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Barefoot in the Cold
Posted by | Posted in Barefoot Running, Huaraches | Posted on 22-12-2011
Barefoot In the cold
Here in the Northern Hemisphere, Winter is upon us. And people email me every day asking what to do if they want to be barefoot or minimalist in the cold weather. While I’ve written about running bare foot in the cold before, this is a whole new thing 
First let me say: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. In other words, don’t go out and try to imitate me.
I’ve been barefoot running for over 2 and a half years, and haven’t worn a pair of real shoes for more than a total of 3 days in that time.
Last winter, I thought, “I’ll keep my Invisible Shoes on until it seems too cold.” And the next thing I knew, it was Spring!
So, clearly I’ve acclimated. And that’s not too surprising. Humans (and our hominid cousins) lived in cold climates without shoes for a LOOOONG time. So, we’re kinda wired for it, if we give ourself time to adapt.
Here’s the video I just shot, after we got 18″+ of snow in Boulder. It’s about 15 degrees out.
What I did is this:
- Outside for about 10 minutes
- Inside to dry off my feet and warm them for 5
- Outside for another 10
- Inside to dry and warm for about 3
- Outside for 30+ minutes… by this time my body temp had gone way up. I was sweating quite a bit. And my feet felt totally warm. Not numb. Warm. When I got inside after finishing the shoveling, they didn’t have to thaw or warm up or anything.
Lena wants me point out that you should check the Wiki about frostbite so you don’t do something stupid and get hurt
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I have frostbitten my feet by being barefoot in the cold. Long, stupid story that I won’t bother with. It wasn’t very hard and didn’t take very long, and I didn’t know what was happening until later when all the skin on my feet came off in big sheets. When your feet go from cold to painful and then the pain stops, that is a danger sign – and there is no way to know if your feet feel warm because they are warm or if they feel warm because you have temporarily or permanantly damaged your nerves and your feet are slowly freezing. To this day I cannot tell the difference between cold and hot with my feet. So yes, this is a really bad idea. I don’t think there is any evidence at all that humans in our current iteration ever successfully spent cold winters without shoes or frostbite, and even if they did there is no reason to think we can replicate that living in modern heated homes for most of our lives. Also, what is the point? I like being barefoot more than most people, but it is just not worth the risk.
Sorry to hear about your experience, Jocelyn.
I’m all for being cautious. At the same time, to simply say “being barefoot in the cold” is inherently dangerous seems oversimplified. How cold? How long? While doing what? What sensations are you feeling? Are you numb? Is movement hindered?
I made only to show that one can adapt more than we often imagine. I’m not suggesting that we should live our lives outdoors, barefoot, in freezing temperatures. I spent about 45-50 minutes outside (the last 30 or so, non-stop), I never felt pain or numbness and movement was never impaired. Clearly, my “technique” was to go inside and warm up whenever I felt any discomfort (until the discomfort never appeared). Were I to spend hours outside, especially in wet conditions, I wouldn’t do it barefoot.