Post edited 7:50 am – August 7, 2011 by josepisc
I am an avid "barefoot" runner who is teaching in Thailand. When I got to Thailand I was pleasantly surprised to find all the kids running barefoot in PE. Their strides were beautiful and they all looked like they were loving the fact that they were running. The kids are not allowed to wear shoes in school so they go all day without shoes on really hard and smooth cement (Stevens favorite :). Playing soccer, jumping rope, dancing, Thai boxing (no contact), and of course all out sprint races around campus are an everyday thing. Out of the 5000 or so kids at the school I have only seen two with flat feet, and they are both not into all the athletic stuff (they spend their lunch time playing pingpong).
It is really cool to be in a place where barefooting is the norm and only the stuffy uber rich wear fancy running shoes. It is also really cool to see so many healthy feet and it is obvious that these early habits carry on into their adult lives. Thai people are strong and fit into their 90's. I can't help but to speculate that starting barefoot running early in life has an extrememly positive outcome. This happens to work out well since surgery here is not common or really an option for an average Thai family.
Less is definitely more!
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