About Me

Hello, all!

My name is Chad, and I'm a 30-something husband and father of two precious boys. I teach 7th grade English and reading for a living, and in my former life I was a photojournalist for the U.S. Army. My son, Asher, is a child with special needs. He keeps us grounded - one of his many wonderful traits. My other son, Elliot is a little bundle of joy that loves life and adores attention. I hope to get them both up and running with me someday soon.

I have been running since 2000 when I began preparing for Army Basic Combat Training (BCT) with a friend. Despite being forced to run every other day while on active duty, I never developed a love of running or exercise in general. Rather, the Army fostered in me a hatred of all things fitness oriented. I think this may have something to do running/pushups/situps, etc. being used as a punishment for so long. Negative associations can be powerful and long-lasting.

During my Army time, mounting back injuries caused me to be unable to run without severe lumbar pain. I stumbled across Ken Bob Saxton's website in 2005 and started trying walks and short runs around my college campus unshod with some good success. Thus began my barefoot obsession.

After dabbling in, reading about, researching, and experimenting with it for a couple years, I took up running barefoot full-time in the Spring of 2008 and never looked back. My transition was very slow and occasionally painful due to ignorance and over-enthusiasm, but I now love to run unshod. That more than offsets whatever discomfort or inconvenience I experienced in the early stages. Today, I run barefoot whenever possible and minimally shod whenever barefoot isn't feasible.

If you would like to contact me about reviewing gear or shoes for this blog, please email here: chadisbarefoot@gmail.com

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