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I have a new post, but it has been added to my new blog at Barefoot Running University .  To those that are following this blog, please migrate to the BRU site as I will be posting all new articles there. Also, don't forget to add yourself to the Google Friend Connect at the new site!  It's my preferred method of selecting winners of my various contests. Thanks! -Jason

To celebrate the new Barefoot Running University website, I will be giving away a copy of the second edition of The Barefoot Running Book !  All you have to do to enter is become a friend of the Barefoot Running University site using Google Friend Connect.  The Google Friend Connect box is located in the far right column: The winner will be randomly chosen this Saturday, September 11th.  Best of luck! Also- the Barefoot Runners Society is now open to the public! http://barefootrunners.org  

I am in the process of integrating this blog and my website ( http://barefootrunninguniversity.com ).  The ultimate goal is to combine both sites at that address.  The process will likely take several days, so please be patient.  If you were redirected here from the Barefoot Running University site, those resources should be online by Monday evening.

The North Country Trail Races held in Manistee, Michigan proved to be a memorable experience.  Personally, the race was an abysmal failure (more on that later).  Despite my own poor showing, this was a weekend filled with great stories. The 50 Mile Finish The headline HAS to be the finish of the 50 miler.  Jesse Scott , my occasional training partner, pacer at Burning River , and friend was running his first-ever 50 miler.  He battled with Brad Hinton over the last miles of the course that culminated in a neck-and-neck sprint at the end.  See the video here: After some delay, Brad was awarded first (Brad in white), Jesse second (shirtless).  In my biased opinion, I think Jesse crossed the finish line first.  Unfortunately the officials (I believe the decision was made by Bart Yasso) ruled in favor of Brad.  Both Jesse and Brad were absolute class-acts and perfectly epitomize the sport of ultrarunning. The finish was even more dramatic as Brad had went off-course very early in the ra

For a barefoot runner, I spend an inordinate amount of time testing shoes.  Even though I prefer to run barefoot, there are times when the protection of shoes is a welcome luxury.  Sometimes shoes are an absolute necessity.  My philosophy of shoe use is simple- run barefoot when you can. If you need the protection of shoes, use the most minimal shoe for the job.  The only way to assess the best shoe for any given situation is to test all options repeatedly.  Over time, huaraches have proven to be a great catch-all solution for almost every situation requiring shoes.  The genius of the huarache sandal is the simplicity of function.  It is a piece of material suspended below your foot with a piece of binding material, usually leather or twine. With every other minimalist shoe, some element of the shoe design interferes with foot function.  Vibrams unnaturally separate your toes and fit can be an issue as your foot must conform to the predetermined shape.  EVOs are snug around the ankles

Human behavior fascinates me.  Human behavior in relation to barefoot and minimalist shoe running fascinates me even more.  I have been in a position to observe the progression of this phenomenon for a number of years.  The entire movement can be framed within the context of the sociological/anthropological concept of the diffusion of innovations .  The concept outlines the progression of any given innovation within a society.  It is somewhat odd to consider barefoot (BFR) and minimalist shoe running (MR) as an "innovation", but it does represent a significant change in our society's collective thoughts on running.  After all, we ran barefoot or in minimalist shoes for tens of thousands of years.  The modern running shoe has been around for thirty.  The idea of framing BFR/MR within the context of the diffusion of innovation came from repeated discussions with individuals within the running shoe industry.  Over the years, I've had the opportunity to discuss BFR/MR wit