I've just popped out for a short run and thought I'd document it for everyone to share.

First, the planned route:

As you can see, it's not a popular route today, so it should be a nice quiet run.

I set off with good intentions, sadly any chances of actually running were soon stifled by the 9 inches of snow I quickly encountered...

So I turned back and headed for home, leaving nothing behind me but my foot prints.

Yes folks, I went for a run (read trudge) barefoot in the snow. Sadly, it wasn't a long one - all of 5 meters at the very most - and not really running, but it was enjoyable none-the-less. One thing is for sure, I thought my feet were cold before I went out, now they feel positively roasting now I'm back.

That's it, I've decided I will NOT be running in shoes ever again, if I can help it. By shoes, I mean those heavy, expensive things with huge wadges of foam and rubber and laces - not Vibrams or other minimalistic "foot protectors".

The reason is plain and simple: it hurts.

Now for a bit of background into this decision. Monday was a bank holiday here in the UK. It started off a bit dull and grey, but the sun soon prevailed and it turned into a glorious day, so the wife and I went out for a nice long walk in the sunshine around some nearby lakes. I've been wearing my Vibrams more and more recently, not just for running, but also for things like cycling into and walking around town, and I thought I'd wear them for our long stroll. Brilliant idea. As expected, it felt great and no complaints after over 3 hours of continuous walking on tar, gravel and grass.

As can be expected in the UK (we measure summer by hours, not months), the next morning was grey and very wet. Instead of a run, I thought I'd hit the rower for a bit of indoor fitness. This only lasted 13 minutes as the fire alarm went off. I was a bit naughty here: instead of dropping everything and getting out of the building to stand in the peeing rain whilst someone walked into the kitchen to confirm that the catering staff had forgotten to turn off the smoke alarms over the cooker, I snuck into the change rooms, grabbed by ID badge and took a run round the office block - in my trainers. Hey, if I'm going to be in the rain, I may as well take advantage of the time and do something useful . Bad idea - the shoe part that is.

I didn't actively try and run any differently than usual. I just ran and quite enjoyed the short run too. No problems during the run, but as the day wore on, the pains started to appear. The inner lower part of my shins started to feel very tender - almost bruised. I haven't had this feeling in a very very long time and I can only put that down to not running in shoes.

Thankfully, things felt much better on Wednesday morning and Wednesday's run in Vibrams was good and the day ended without any niggles what-so-ever.

Now this isn't a scientific study, but a very simple personal test that quickly showed that running in shoes unintentionally changes my running style and to the detriment of my body.

So that's it. No more running in shoes for me. It's barefoot, Vibrams (or similar) or no run from now on.

I've just come back from my first completely barefoot run and WOW!!! It felt fantastic to feel so free and to really feel the earth beneath my feet. It was also very surprising how comfortable it was at first.

I managed to run in my normal style for about 1.5km on tarred pavements before the bottoms of my feet really started to feel uncomfortable with the new surface. I then finished off with another 1.5km or so on grass, just to give myself and feet a good workout.

I think I'll leave it at least a week before I have another go completely barefoot. One thing is for sure, I think it's here to stay.

Just a short update to say I had a glorious 15 minute drills/run session in my Vibrams on Monday and it felt FANTASTIC. Sadly my feet were quite tired the next morning, so I've not been out in them again since. I think I'll stick with once a week in the Vibrams until such time as I'm getting in some good mileage with shoes on, and then I'll start weaning myself off the shoes and back into the Vibrams.