For all I knew, and for all the things I tried, none of it was helping to avoid the thing I hated most about putting one foot in front of the other at speed: it hurt. When I was a young man it just hurt the muscles in my legs, which I thought was normal so I just got on with it. As I got older, other pains started. My left hip would hurt so bad at times after running that walking became painful. Then my feet started to hurt. While at the CPO Academy, I developed a case of plantar fasciitis that had me on crutches. After that healed it would be something else. When I found myself having to manually pull my left leg into the car because my hip flexor was too hurt to do the work, I decided I was done.

Armed with the completely valid excuse (often used by has-been rescue swimmers) that my duties had simply taken their toll , I quit the idea of running altogether. I was happy with that decision; I was happy to find other ways to exercise; I was resigned to say “I’m too old to run anymore.” Then a friend handed me a book and ruined everything.

In “Born to Run” , Chris McDougall finds a way to challenge everything you believe about something in a way that reminds you that you had a problem believing it anyway. The modern running shoe was invented in 1966, the same year Bill Bowerman published his book “Jogging” that introduced the idea to America. Bowerman believed that if runners could step out farther – increasing their stride length – they could run faster. Bowerman and Phil Knight, the co-founders of Nike, had started a running revolution by 1975. Turns out they may have unintentional invented something – running injury.

Plantar fasciitis, hip flexor injuries, as well as ankle and knee injuries all took a slide up the scale around the early 1970’s. (For those of you thinking that more people were running, so of course there were more injuries – the research is based on injury to athletes who run or jog as a percentage.) As the padding and motion control technologies hit the market, they were accompanied by another increase in injury rate. Today, 80% of those who run experience an injury (major or minor) annually. 8 of 10? – Seriously. In 2007, Harvard (no – that doesn’t make them automatically right.) started researching running injury rates among athletes and discovered that runners who wore shoes priced over $90 were more likely to experience injury than those wearing shoes under $40. Additionally, the more used and worn out the shoes were, the lower the injury rate.

(Note: As a guy who was given $100 running shoes every six months ….to prevent injury…I was finding this all a little tough to believe. For more on “Cognitive Dissonance – come to the USCG Human Performance Technology Conference this week. Letting go of what you believe is hard for a reason.)

54 year-old Victoriano Churro – a caveman from Mexico – wins the Leadville 100. His 41 year-old partner comes in 2nd.

runBARE's CCO, Michael Sandler coaches a barefoot running clinic on a Fall morning in Boulder, CO.

Here are 5 things to expect on your path to running barefoot:

1. Skin will be soft and tender. If you run or walk every-other day, the skin has a chance to grow back STRONG.

2. Your arches will fatigue. Try toe scrunches or working with a golf ball (grabbing it with your feet) to strengthen the arches. Then give them too a day of rest in-between runs.

3. The ground will feel hard. This is a great thing! Don’t look for soft surfaces, but hard surfaces such as pavement or asphalt to feel the ground and learn to step light. As soon as your feet fatigue, or you start to hit hard, GO HOME, you’re done.

4. You’ll learn a new stride. You’ll learn you have to stand tall, to keep your core engaged (stomach and back), and you’ll have to land on your toes. Land light and listen. Slapping the ground hard…get forward on your toes. Pitter-pattering light, you’re doing it right!

5. Everything under the skin will fatigue, then grow strong. It takes time. Listen to your feet and in particular your skin. Even if you’re a strong runner, or especially if you’re a strong runner, you may not know your ligaments and tendons need strengthening under the skin. You’re using them differently, waking things up, strengthening things long weakened, and relaxing muscles long-since tight. Being a strong runner, or jumping straight to Vibrams can trick you, if you don’t start slow. Consider going barefoot only every other day, and starting truly barefoot…even if you love your Vibrams. When you go without shoes, it’s hard to go too far…because when the skin gets sore, it’s time to go home. In this game, it’s all about awareness. Awareness of yourself, awareness of the ground, and awareness of how fast you can adapt. Learn to be aware, and you too, will fly!!!