Two Things: Blisters & The WSJ Article

Thing 1: A post at the Yahoo! Barefoot Running group was discussing that perhaps faster runners actually do have a problem with getting blisters while running barefoot. The discussion was brought up by this slanted Wall Street Journal article that claims barefoot runners suffer from blisters and a host of other maladies. I coincidentally got my first barefoot running blister yesterday. And it was on a day where my feet were sometimes damp (did the soften my soles?) and running what was for me a fairly fast-for-barefoot 5 miles @ 39:24 = 7:53/mile. It is a blood blister about 1/2 inch in diameter on my left forefoot behind my big toe. I also have a tender spot, that feels like a deep blister but I can't see it, on the tip of my left 4th toe. I didn't feel them develop, perhaps because the pavement was cold. I did begin to feel the blood blister during the second part of my run when I added 3.75 miles with XC flats on. (Shoes added due to darkness and falling temps.)

Thing 2: This blog, Netsweat.com, has a post that downs barefoot running based on the slanted WSJ article, where it says, in part:

"There is a price to pay for adjusting to life without shoes, particularly blisters and cuts. Less talked about is the potential for muscle, ligament and bone injuries. The human body was never designed to run on concrete, asphalt or whatever is littered on the roads."

I commented:

"The WSJ article on barefoot running was possibly the worst barefoot running article ever written in mainstream media. The writer took facts and quotes out of context, and shaped them to his own opinion. And he could not have been more wrong. He even consulted with people from the Yahoo! Barefoot Running Group and ignored or manipulated their input. You can read the thread concerning this issue here. Running barefoot is the best thing I have ever done to improve my running. Yes, you can't change your training overnight, as is the case with any training change. However, the pain and drawbacks are much less than portrayed in the WSJ article. Here is a better article, from Men's Journal. See runningbarefoot.org for the ultimate reference."