How to Tie BFT's Hemp-Strapped Huarache Running Sandals

Watch this video to learn how I tie my hemp-strapped huarache running sandals.

Organic Hemp Huaraches

My newest huarache running sandal uses braided organic hemp for strapping and Vibram Cherry soling material. This is a 100 mile mountain trail running sandal. Sole and hemp could handle 500 miles in stride.

You can make your own. Within one year of focused pursuit, I can't imagine why anyone with a desire to make their own 100 mile shoes couldn't do it, so just DO IT!

My Latigo Leather Huaraches
After Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon 2007
Photo Andrew Labbe

I am now offering huarache running sandal kits and custom made sandals, go to:

http://barefootted.com/shop


BFT

Sports Illustrated 1958 and 1960: Barefoot Runner Herb Elliott

November 10, 1958

May 30, 1960

by Graham Thomas
Herb Elliott is still rated, by some, as the world's greatest 1500m or Mile runner.
He was virtually unbeatable at these distances from 1957 to 1961, when he won two Empire Games and one Olympic Gold Medal.
Herb first broke the four-minute barrier in early 1958 but, such was his improvement that, six months later, he smashed the World Record with a phenomonal time of 3-54.5
On 19 April, 1962, Herb Elliott announced his retirement.

BFT

Barefoot Running: Scientifically Proven?

What do you say to somebody who argues that barefoot running has not yet been "scientifically proven" to be better than shod running?

by Ken Bob Saxton
copyright 2007-05-22

Gosh, where to start?

Running WITH shoes has NOT been scientifically proven to be better than unshod running!

Manufacturers have repeatedly proven the following;

* Shoes have cushioning.
* Shoes support the foot arch.
* Shoes prevent us from feeling the ground.
* Shoe limit the ability of the foot to flex.

They have failed to answer the following questions:

* Is artificial cushioning better for running?
* Are arch supports better for running?
* Is being unaware of how our feet touch the ground better for running?
* Is an inflexible foot better for running?

Running Barefoot has been developed and tested over a very long time, (millions of years for the evolutionists, thousands of years for the creationists, and simply "countless eons" for anyone else).

Every human is born without shoes. No human has grown a pair of shoes in response to the stimulation of running (which humans have been doing for countless eons).

Human feet are not designed to be encased in shoes.

Shoes, especially modern running shoes, are not designed for human feet.

Shoes deform natural and healthy feet.

The human foot excretes 1 pint of sweat per foot, per day, making the inside of a shoe an ideal breeding ground for fungus, etc..

It is hotter insides shoes than for bare feet (that pint of sweat doesn't cool the foot as well when entombed inside a shoe).

Shoes try to replace the natural cushioning we have, when using good running technique, by placing added cushioning in the heels. If we were meant to land hard on our heels, we would have grown extra cushioning there naturally.

The purpose of any shoe is to reduce our ability to feel our foot touching the ground as we walk or run. This encourages people to land with more impact while wearing shoes.

We are much more likely to see a shod runner landing with their legs straight and their knees locked, than a barefoot runner, because the barefoot runner would immediatly get feedback from their soles telling them not to land that way.

etc., etc., etc.,

Ken Bob Saxton

Ashtanga Yoga - My Ideal

It was recently suggested to me that I take a look at Ashtanga Yoga. I have done a little research and must say that I am very much captivated by this practice.

BFT

The Zen of Running by Fred Rohe

From the book:

This experience is
a newly discovered
form of meditation
or
one more way
for you
to discover you.

whatever you do
with your running,
you only cheat yourself
by pushing, pressing, competing.
There are no standards
and no possible victories except
the joy you are living
while dancing your run.
in any life
joy is only known
in this moment — now!

so feel the flow
of your dance
and know
you are not running
for some future reward --
the real reward is now!

    in the running
    in the run
    --- now ---
    why not start
    now?

The Zen of Running, by Fred Rohé, 1974

_______________________

A fascinating running book, The Zen of Running by Fred Rohe published in 1974 started in 1969.

A free downloadable PDF version is available at Fred Rohe's current website: www.naturalhealthyellowpages.com

It is a wonderful thing that Fred has made his book freely available. I can only imagine that it has touched many folks all over the world. Blessings to him for that.

