Barefoot at Southbank

Southbank on a sunny Sunday morning in the winter can seem like an idyllic place to go for a run. Beautiful blue skies, great scenery, a car-free riverside path and an exercise-friendly temperature of around 16-18 degrees.

 Look a bit closer and it's not so appealing for a barefoot runner

The embedded gravel is not easy on the soles of your feet! It's something I'll need to harden up and get used to as one of the 5km 'fun' runs that I want to do goes along here. I am spending one day a week with a client near here and there are lockers available so I will be able to go for a run after work, and maybe go for a dip in the beach pool afterwards. That's one of the advantages of barefoot running - less stuff to carry down with me!

I ended up doing a 'lap' of Southbank and covering just under 2km, and given the recent problems with my achilles I'm happy with that.

You get some odd looks running barefoot though - even more so when you're carrying your shoes in your hands...