BAREFOOT running is the future," shouts Galahad Clark as he sprints over London's Millennium Bridge in freezing rain, watched by fascinated tourists. The man is clearly demented. Except Clark, 33 - - a scion of the Clarks shoe empire who set up his own footwear label, Terra Plana -- is not alone. Jonathan Ross, sculptor Antony Gormley and explorers Ben Fogle and Bear Grylls are all vocal fans of barefoot running.
birthstone Stone RingsWhen Clark heard Ross enthusing about it on his Radio 2 show (he lost two stone over the summer and credits his new-found activity with saving his back and knees), he sent the presenter complimentary pairs of Vivo Barefoot shoes with ultra-thin soles. The Terra Plana team were invited backstage at Ross's TV chatshow, and on his Twitter site, Ross recently proclaimed: "The tyranny of sports shoes must end!" Meanwhile, sculptor Antony Gormley took off his shoes for a year and hasn't put them on since. When you go barefoot you get get closer to the planet, he says. "This is a time of global warming. Through our feet I think we can begin to feel it."
There are barefoot clubs and parks in Germany and many elite running coaches in the UK and the States are investigating barefoot training. And the footloose have a bible: Christopher McDougall's Born to Run in which the author tracks down the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico, known for completing epic 100-mile runs with nothing on their feet.
It seems ironic that a man with shoes in his DNA should choose to throw off his footwear. But Clark sees the barefoot craze as a logical extension of his business. To create his Vivo Barefoot for Terra Plana "we worked with podiatrists and biomechanists to get the shape really accurate and mimic the foot's movement. It's as thin as you could possibly make a sole, so it allows you to feel the ground. I wear them every day".
But when it comes to running, Clark often sheds his shoes altogether. Earlier this year he completed the New York marathon in bare feet. "It's wicked. You run through all five boroughs from Staten Island to Central Park. I'm not a spectacular long-distance athlete but my feet Replica Monogram Mini Lin were the least painful part of my body."
According to Clark, state-of-the-art, over-cushioned training shoes cause many running injuries. They prevent the foot from bending properly, can weaken muscles and ligaments and block vital sensory input about terrain. "A shoe allows you to bash your feet against the pavement and not feel the pain."
He wants us to learn to run like children. "They don't strike with their heels, they strike with the forward part of the foot, behind the toes." Clark is line at the factory before attending the University of North Carolina to study Chinese and anthropology. He moved to Beijing and bagged a top management job but didn't enjoy the constraints of corporate life.
In 2000 his mother was diagnosed with a brain tumour. "She was so strong and fit -- two weeks before she was diagnosed we'd been skiing together." He came back home and, after the funeral, decided to take over and reinvent his father's old label, Terra Plana, to make artisan shoes using natural materials.
He brought in designer Tim Brennan, a talented Royal College of Art graduate (with a background in Alexander Technique) and has also worked with Ajoy Sahu, creator of the Prada sports shoe. Clark has launched three further brands under the Terra Plana umbrella. "It's probably not sensible to diversify quite so much," he laughs. "But it's been a brilliant adventure."
Other articles:
http://www.yuzhou.net.cn/Blog/View/?25494
http://www.windsormanuf.com/Find-Jonny-in-stocking.html