Mission

Pretty simple

• Helping people walk, run, and live better, more healthfully, more gently, more efficiently, more safely, and more gracefully!
• Relax, Relax, Relax!
• Have FUN!

Boston Barefoot Running Festival 2012

Encouragement

We would rather encourage a few billion people to get off the sofa a few times a week for a half-hour barefoot walk, than to make a big deal about a few people pushing themselves in extreme activities. (But it is fun to also hear about great achievements too).

Going barefoot is NOT something we do only when we travel to some exotic location to challenge our limits. Going barefoot is NOT about challenging our limits. Running and walking barefoot are NOT ”endurance” feats. Running barefoot is NOT about enduring pain. Running and walking barefoot should NOT be considered “extreme” activities.

Going barefoot is a natural and healthy and freeing activity. Walking barefoot should be a normal part of our lives. We should get out and walk barefoot on a daily basis. We should, if we are capable of running – and you may be surprised if you take your shoes off that you may well be more capable than you believe – run barefoot a few times each week (you may feel like doing more as you improve your technique).

But we should NOT get hung up on a schedule. We should NOT run every day, no matter if we’re in pain or not. We should NOT run every week. Sometimes we may even want to NOT run for several weeks. Written schedules, time-tables, Personal Records (P.R.s) are NOT part of our natural rhythm.

Variation is part of the natural rhythm of life. So while we may want to run barefoot a few times a week, and walk barefoot every day, there will be times we want to walk or run shorter, or longer, despite what was on our “schedule” for the day. We should make room in our lives to accommodate flexibility.

We should listen to our bodies. We should push our limits ONLY occasionally (10% rule). The rest of our activity should leave us feeling refreshed. We should feel better after most of our barefoot walking or running outings than when we started (90% rule).

10-Percent Rule

We should NOT push our limits more than 10% of the time. If we run 5 times each week, only 1 run every two weeks should require any significant effort.

90-Percent Rule

At least 90% of our runs should be easy, refreshing, and allow our body time to recover from the times we pushed our limits (10% Rule).

Gallery