Teach Every Child About Food: Jamie Oliver TED Prize Talk

One of the projects I’m about to get involved in is to help the PTO at my kids’ school organize their second annual 1-mile fun run. I ran the “race” last year with my children, and we all had a blast. I got to watch my oldest son blaze the first half in the lead, […]

Kids and Minimalist Running Shoes: Great Running Times Feature

If you’re looking for information on whether to consider putting your kids into minimalist running shoe (and my answer would be yes, you should consider it, as well as lots of barefoot time), you need look no further than the September 2012 issue of Running Times Magazine. In the issue of RT, my good friends […]

Outside Online Article on Minimalist Shoes for Kids

Just read a great article by Katie Arnold over on Outside Online on a topic that I feel very strongly about. The article, titled “Mini Minimalists: Are Barefoot Shoes Good for Kids?”, addresses whether minimalist/barefoot-style shoes are appropriate for kids. I particularly love this quote: “…if we can encourage kids to run naturally, the way […]

Nike SMS Roadrunner: A Toddler Shoe with a Flat, Flexible Sole

Today is my son Benjamin’s second birthday. As a full-blown toddler, he’s going through a period of remarkable transition – he’s learning to run, talk, joke, express displeasure, and to use the word “mine” about 100 times per day. As a parent who has a fascination with footwear, this is a particularly difficult time as […]

Proper Shoes for Kids: Thoughts From a Family Doctor

A few months ago I published an interview I conducted with Dr. Mark Cucuzzella. Mark is a family physician at Harpers Ferry Family Medicine in WV, an Associate Professor at West Virginia University School of Medicine, and the owner of Two Rivers (TR) Treads, the nation’s first minimalist-only running store. Like me, Mark has a […]

The Simple Joy of Being Active: Lessons Learned From Little Kids on My First Day as “Coach Pete”

Image via Wikipedia “Wow, my heart is beating really hard!” Those were the words that made this one of the best days that I have had in quite some time, and they were uttered by a 5 year old boy. Before I elaborate, let’s step back a bit for some background… A few weeks ago, […]