I have been barefoot running, for oh, i don't know, 6 months or so, but not very consistently, and in the past few weeks i have developed a pretty god case of plantar fasciitis. I haven't stopped running altogether yet but i have gone back to wearing my orthotic flip flops ALL DAY b/c my foot hurts if i don't. I'm also having a bit of top of foot pain as well. I'm getting pretty frustrated b/c barefoot running does not seem to be the miracle cure-all i hoped it'd be! Although, i am feeling a tad bit better after reading through this forum, and finding out i'm not the only one that suffered injury after injury at the beginning... Ok, so my story is: I was a (shod) runner for a number of years, even running a number of half-marathons. I have super flat feet so always wore orthotics and shoes to keep me from over-pronating. a couple years ago i started having knee pain but i pushed through it b/c i was training for a half, it eventually got bad enough that i had to stop running altogether and even see a physical therapist for "runners knee" for a couple of months. (which really didn't seem to help, but did convince me to spend a lot of money on an arsenal of "sensible" shoes!) So I would take breaks of a few months at a time and then go out running and my knee would hurt! So after a year or so, of that I heard about barefoot running from another flat footed friend. Eureka!! I read, Born to Run, was convinced, found barefoot ken bobs site, read his how-to's almost to memory. Then went out for my first barefoot run of about half a mile and felt GREAT! I could run! I was so excited to actually be able to run again that i got myself into a terrible cycle of going too far, hurting myself (blisters and/or calf pain mainly...) and having to take a week or so off, then building up too far too fast again.... I think i've finally convinced myself to slow down and just go a little at a time, and my blisters are gone, but now i'm having Plantar Fasciitis which is pretty terrible in the morning and hurts throughout the day if i sit down for any extended period of time. Also, the tops of my feet have been really stiff, especially in the mornigns but also if i sit down for any extended period of time. so, i hope this wasn't too much info. i guess it's an introduction as well as a question post! (-: I would REALLY appreciate some help and advice. What can i do about the plantar fasciitis and top of foot stiffness? Do i have to stop running altogether until the pf goes away? I read somewhere about standing on balls... I've been rolling my foot over a bottle of frozen ice water in the mornings, which seems to help ease a bit of the pain.... thanks!! *madeline