Body and Soul feature

Although a bit past the vigorous aspects, I enjoy your weekly Body and Soul feature and applaud most of the material.

It is good to see the outdoors being advocated and used for exercise more using natural materials and surfaces - not that I want to run down gyms which gave me a living for long enough - and to see more natural modes of exercise being promoted.

But what a pity then to have a photo published repeatedly of one of the demonstrators running barefoot on grass with pronounced heelstrike. 

Clearly hitting the ground hard with the part of the foot least well adapted to absorb shock, promote gait stability and provide useful and timely information to the runner's nervous system about the ground surface.

Surprisingly, other photos show running on sand in sports shoes when sand is one of the most useful surfaces for barefoot exercise.

Perhaps your writers could benefit from exploring the current science and thinking on walking and running barefoot, especially the work of  Daniel E. Lieberman. 

There is also an excellent reference available via the Otago Medical School Library in   The Human Foot: a Companion to Clinical Studies by  Leslie Klenerman and  Bernard A. Wood, (pub. Birkhauser, 2006, ISBN # 9781852339258).

There are also numerous relevant websites for example but beware zealots and hawkers who would promote competitive barefoot running on hard surfaces like roads and footpaths.