CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT: Vivo bare foot running shoes

Running for free...with a bit of toe-ga thrown in!
 6.30pm on Tuesday nights in Hyde Park - meet just north of the Serpentine Bridge Free!
 For more details head to the VIVOBAREFOOT website http://www.vivobarefoot.com.

The VIVOBAREFOOT running theory states that “70% of your brainʼs information for movement comes from the nerves on the soles of your feet”. Basically, if you can feel the ground better, you will run better. Having spent a small fortune on all sorts of chunky, fancy, gel-cushioning runners in the past, to protect my poor knees and ankles as I pound the pavements, I thought it would be good to test their theory, and try out these training shoes.

I guess the best thing to do is go and buy the shoes first! They can tell you all the details in the Covent Garden store; they stick you on a treadmill, and watch how you run on a camera. All very high tech when you consider that many of us have run around since we learned to walk, with no lessons whatsoever! But the team will suggest that doesnʼt mean weʼre doing it right, does it? The shoes will set you back a minimum of fifty quid.

Thatʼs just the beginning though. The VIVOBAREFOOT team run a group exercise session every Monday night in Hyde Park. Itʼs still pretty new (I think itʼs only been going a month or so), and Iʼm sure you can still attend if you donʼt have the shoes, but that would be rather pointless, as itʼs all about making the most of your barefoot running style.

Just one word about the facilities before I start...errr, there are none. If you want to get changed for the session, be sure to do that before you leave the office...otherwise youʼll be putting your sports bra on in a bush. There is always someone from the team to keep an eye on your valuables in a dry spot, but there are no changing rooms nearby.

The instructor was really fun (and funny, in a dad-joke sort of way) and very clear about what he wanted from us. We started with a round of toe-ga....yes, toe-ga...thatʼs yoga for your toes. Despite the fact that it was a soggy April evening, and only around 15 degrees, we took our shoes and socks off and stood in the middle of Hyde Park with bare tootsies, doing toe-strengthening exercises! Once the silliness was over and done with and the shoes were back on, we did some warm ups and then started our drills. Proper barefoot running means keeping a really steady pace, so we worked on our style and pace as a group and played a few games, before doing a few laps of our area of the park. I felt like the instructor and the team from VIVOBAREFOOT were watching our every move (in a nice way) and were always on hand to offer tips about how to improve our running styles on both grass and concrete. The whole session was just over an hour, and allowed everyone to push themselves hard if they wanted to, or take it a bit easier if youʼre not a crazy running junkie.

If you donʼt like jogging, and need pumping music to get through a session, this is not the class for you. But if you want to feel motivated about running, meet some lovely people and enjoy the great (wet, windy) outdoors in London, this is worth making the effort.

And although I canʼt promise heʼll be at one of the sessions, Eddie Izzard was seen in the VIVOBAREFOOT store last week, and is a big fan of barefoot running. Heʼs soon set to do 27 marathons in 27 days. I think Iʼll just stick to Tuesday nights in Hyde Park.

Best bit - itʼs a great workout and really good fun, all for free.

Worst bit - running in the rain, with nowhere to get changed afterwards

Good for - improving your fitness and running style
Score - 8/10