Today I am going a few easy miles with Julia Chi Taylor.
Julia’s running journey has evolved greatly over the years, going from a highly ranked runner to now embracing barefoot running.
Barefoot Runner Julia Chi Taylor
Her next big challenge will span a couple months and many miles all for a cause that’s close to her heart.
Today I am trekking foreign scenery with life long runner and traveler Julia Chi Taylor.
Julia Chi Taylor
Julia and her husband recently sold most of their possessions in the pursuit of a nomadic way of life.
To explore her new locations, she chooses to run the local streets and trails.
Her footwear of choice? None.
The “great running shoe debate” continues concerning whether or not running barefoot is better for you than running while wearing shoes.
To Shoe, Or Not To Shoe? That is the Question
I originally wrote this post back in 2013, and things really haven’t change much in the last 2.5 years.
A review published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine does little to help steer the shoe debate one way or the other.
The research fails to draw any definitive conclusions about the risks of running barefoot as opposed to running while wearing shoes.
However, many have hailed this review as a good starting point to begin taking a more evidenced based approach to answering the question, as opposed to the subjective running shoe debate that continues to be had between the two camps with little progress being made one way or the other. Read more
Lij Shaw is like most runners that I can relate to, but with one major difference:
He runs without shoes.
Lij Shaw
The thought of running a road race without shoes on literally gives me the heebie jeebies. My feet are very sensitive, and sometimes I hesitate to walk through the grass in my bare feet for fear of a random twig or pebble and stepping on it.
Run a marathon without some type of shoe to protect my feet? No chance.
But Lij Shaw has no such issues. He loves barefoot running, and is ready to go on roads, in snow, or under any other conditions that present themselves. And who would have thought that it all started on a trip to store to get some Vibrams to run in.
Here are some of the highlights from our conversation: Read more