Barefoot Running with Michael Sandler

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As I mentioned in yesterday’s post about the 13.1 Atlanta race, I was lucky enough to meet up with Barefoot Runner Michael Sandler before the race.  Michael didn’t run the race because of some extensive traveling he is doing for his recent book launch, but he still ran up to me in his bare feet on Sunday morning in Town Brookhaven.

It was fun to talk to Michael about barefoot running and some of the more interesting and difficult barefoot runs he has had.  One race he mentioned was one that he and a barefoot running group ran through some horrible road conditions.  Because the road was rough they all decided to hit the grass on the side of the road only to find that the grass was full of cactus and then so were their feet.

Michael is currently traveling all over the country promoting his book Barefoot Running: How to Run Light and Free By Getting in Touch with the Earth which he wrote with his wife Jessica Lee, who is also a barefoot runner.

Sandler explores every aspect of barefoot running in this comprehensive guide, including:

• Overcoming any inhibitions about running barefoot.
• The pros and cons of barefoot running and running in shoes.
• Maintaining your feet after the first few runs—tips and tools.
• Barefoot running for children—fitness benefits for children, dangers of footwear at a young age, ideas for playtime barefoot activities.
• Barefoot/minimalist shoes and other essential gear.
• Barefoot running benefits for seniors.
• Nutrition tips.
• Running in heat or the cold.
• Running on any surface.

As mentioned in the Barefoot Running Press Release, Barefoot Running also chronicles Michael’s journey from a nearly fatal accident in 2006 that the doctors said would keep him from running again, to running 10 to 20 miles or more barefoot.

More information about Michael, his wife Jessica, and their company Run Bare can be found at their website www.runbare.com and you can also interact with them on Facebook at the Run Bare Fanpage, or on Twitter @RunBareCompany.

Have you tried Barefoot Running or Minimalist Running?