Barefoot in the Marathon

Ken Saxton, a 49-year-old purist from Huntington Beach, can tell you why it’s better to run barefoot: You can feel the impact of your feet on the ground. Consequently, says Saxton, you are more aware of the importance of landing gently, and you are less likely to damage ankles, knees and everything else that is north of the feet.  Saxton, in fact, has felt the impact of his feet on the ground more than most people would like to imagine.  As he tells sports writer Tony Chamberlain in this piece in the Boston Globe, he has run 37 marathons au naturel, and this year’s Boston Marathon will make it 38. Saxton claims he never suffers the kinds of sprains and muscle pulls that plague shod runners, and he says his feet never blister. Doubters can check out the soles of Saxton’s feet, as seen in a photo on his own website, where he has much more to say.