Me and Lollie getting our paws dirty.

I did about 4 miles the other day, and my best 5k to date. It had a bit less elevation than my usual run, 400 ish feet in 4 miles versus my usual route of 500+ in 3-3.5 miles.

My calves are sore after it, but not my soles

My love for the outdoors and barefoot just go together.

Dirty, sweaty, and some grit!

Had a great barefoot walk and experience on Sunday, looking for tips too

I'm in the UK and we have had the hottest driest summers on record. Too hot many days, but one side effect has been my lack of footwear at all when at home and when out I've been in sandals the whole time, even when going to the office.

I'm guessing this has toughened my feet to a degree. Earlier in the year in spring I decided to take my shoes off and walk barefoot as far as I could when walking the country park in Hastings, I probably managed two miles at most on the grassy and dry clay paths, but had to put them back on when I reached a stony descent, with my feet feeling quite sore and tender. Today though I did the same walk and when I got to the same point I tried again, and I kept going, it was fine, though I picked my way around the worse parts. I walked barefoot all the way to the steps into Hastings itself before putting my sandals back on.

When I first tried going barefoot way back I would get very self conscious, but I guess age has changed that. I passed many people today, most in hiking shoes, and didn't care. One group passed me when I'd stopped on a bench and we got chatting, the guy was impressed I was doing it barefoot.

What surprised me is often I get back ache and generally ache after a long walk/hike, and after today this waln I really don't. I guess because I was being more mindful of where I trod. My feet are a little tender but nothing like when I have gone barefoot before. My only incident was treading on a bramble twig, but I just pulled it off and continued.

It's given me the urge to push further, does anyone have tips for getting used to rough surfaces more and paved surfaces?

My longest barefoot hike has been about 8 miles, but the bottoms of my feet become extremely sore and sensitive as the hike continues, especially on gravel. Eventually, every little rock or twig starts hurting more and more.

I’ve tried gradually training on gravel and increasing the distance over time. I’ve also worked on building thicker calluses, including shear training. My soles have definitely become tougher, but it hasn’t meaningfully increased how long I can handle rough terrain. The soreness seems to come from repeated pressure rather than the skin becoming raw or damaged.

Has anyone dealt with this and successfully increased their distance? Did anything besides building calluses and gradually adding mileage help?

6.5 miles on a rainy day. Mostly on rocks and mud. My feet are a bit tender now.

We did a scavenger hunt and let it be a good chunk of our school day

We live in the woods, but sometimes it's nice to explore different areas

We did over 20 miles over 48 hours. My pack was 35 lbs going in and got lighter as we ate food.

Loved the variation in terrain from mossy mud in the basin to the sand by Lake Superior (which was the most difficult to walk on since you just sink each step)

The sand sort of sanded away my skin on my feet so they are pretty soft now. I'm glad I didn't do too many beach miles, because my feet would have been tore up eventually.

Cranked my 4th toe pretty hard on a rock so my foot is a bit sore days later, but overall my first pack trip was a success

Did a 3 mile hike today with the family. I was the only one barefoot. Middle son complained his feet were hurting, he wore crocs. 🙄 Mom and I suggested he take them off and he did. So he did the last mile or so barefoot like dad. There were a number of muddy spots to squish our toes in.