As part of my journey in to barefoot running land, I am not only testing products but stores too. The thing about barefoot running is that it requires some good, solid advice, so if the stores cannot deliver this then the movement will stall and fail.

Terra Plana, Neal Street, Covent Garden. London **

How exciting, a dedicated Terra Plana store. This has got to be good.

Slap bang in the centre of trendy Covent Garden is this small, but friendly store. I imagine it does most of it’s trade to fashion conscious customers looking for something cool – and dare I say it something that not everyone else has. I must admit, I have been known to fall into that category.

In fact I am immediately distracted by some of the lovely shoes on offer – simple plimsoles in an array of delicious colours catch my eye, then I spot the obligatory hippyish styles, that look, well, comfortable. There are fashion shoes too, all with a hint of earthyness which is quite appealing in a west coast of America way!

I also notice, dotted around the place, paperback copies of Born To Run with a rather cool cover graphic. Oh yes - this is looking very hopeful indeed.

I catch a shop assistant and explain I am looking to take up barefoot running and could she point me in the right direction. ‘Oh yes’, she says excitedly, ‘over here….’ as she leads me to the display of Evo II’s.

“They come in all these colours” She says.

Is that it I think? All these colours? No mention of technique or technology? Mmmm maybe I look like an Uber cool media type just looking for a pair of fashion shoes….no that can’t be it. I suspect it is because she does not know what else to say. How disappointing.

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Previous posts:

Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick ^[1]

Danielle’s barefoot running blog – The crocodile from Peter Pan ^[2]

Back to square one with a lesson from Lee Saxby ^[3]

Compression and a mid-life crisis ^[4]

Store review: Running Bath ^[5]

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I press her further, so should I start gently? How does it all work? ‘Well it is quite a good idea to alternate between your current shoes and your new shoes, it will take a little while to get used to,’ comes the reply. So what sort of distances should I start with? I ask, trying really hard not to put words into her mouth. ‘Well maybe try a gentle two hour jog to start with.’ At this revelation I am somewhat lost for words…really ….two hours? ‘Yes but keep it really gentle,’ she says.

Ok this is not great. I am really sad about this, I really thought I would have a great experience in the Terra Plana store. In fact I so desperately wanted this to have been a bad dream, that I went back again a couple of weeks later and tried again, but alas I had the same response. This time to the shop assistant’s credit, she did drop the distance to an hour or so jogging, but since she knew nothing of my running history I still think this is irresponsible.

Come on guys, maybe I was just unlucky and encountered the only assistant who had limited knowledge. But the truth is this is just not good enough.

Score: 2 out of 5, obviously there was a great selection of shoes and they were familiar with the concept. The shop assistant was very nice and friendly, but she fell down sharply on solid advice, which in a specialist store is just not acceptable.

Verdict: Good selection, nice ambience but poor advice. Only go along if you are confident that you know what you are doing.

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Resources:

www.merrell.com ^[6]

www.vivobarefoot.com ^[7]

www.chrismcdougall.com ^[8]

www.terraplana.com ^[9]

www.runningbath.co.uk ^[10]

www.compressport.uk.com ^[11]

About this blog

This blog is all about my experiences as I embark on converting to barefoot running – I will investigate the market, sort facts from fiction (hopefully) test the footwear and attempt to run the Bath Half Marathon in March wearing my barefoot shoe of choice.

What is barefoot running? Barefoot running is not actually barefoot in most cases, but a new style of minimal shoe and a more natural way of running.

Why barefoot running? Many people believe that the technological advances in running shoes over the last 20-30 years are unnecessary and could be responsible for many injuries. Barefoot devotees say simpler footwear allows the foot to build up it’s own strength and protects against injury better than any shoe can.

Who am I? I am a 45 year old woman, mother of two, twice a week runner and co-founder of Sportsister. I was in my younger days a pretty decent canoeist and sportswoman, now I am pretty average middle aged woman.

Where did it all begin? For me it all began with, the now cult book, Born To Run by Christopher McDougall published in 2009. Chris embarks on research into his own running related injuries and refusing to believe he will not ever be able to run again goes in search of the Tarahumara Tribe in South America to see how they can run hundreds of miles a week barefoot well into old age and yet we cannot.

I love this book, I love the slightly anti-establishment element that challenges and questions, I love the renegade characters featured in the ultra marathon world and I love the fact that Chris has founded a whole movement. Plus now he can run and even attempt ultra marathons.

What do I hope to achieve? I am hoping this adventure will re-invigorate my interest in running, help me stay injury free and lead to me running more! Ultimately I would like to find the time to train for a marathon and I even fantasise about going further – maybe 30-40-50 miles. Towards the end of my time as a canoeist I found myself persuaded to enter a 125 canoe race (non stop) I could not believe it was possible, but it is and I went on to complete it two more times. I would like to see if I can run a long way too…