One of the best things about spring in Chapel Hill and the associated warm weather is that I can get back to serious barefoot training.
Whenever I talk to people about my approach to fitness I tend to get the following responses: People think parkour is crazy, Crossfit is too intimidating, and martial arts requires too much of a time commitment. But barefoot walking/running seems to strike a note, especially after a little conversation.
I first found the following video on my friend JR's excellent blog playthink:
A nice summary of the benefits of barefoot running. JR kindly links to the original research, which can be found here.
My best advice for starting out with barefooting is to take it super slow. Start out with walking then slowly progress to running. I'd start with a quarter mile on grass then move to trails. A lot of people have been making the transition with Vibram Fivefingers - I don't use them personally, but I've heard great things... just don't come to rely on them - barefoot means barefoot! You won't get the same volume of sensation with a shoe, no matter how minimalist, on your foot.