An interview with TJ, President of The Barefoot Runners Society

We recently interviewed Tamara a.k.a. TJ, the President of The Barefoot Runners Society and the force behind the foundation of the RunnersWorld barefoot running forum. We asked TJ to talk about her switch to barefoot running as well as the Barefoot Runners Society. BirthdayShoes’ own Justin recently participated in a trail run organized by The Barefoot Runners Society in BDS (and BRS!) headquarters here in Atlanta, Georgia.

When did you first get into barefoot running?

I’ve been running barefoot for 19 months now.

How did you find out about it?

I was out on a longer than usual run with my hubby who was pushing our two boys in the double jogger when I started having horrible pain in the toes on my left foot. The pain was so intense; I thought I had fractured them. I sat down, took my shoes off, started rubbing my toes, and the pain went away. I decided to leave my shoes off and finish my run without them. I thought how incredibly simple and comfortable it was to run barefoot. I felt I had truly hit upon something, something that would change how I felt about running forever.

Turns out I have Morton’s Neuroma, a condition where the metatarsal bones of the feet compress the nerves causing them to grow. I cannot wear most types of shoes, and I cannot wear shoes when I run. I’ve known that I had a problem for years, even predating my running life; I just didn’t know what the problem was.

In fact, TJ just had surgery to correct the Morton’s Neuroma (Not to be confused with Morton’s Toe!) and shared these thoughts:

Okay, finally, it is done, and boy did it hurt like a beeatch! Not so much the 4 little itsy bitsy, teensy weensy incisions (through the toe webbing) that allowed the probe in to freeze the nerves, you know, the whole cryosurgery procedure itself; mostly, I didn’t feel all that, well except that one nerve where I actually could feel the freezing when he turned up the dial (I guess that nerve wasn’t quite numb enough), then had to back it off and up it again, on and on, but the actual numbing shots, 12 in all, hurt worse than any others I have experienced thus far. It’s not like I haven’t already experienced exactly 25 needles in my feet prior to these through all the cortisone, alcohol sclerosing, and shockwave therapy numbing injections, but 8 of these shots were placed long ways through the fine webbing between the toes. He froze one nerve on each foot on one day, then I went back two days later, so he could freeze the other two nerves, one in each foot. Yea, I went back. I seriously thought about not going back, maybe getting an anesthesiologist to put me out on another day, so he could finish the job. I thought, I’ll gladly fly back down to Tampa and do this all over again if I could just be put under for it all. It was that painful. My ex-marine hubby told me to gut it out, rub some mud in it, get back in there. And the good doc gave me a prescription for some Xanax, so when I did return for the second round, I wouldn’t be so freaked. It worked! Only 2 of the 6 shots were bad, and I tolerated the rest very well.

After the procedure was over, I could walk. I can walk now. It hurts a bit when I do, and it feels like I am walking on two large, hard, sharp stones under the balls of my feet. But I’m really just sore. I am supposed to stay off my feet for 3 – 5 days and no running for 2 weeks. NO RUNNING FOR TWO WEEKS! I plan to run a simple 5K barefoot at the end of this month. This is an event I started and have been planning to run for the past four months, the All American 5K, a benefit run for Lt. Daniel Berschinski who lost both of his legs when he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan back in August. He is coming home from Walter Reed that day. He was a high school track and cross country runner here locally, and his parents are in my shod running club. He lost both his legs for me, for all of us, and here I am complaining about my feet. Perspective, Tamara, perspective.

It’s over for now, hopefully forever. We will only know how well it worked for me as the weeks pass. The reason…the nerves will die a little tiny bit each day, so in a few weeks, up to six weeks, we will know better if this procedure was a success. If not, or even if it’s just partially a success, I can always repeat it again in a few months, right?!

What do you like most about running barefoot?

When I run barefoot, I feel youthful, like a child who ignores the rules, exploring my surroundings with not only sight and sound but touch. At the same time, I feel grounded, connected to the earth. It’s a very maturing feeling in that there is something very natural about it, the way running was meant to be for centuries. There is nothing “artificial” about it. Running barefoot is a more pure form of running. There is nothing to stop the foot from moving in the way it was designed to move.

Anything you don’t like about it?

I had to actually stop and think hard how to answer this question, and honestly, not one thing comes to mind.

What was the hardest obstacle you had to overcome in your transition to barefoot running?

An obstacle is something we place in front of ourselves to prevent us from going forward, to prevent us from progressing. I have had no obstacles I couldn’t hurdle.

I know you also have a pair of Vibram Five Fingers. How do you make use of Vibrams with your training?

I have been unable to run in my VFF Sprints due to having Morton’s Neuroma. I did enjoy them during a very cold snow run around Stone Mountain in February however. The freezing cold ground helps to numb the neuromas, so I don’t feel the pain, and my VFFs came in handy that day. I do wear them on occasion for shopping and around town activities though. For when society dictates that we must have something on our feet, I think VFFs are right at the top of my choice for footwear. I love they way they feel, and I love the way they look.

How did you convince Runners World to start a forum dedicated to barefoot running?

I basically just asked, well begging was more the tone, but it worked. I really just felt it would be great if we barefoot runners had a place to go where we could talk about the challenges we face, challenges unique to our way of running.

What has been the response from the running community there and have you met many challenges from shod runners?

In the beginning, it was quite inhospitable around there. Many shod runners couldn’t believe that RW would actually humor such a small group of fringe runners by creating a forum for them AND placing it above their other, long-established beloved forums. There were several threads/posts making fun of us, calling us hobbits and such. I actually found many of the comments quite funny. Only once Mark Remy, Executive Editor, sent them warnings to quit did other interested barefoot runners, minimalist runners, and shod runners start to take us seriously and become involved in the forum discussions. It’s just growing pains. Many don’t take very well to change. Sometimes, only passing time eases their pain.

I’m very proud of the RW Barefoot Running forum and Runner’s World for having the insight to see the future. We turned one year old on March 17 of this year. We have grown to where it’s now difficult to keep up with all the threads and new posters, and I’m not complaining one bit. The heated shod versus barefoot arguments still take place, just not as often as they used to.

You’re the President of the newly founded Barefoot Runners Society. What is the vision behind the “BRS?”

CHANGING THE RUNNING WORLD ONE ODD LOOK AT A TIME.

To offer resources that unite barefoot runners from around the country; to promote barefoot running and minimalist running around the country and at race events as a competitive sport; to educate the running public on the health benefits of running barefoot and minimalist; and to dispel the myths associated with barefoot running that negatively impact the sport.

What do you see as the need for an organization behind barefoot or minimalist running?

I saw a void that needed to be filled. I felt a need to connect with other barefoot runners, and I figured there were others like me wanting the same. When you run barefoot, people look at you like you’re odd; when you run barefoot with others who are running barefoot, people look at you like you are intriguing, interesting. They start to think that perhaps there is something to this barefoot running thing after all.

Where do you think this whole barefoot/minimalist movement is going?

I think for now, we may still be considered “fringe,” but I also think that we will no longer be thought of as the oddballs of the running world.

Do you think something considered as fringe as barefoot running could ever be widely accepted?

It’s going to be a slow process, but in the end, I think barefoot running will become more accepted as a viable alternative to running shod.

Thanks TJ and get well soon!