Running barefoot in the rain - advice?

#23
Hunh. I've been at this almost three years, and I've never had a huge problem running in the rain. I tend to enjoy it more than my shoddy buddies because my shoes don't get soaked. If it's raining very hard, they have more wet parts on their feet and a lot more friction from the shoe.

One thing, though, is that cold rain might freeze your tootsies. If it's dry, I'll go down to about freezing barefoot. If it's wet, I won't run below 42 degrees F (5.5 C).

Another thing is that SOME puddles could be dangerous. The shallow, clear ones are fun to splash in. But you can't see the bottom of deeper puddles. I'm pretty sure you'd be smart enough to figure that one out on your own.
 
#29
AnneTanne said:
I always loved to run in the rain (you better do, when you live in Belgium...)

But a few days ago, I found an email in my mailbox (e-letter from howtorunbarefoot.com), stating:


How true is this?
I might imagine this could happen when you're running for hours through a wet meadow, but on paths and/or roads?
I'm only a few weeks into my transition to barefoot running, and - it's difficult to believe - I haven't had a single run in the rain since. But fall comes closer, and so are the rainy days...
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That is a crock of sh*t Anne. Here in the rainy Pacific Northwest if we don't run barefoot in the rain then you'll run 2-3 months a year is all. I can run (well, at least I could till my injury) barefoot for up to 2 hours in the rain. There is a difference between soaking your hands in water long enough to get prune hands and running in the rain. The impacts and movement of your feet shakes some of the water off and so they are not completely soaked like that. On a longer run, the skin might start to get a little soft, but that is a might. If you run in the wet regularly your body will adjust to it. I would intentionally run flooded areas and find puddles when it rains around here.
 
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#30
Bare Lee said:
Sure, would be interesting.
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Well, I have to say Google Translate did a rather good job, considering that Robin used some Flemish constructions...
Literally from Google Translate:
I regularly walk in the rain and have no problems. If you walk there is wind at your feet and at every step you lift your feet off the ground. I would not have to worry about it. Just try and see if it works for you I would say. If I have walked with shoes and then you went walking in the forest when everything was wet and I ran an hour and a half and then I did my shoes off at home than cutting my feet look as if I just came out of the bath. Say it but ...
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#31
I'll often run in the sea, which is pretty wet! Hasn't caused me any problems.
The one thing I would say though is just be aware of the feedback from your feet; I cross a really rough & broken patch of chip & seal at the start/finish of my run. When I first starting barefooting I had to wear shoes to cross it & abandon them on the other side, now it's not an issue, in between though I could cross it with dry feet for a long time before I could if they were wet.
 
#32
JustSayGo said:
...
The only thing to be cautious about running in the rain is if the terrain involves slippery mud or moss and sharp rocks. Sometime back someone posted pics here of their feet after a rugged trail race in very rainy conditions and their feet were shredded. It seems he was basically sliding down muddy hillsides and his feet were cut up by sharp rocks underneath the mud. I don't think any amount of barefoot conditioning can prepare you for terrain like that and minimal shoes may be required. Otherwise, if you keep to the sidewalks, roads, or non-technical trails, running barefoot in the rain is perfectly fine.
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That was NakedSoleNate, from whom I've not heard in many moons. He tore his feet to shreds in a rainy trail race that he admited was a very, very bad idea. I believe that that course would have had much the same results on a dry day, and that the rain and mud just hastened the damage. My strongly held opinion is that "shoes as tools" have their place and that there's no particular virtue in risking damage to the tootsies.

As far as BF in rainy and wet conditions, I'm with the crowd here. Puddles are fun! I just have to be a little more form conscious after 6 or 8 miles of it. The first time I ran more than a few miles on wet pavement I was pushing a stroller and wore nice, neat holes through my pads under the balls of my feet. That was the last time and it wasn't all that bad. I had no trouble running again after a day's rest.
 
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#34
I love hitting the puddles after a rainstorm has passed, but as a glasses wearer I avoid running in the rain - I can't see to well when I get my glasses wet! Hasnt been much of a problem this year being that its been a drought all summer long. And I hate wearing hats while running but I did finally pick up one of those visor things so next time it rains I'll be ready!
 
#35
Tristan-OH said:
I love hitting the puddles after a rainstorm has passed, but as a glasses wearer I avoid running in the rain - I can't see to well when I get my glasses wet! Hasnt been much of a problem this year being that its been a drought all summer long. And I hate wearing hats while running but I did finally pick up one of those visor things so next time it rains I'll be ready!
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I use a visor as a glasses wearer too and it helps tremendously. It also helps keep sweat from dripping in your eyes. :D
 
#36
Anne - are you aware that the guy behind howtorunbarefoot.com is a scam artist, and not a good barefoot runner, either?

It's Tellman. He made his "fortune" selling lists of email addresses to spammers. A few years ago, he started a fake charity to raise money for homeless teens, and he was going to raise the money by running barefoot across the US. He didn't get very far because, it turns out, he doesn't actually know how to run barefoot. The videos from his "journey" were sad and hilarious at the same time.
 
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#37
SillyC said:
Anne - are you aware that the guy behind howtorunbarefoot.com is a scam artist, and not a good barefoot runner, either?

It's Tellman. He made his "fortune" selling lists of email addresses to spammers. A few years ago, he started a fake charity to raise money for homeless teens, and he was going to raise the money by running barefoot across the US. He didn't get very far because, it turns out, he doesn't actually know how to run barefoot. The videos from his "journey" were sad and hilarious at the same time.
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I never trust people whose first names sound like surnames.
 
#38
SillyC said:
Anne - are you aware that the guy behind howtorunbarefoot.com is a scam artist, and not a good barefoot runner, either?

It's Tellman. He made his "fortune" selling lists of email addresses to spammers. A few years ago, he started a fake charity to raise money for homeless teens, and he was going to raise the money by running barefoot across the US. He didn't get very far because, it turns out, he doesn't actually know how to run barefoot. The videos from his "journey" were sad and hilarious at the same time.
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Thank you for telling...
No, never heard of... Probably Tellman's Tale didn't reach Europe...

(I have a 'method' for subscribing to this kind of e-letters (since I have my own domain, I can use hundreds of aliasses...) and once such an address is used for spam, I simple discard that address and the spam is gone... if it ever reaches me, since my spamfilters is very good...)
 
#39
Bare Lee said:
Sure, would be interesting.
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I told anne that I I'm okay running barefoot in the rain.That being barefoot air runs past them....that the last time I ran trail in the rain being shod,after an hour and a half when I took my shoes of my feet looked as if had been in the bathtub for a couple of hours:)This is basically it;)
 
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