my first taste of haterade

  I had a group of people

I had a group of people today playing frisbee golf at the park ask me if running bf hurt. I was like uh no! They were like you must be crazy to do that to your feet. I said I would be crazy not to. I run bf because it feels better and is better for you in alot of ways. I told them to research the internet on barefooting and barefoot running and it's benefits and get back to me. As I came back around the second time, the one guy was barefoot and said he would start trying it just for kicks. I was like cool deal dude! He may have just done that to be sarcastic, but who knows?
 
Sarcastic or not, he did it. 

Sarcastic or not, he did it. Yeah you!
 
Wow, ignorance overlapped by

Wow, ignorance overlapped by stupidity. Not sure how I would handle that scenario if I was to encounter it. Kudos to you.

Although I have yet to have a random BF encounter where I roam, I have yet to endure hostility. I do get a few winces and "ouch"es which I just ignore but for the most part, most of the comments are inquisitive and good natured.

This weekend I helped crew a few runners for the San Diego 100 and spent the entire first day barefoot. I did get quite a few comments but everyone was very open minded and positive about it. Well all except the owner of the store where I had to pay for a park pass. He kinda stared at me and then said "what the F are you doing up here barefoot in the god-damned forest?!" Almost everyone else up there mentioned they were either trying BF/MR for themselves or at least were considering it. It was pretty darn awesome.
 
He actually said those words,

He actually said those words, Shacky? I am appalled. Did you ask him how Sasquatch got around? Does Sasquatch favor Asic Kayanos or Brooks Beast?
 
The best medicine for curing

The best medicine for curing people's barefoot hateritis is to pass them during a race.

During my last half marathon I had a guy comment negatively on my VFFs near the end of the race (something about "ugly feet", I wasn't really listening). I told him he didn't need to look at them any more then, and shot up the course. I watched him finish a full 5 minutes later and congratulated him on the finish. He didn't have anything to say at that point!

I think a good mixture of sportsmanship and performance is the best way to change people's attitude. You did the right thing Jimmy.
 
 I agree with SayPay...and

I agree with SayPay...and everyone else for that matter.

On Sunday I ran my first half and came across 3 separet instances of hatred. While in line at the port o let I had my headphones on but I was changing songs and I could overhear the girls behind me joking about my VFF's which I didn't even wear in the race, they were just my walk around shoes till bag check time. I ignored.

Next while in my Corral 3 people saw my bare feet and were loudly talking about how ridiculous it was and their friend had tried it once and in the second week had a sprained ankle and his feet were so torn up he couldn't go to work for 4 days. To this I thought, TMTS, Arrogance, and no research at all was the source of this malfunction.

And last as I passes 3 large bulky dudes, they began shouting things at me like "Yeah, I read that article too" & "Wish I grew up in Africa." Wow.

Anyway, I ignored them all, actually got 1,000 good compliments, 2 people running beside me to ask questions, saw 3 VFF's, no BF's, got some high fives, didn't get passes by anyone during the back half, ran negative splits, and ran my last 2 miles in under 15 minutes. I love open minded people.

BTW, I never push my BF on anyone unless they ask me why and how, then I answer them fully to give them info. And as much as it stinks to be spoken ill about, I do enjoy the positive attention, and most of all, I enjoy running pain free and with a smile on my face for the whole race!
 
Bruno, you definetly have

Bruno, you definetly have alot of character! I ignore also and give advice when people ask questions'. I am new, but I have researched this hardcore. I agree that the guy knew nothing about it and that's why he got hurt. If I had just gone out, I would be in really bad shape without researching it first. Having a brain is rule #1. I make it a point not to respond to idiots lol!
 
 just like anything else

just like anything else there will be critics. people will want to shun your bare feet because they are different and there are sadly way too many stories of injuries and bare feet now. like you said bruno, people just kick their shoes off and go for it. sometimes that works but most of the time they end up hurt and that makes the rest of us look bad because we all know that one negative experience will do more than one hundred good ones. sad way the world works in that regard.

still good job to all you guys for sticking to your guns and not engaging in the war. it's too easy to get swept up into it all and want to battle it out. they want you to get into with them so they can argue and show you that you're wrong. problem is there is no right or wrong here. there is running and not running. if barefoot gets you running then great for you. if shoes get you running then more power to you. at the end of the day we are all just trying to do something we enjoy so why fight about it?
 
Jimmy Hart wrote: just like

Jimmy Hart said:
just like anything else there will be critics. people will want to shun your bare feet because they are different and there are sadly way too many stories of injuries and bare feet now. like you said bruno, people just kick their shoes off and go for it. sometimes that works but most of the time they end up hurt and that makes the rest of us look bad because we all know that one negative experience will do more than one hundred good ones. sad way the world works in that regard.

still good job to all you guys for sticking to your guns and not engaging in the war. it's too easy to get swept up into it all and want to battle it out. they want you to get into with them so they can argue and show you that you're wrong. problem is there is no right or wrong here. there is running and not running. if barefoot gets you running then great for you. if shoes get you running then more power to you. at the end of the day we are all just trying to do something we enjoy so why fight about it?

Exactly, why fight about it!
 
It's best just to make the

It's best just to make the smile on your face brighter. Then they really don't know what to think.

The guy that twisted his ankle probably did so because his ankles are so weak from being atrophied in shoes. Poor thing.
 
I like Matt's approach.  In

I like Matt's approach. In the 5K I ran this last weekend, a handful of kids were snickering about me being barefoot. They were CC kids, so I expected them to be faster than me. About 2 miles into the race, I passed both. Of course, I gave each a pat on the back and told them to keep up the good work. After I finished, I waited at the finish just to congratulate them for their good effort.

Kill 'em with kindness. :)
 
You Psyche teachers!

You Psyche teachers!
 
Jimmy,Sorry to hear you had

Jimmy,

Sorry to hear you had do deal with some ignorrance there. I had a similar experience in a race a couple weeks ago for going barefoot. Unfortunatley, it was my wife who overheard the trash talking as I was off warming up. All in all though, I got a ton of positive feedback, support, and inquiries on barefoot running as I placed well in the race. It was an out and back course so I was able to see the aforementioned gents w/ my 2 mile lead. Keep fighting the good fight!
 
Mean people suck, and are

Mean people suck, and are likely the less dominant cohorts of our species so will likely die out and leave us free spirits to relish in the awesomeness of life.
 
It baffles me that people are

It baffles me that people are willing to shun fast food, high fructose corn syrup, and soda but are so dedicated to their damned running gear (Nike, Asics, Saucony, Garmin, Under Armor, Polar, the ear buds, iPod, etc. etc. etc.!)

Running is natural and should be free. You don't need the gear.

It just doesn't make sense to me that people love Whole Foods, organic produce, and grass-fed meat, but can't understand barefoot running. I don't get it. *shrugs*

There will always be haters. I just shrug and continue plodding along like a stealthy predator :) GRRRRR.
 

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