Manassas Park Man to Run 5K Barefoot

One Manassas Park man has a passion that few have or have even heard of, for that matter—running barefoot.

 Rodney Wells said he only recently began running barefoot and  he loves every minute of it.

 This week, Wells participated in International Barefoot Running Day in Washington, D.C.

 About 30 people showed up at the National Mall for the event Sunday, including many supporters who apparently chose to keep their shoes on.

 On Saturday, he will run a 5K in Manassas without any shoes, Wells said.

 Most people don’t just wake up and start running barefoot, but rather there is a transition phase, Wells said.

He stayed in transition for more than five years before he began running completely barefoot.

 “I kind of stumbled upon (running barefoot), I started wearing these five finger shoes about six years ago .. I was looking for Aqua Socks and I said, ‘I’m going to try running in these. How might that work?’ So I researched that online and stumbled upon barefoot running. I tried and it worked for me and I’ve embraced it every since,” he said.

 So how do other Manassas Park residents react when they see Wells running down the street with nothing on his feet?

 “A lot of time people yell, ‘Hey, put some shoes on!’ That’s common,” he said. “When people are in their cars driving by they look like, ‘What’s this guy doing? He’s running with no shoes!’ I haven’t received any negative comments, not yet anyway. Some people actually stop me and say, ‘Hey, I see you are into barefoot running, I kind of dabble in that myself.’”

 Many people ask him about the dangers associated with barefoot running, Wells said.

 “We get those questions pose to us a lot, people say, ‘What about glass? What about rusty nails?’ … There’s been a technique developed especially for barefoot runners. You see, what we do is—we look. And if we see something we don’t want to step on, we step around it,” Wells said, smiling. “And if we really want to get ambitious, we step over it.”

 The more a person runs barefoot, the tougher the skin on the bottom of the feet, also known as the planter, becomes, Well said.

 Aside from the dangers, there are also some known benefits to barefoot running, he said.

 Running barefoot is a way to reduce stress on the joints, he said.

The middle of the feet strike the ground when running barefoot.  Shoe runners strike the ground heel first and then roll their feel along the ground as they complete a stride.

 Barefoot runners also bend their knees more when running, reducing stress on joints, Wells’ said.

 Arch support isn’t a concern, because the arch is designed to support itself—it doesn’t need help from a shoe, he said.

 Wells’ family seems to be curious, but OK with his barefoot ambitions.  

 It’s not hard finding other barefoot enthusiasts as there is a strong online network that connects him to others in his area, he said.

 Wells’ day job is actually at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.   His other passions include, riding his motorcycle and ballroom dancing.