My new barefoot Merrell shoes arrived today – hooray! When placed side-by-side to the old set, you can see from the pic that this is perhaps a long overdue purchase. Being that I’ve decided to put myself through the mental and physical anguish that is the London Marathon for the first time, having a spangly new pair of running shoes is a welcome treat and good for the old psyche.

For those of you who haven’t delved into the realm of running ‘barefoot’, then I suggest reading Christopher McDougall’s ‘Born to Run’. This tale of Mexican Indians running ultra marathons for ‘fun’ inspired me to try out my first pair of Merrell shoes with Vibram soles and I was instantly hooked. Plus, my knees stopped taking a beating from all the excessive pavement pounding city runners have to endure.

They’re not cheap and cost as much as a good pair of Nike or Asics, but for me, I wouldn’t run any other way. The running experience feels a lot lighter and more importantly, a lot less painful. Considering the pressure on your joints can equate up to at least 4.5 times your own body weight when running in normal shoes, a good barefoot technique can help you spread the pressure through the ball of your foot and your toes and this just seemed personally like a really viable option. The Merrells also look great, weigh next to nothing and I just couldn’t bring myself to buy the Vibram five fingers as they look like mutated slippers. Although, some triathlon runners I know swear by them.

In the quest to up my pace and get a sub four hour time, I’m looking forward to seeing how they fare in training plus the bright yellow will ensure I don’t get mowed down by early morning London traffic.

You can also spur me along by sponsoring here: Diana’s Boys Marathon Page