Ken Saxton says he began competing barefoot after a new pair of running shoes gave him blisters during the Long Beach Marathon in 1987. (David Kawashima for the Times)
[editor’s note: they were not “new” shoes by the time I ran the marathon, I bought them, and trained in them for a couple of months before the marathon – problem was, I never ran in shoes more than about 15 miles, prior to my first marathon, I ran about 8 miles of my long runs barefoot. -Ken Bob]