many other things related to the world of the popular sport: running
shoes, timers, heart rate monitors, gps, technical clothing, training books, etc. In
fact, I got a little obsessed with these things. I bought some new running shoes,
sweatpants latest model, a GPS with heart rate monitor and an iPod. What I
wanted was to train more and more so that I could run faster.

But during the summer I read a very interesting book that influenced me a lot,
changed some of my views and made me think. It was not a book of philosophy,
but a book that talked about the passion for running. It was titled Born to run. I
chose it because I wanted to read something easy, just for entertainment and to
have fun.

The book tries to defend the benefits of running barefoot or with sport shoes
without cushioning, and criticizes sport brands that sell more expensive
cushioned shoes just to do business. Cushioned shoes are an invention of the
70s. Until then, humans have always run barefoot or with very simple running
shoes made of leather and nothing bad happened. Furthermore, it has been
demonstrated that running with modern sport shoes does not reduce injuries.
Even worse: non-professional athletes have more injuries due to modern sport
shoes. When we run with modern sport shoes we tend to run with a different
technique. Cushioning and a softer touch in modern sport shoes makes us to
extend the stride and strike with our heel, which is a suffering for our body. We
should strike with our midfoot, as good runners do, and that is what we do
naturally when we run barefoot.

So I tried to run ... not barefoot but with five fingers, which is the closest thing
to running barefoot. Although it took me a while to get used to it, I felt so much
freedom that I loved it. Later I started running with sandals, which is also very
similar but the foot is completely free and with nothing to press… It is amazing
and great!

Running with sandals or barefoot has a price: people think you are crazy. I can
see how people look at my feet and they cannot believe it. Many look at you
funny or say something. Some even laugh.

But I do not care. I enjoy it as I had never enjoyed before. I do not want a heart
rate monitor, an ipod, a GPS or shoes that cost 140 euros. I do not need to be the
fastest runner. I just run and relax. No timing. No noisy music. I feel in
communion with myself and nature. By the way: I have not had any injuries
again. In a month I will run my first marathon ... perhaps with sandals.

All this has made me think: what do we really need to enjoy sports? Do we
really need so much as we think? I do not think so. But today people try to do
everything a business, also sports and a healthy way of lifestyle.

1. What is behind the promotion of sports? Health or money?

2. Do we really need so many things in our lives as we usually think to be happy?
3. Is our lifestyle too artificial, isolated from nature?
4. Should we return to a more natural lifestyle?
5. Does technology make us more free or enslave us?