Born to be Barefoot | From Science to Life A Deep Dive into Natural Running with Ken Bob Saxton | Step Lightly
Aug 28, 2024
01:09:29
On this week’s episode, Katie talks to the barefoot running sensation and “original” barefoot runner, Ken Bob Saxton. When Ken Bob began racing exclusively barefoot in 1997, he found that people had a lot of questions, so he decided to compile all his answers in one place, which led him to founding the website barefootrunning.com in 1997. Ken is someone who will go shoeless at every opportunity he can and he has even done multiple marathons while barefoot. Join us to hear the benefits and great things he has to say about barefoot running.
“The odd thing that I tell people and people have trouble with this concept, is lift your feet before it lands. Trust me, it will still land, but as you’re coming down to the ground, you’re starting to lift your feet to your body, but your body is also coming down, so all you’re really doing is slowing down the impact. You’re decelerating your foot as it lands. So you’re coming down, bending your knee, but you’re not actually bending your foot up. You’re just slowing its descent down so that it touches gently. It’s really difficult for people to get that.” 38:49
barefootrunning.com
- Ken almost never wears shoes 3:50
- Foot structure and effects on the foot from going barefoot 10:00
- Practice vs training, and relax 26:00
- Writing a book about how to run barefoot 35:15
- Some of the “secrets” to barefoot running 37:00
- Elevation races 46:00
“The odd thing that I tell people and people have trouble with this concept, is lift your feet before it lands. Trust me, it will still land, but as you’re coming down to the ground, you’re starting to lift your feet to your body, but your body is also coming down, so all you’re really doing is slowing down the impact. You’re decelerating your foot as it lands. So you’re coming down, bending your knee, but you’re not actually bending your foot up. You’re just slowing its descent down so that it touches gently. It’s really difficult for people to get that.” 38:49
barefootrunning.com