Running without shoes has inherent risks. Depending on where you live, your running route may have all sorts of little annoyances like broken glass, sticks, stones, icy roads or even nasty bugs.

I often get asked how to avoid stepping on ‘stuff’. There’s the obvious things you can do such as keeping your eyes on the road ahead, running on paved walking/cycling trails or hard-packed sandy beaches.

But what if you’re an urbanite, running through the maze of downtown? What if it’s too dark to clearly see the ‘stuff’ you may step on?

Seemingly there are a number of options out there and, well, I’ve tried them all… aqua shoes, FiveFingers, beach volleyball sand-socks and a variety of minimal or forefoot designed running shoes.

These don’t quite cut it. Why? They either reduce the foot’s sensory abilities (critical to light landings on the feet), alter the natural shape and gait of the foot or introduce painful and dangerous heel-strike because of inherent design flaws.

What’s the solution? A true second-skin that provides the sensory feedback (you know, that tingling your feet feel after a great BF run) while allowing the foot to take it’s own shape. This is the intended solution that Skora footwear will offer. No over-engineered design or fabrics, just an extension of simple and natural movement. Barefoot is best, but when you can’t go sans shoe, there will be the one natural alternative. Stay tuned!