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Loy Machedo's Book Review -- Barefoot Running by Barefoot Ken Bob Saxton & Roy M. Wallack

644 views · Published 6 March 2013 · 6:00 · Indexed 21 October 2026

Channel: Loy Machedo · 2013 · People & Blogs

In my quest to learn and understand the sport of running, this is the fourth book I have read this year. As of now, I have read
1) Finding Ultra by Rich Roll,
2) Chi Running by Danny Dreyer,
3) Born to Run by Christopher McDougall, and
4) The Runners World Big Book of Marathon and Half-Marathon Training by Jennifer Van Allen, Bart Yasso and Amby Burfoot,
And to my surprise, almost every book in the running series has not only been well-written but has provided very useful and relevant information.

Summary
1) 4 Sections, 10 Chapters with around 229 pages. The 4 Chapters being 1) Taking Feet and Body Back to Basics, 2) Barefoot Techniques and Drills, 3) Why Barefooting Will Make Your Faster, 4) Real-World Barefooting.
2) As with other Barefoot Authors / Runners like Lee Saxby, Chris McDougall, Mark Cucuzella, Michael Sandler and Jason Robillard, this is another book dedicated to promote the Barefoot Running Lifestyle.
3) The book is devoted to Barefoot Ken Bob's personal story, his journey into barefoot running, the mistakes he made, the revelations he had and the tweaks he made to perfect the natural art of barefoot running.
4) It has the Do's, Don't, Recommendations, Suggestions, Ideas, Cautionary tales and Other points of view that support as well as (surprisingly) state why Barefoot Running Fails or isn't accepted by everyone.
5) The differences & similarities between Chi-Running, Pose Running & Evolution Running methods
6) Fantastic and Original Examples with Opinions that are varied and different from the author.
7) I especially loved the chapter dedicated to the Barefoot Running Exuberance Syndrome and yes, the myth and reality of the talked-about-over-priced Vibram Five Finger Shoes.
8) And for those people for whom the Book Print & Quality seems to be important, the book is a large sized manuscript, creatively designed, printed in glossy high-quality material with great photographs, examples and enough space for you to put down notes and pen down your thoughts.

Criticisms
Now though I am totally in favor of this book, here are some points people may criticize the book for.
1) Barefoot Ken Bob Saxton is of the opinion that if you want to learn the correct style of running, one must just take off his shoes and jump into the waters of Barefoot Running. Now with the interactions I have had with quite a number of runners, I doubt is it as acceptable, favorably and as simple as this. Most of the veteran runners do not want to change their style primarily because they do not find the need to and secondly, for those who try the style, find it harder than what is stated.
2) The book states everything -- including the examples in two dimensional format. I had to keep checking videos to see visual representations of the examples given in the book. For instance what angle the hips should be while running, difference between hip rotation versus hip twists and the 1-2-3 method of foot placement.
3) I was surprised not to find a glossary of terms or Index at the end of the book (which I personally believe was very necessary)
4) I wish the author had given me links or references to study and learn more as most of the stuff was really intriguing and interesting.

Moment of truth:
What do I think about this book?

My Running Mentor Manoj Kuriakose introduced me to Barefoot Running and it is because of him, I ended up with this book. And even with all its criticisms which I have stated here, I will say this --
This is a MUST-HAVE-MUST-READ book! It has changed the way I run. In fact, for someone like me who couldn't run more than 100 meters, on 28th of January 2013, from 5pm all the way to 6:30am of 29th of January 2013 for 13 hours straight, I ran 58kms -- that too barefoot. And this has been possible only because of the principles stated in this book. (I would also like to acknowledge the invaluable support of my Running Inspiration Rajesh Daryani without whom I don't think I would have ever considered running. If you want the Facebook Groups I am part of, check for the links below)

I loved the book to bits.

Overall Rating
8.5 out of 10

Loy Machedo
loymachedo.com | loymachedo.tv

Running Groups on Facebook I am Part of

Dubai Creek Striders
https://www.facebook.com/groups/138270795931/

Runners Life
https://www.facebook.com/groups/runnerslife/

Sharjah Creek Striders
https://www.facebook.com/groups/sharjahbuhairastriders/

For Ultra Runners - Tejas Trails
https://www.facebook.com/groups/42922048981/