Luckily, I have a hard copy of the book from 1974. I really love it.

BFT

Forefoot vs. Heel Striking

This clever animation created by the Newton Running Shoe Co. is pretty cool albeit necessarily oversimplistic.

I think that I agree with it as a barefoot runner, but personally believe that each runner has to figure it out on their own. Self-discovery through trial and error.

The Way of Running.

BFT

27 Mile Mountain Training Run - Hemp Huaraches

Coming into Eagles Roost Aid Station

Angeles Crest 100 Training Run*

Decided to put my latest hemp-strapped huaraches to a good, tough mountain trail training test run. I fully expected to be doing repairs while on the trails, and those expectations proved accurate.

Firstly, I want to say that I am still very pleased overall with my huarache sandals. But, there is still room for lots of improvement, and I am constantly trying to find the perfect solution for a running shoe/sandal that is both effective, minimal and green.

Close-up on the new huaraches

Hemp is proving to be a fantastic material for straps. The material is soft enough to not tear into my skin. It is stronger than leather and becomes tighter when wet. Just like with the leather straps, these can be repaired on the fly with extra material around the ankle.

Close-up on the new huaraches 2

The biggest new problem I encountered is the side holes on the huaraches breaking. I am afraid that this is a problem that all my huaraches up to this point will be susceptible. The Vibram soles that I have been using are only 4mm thick!

All went well today. After 27 miles, my feet are pain free with no blisters or significant scrapes from today's run.

BFT

PS. This test puts me one step closer to making a pair of sandals entirely out of yucca that could handle the rugged terrain of one of the toughest 100 mile races in the USA.

*Photos by Christina Hennessey

These Days with my Dog - Hercules

Smiling Hercules


True Friend

Good Buddy

Our Wheels

Home Turf

Rock n' Roll

Easy Street

I un-retired Hercules. We have been doing trail work at the entrance to Hansen Dam East. For us, trail work mostly means picking up any and all trash we might find on our strolls.

Today we collected more boulders for our garden. The VW bumper works great as a boulder collector. We've got a lot of beautiful river rocks around here. My aunt Maylee would love them. She used to paint faces on boulders. I would love to see those again.

Lesson: Keep your trails clean. Walk your dog. Take a picture.

BFT

PS. Hercules has been with my family for 8 years now. We got him for Ona's 4th birthday. He spent his first two years on a ranch in Oregon. He is a Lab/Newfoundland mix and is already beyond his prime. I retired him a couple years back because he is so unfriendly to other dogs, especially off-leash dogs. He would attack'em when they'd run up to him. Problem. So, now that he has lost a little more steam, I am taking him out again, and it is already improving his overall health.

Lesson: Keep moving.

Hemp-Strapped Huarache Sandals

My New Hemp-Strapped Huaraches 3.7 ounces

My latest experiment includes using hemp twine instead of leather on my Vibram-soled huaraches.



I went for a 15 miler yesterday in the hot afternoon LA sun. I took these new huaraches up and down rocky trails and on the road. They handled beautifully.

These sandals bring me one step closer to my ultimate goal for this year's Angeles Crest 100. I want to run the race in a pair of yucca sandals similar to the sandals that the original Los Angelenos wore. Hemp twine is a good temporary substitute for yucca cordage.

BFT

PS. I bought my hemp twine at cord at DownBound.com

Tough Feet - preserved?

My Feet After 2007 Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon

My feet continue to get tougher even though I have been doing a fair amount of training and racing in my thin-soled huaraches and my Vibram FiveFingers.

Foot toughness is not built simply by exposing the bare foot to the ground.

As many of us barefooters have said regularly, you don't want your feet to become hard and desensitized. You want them to feel. Some things will always feel bad on a barefoot. Those things hurt because your foot is telling you that you are not ready for that, bare. Your feet are training YOU.

Foot toughness comes as the WHOLE FOOT develops and learns. So, minimally protecting the sole, as long as the rest of the foot can do what it is supposed to do, should not stop the overall development of the foot.

My feet are as strong as ever, even stronger than ever before. I expect that they will continue to develop the more I nurture and train them, the more they nurture and train me.

We shall see. So far, so good.

BFT