{"id":81458,"date":"2017-11-02T11:55:01","date_gmt":"2017-11-02T10:55:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=81458"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:53","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:53","slug":"barefoot-ken-bob","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2017\/11\/02\/barefoot-ken-bob\/","title":{"rendered":"Barefoot Ken Bob"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Last summer I came across a book called Barefoot Running<\/em>. Since running is a hobby of mine and since titles like that appeal to me, I decided to give the book a quick flip-through. It turned out to be about a runner with a heroic nickname: \u2018Barefoot\u2019 Ken Bob. As you\u2019ll understand, Ken Bob does his running barefoot. And judging from the book, he enjoys being a barefoot runner.<\/p>\n

Just like all of us, Ken Bob used to wear thick-soled and shock-absorbing running shoes when running, but even so, his legs often hurt. He looked into the cause of his pain and realised that it was the shoes that were causing the problems. So he decided to start running without shoes, and after a while he didn\u2019t even want<\/em> to wear shoes anymore. His injuries seemed to be a thing of the past.<\/p>\n

Mr Barefoot then wrote a manifesto in which he argues that modern running shoes stop you from feeling pain. And it is precisely this pain that taught Ken Bob how to run in a way that stopped him from getting injured. \u2018Sticking your feet in shock-absorbing shoes is like turning off your smoke detectors,\u2019 he wrote.<\/p>\n

When I read this quote, I thought, well, that sums up my behaviour\u2026<\/em> Admittedly, not with regard to running \u2013 I still wear shoes when running, and I\u2019m still injury-free. However, his words did seem very applicable to a recent resolution of mine that was not getting any closer to being followed through.<\/p>\n

You see, I moved house a while ago, and I really feel I should go and introduce myself to my neighbours at some point. For some reason, though, I\u2019m not getting round to it. Even though the thought occurs to me every single time I come home (my smoke alarm), I will then turn on my laptop after dinner, only to spend the entire evening watching videos on YouTube, or something like that (my way of turning off my smoke detector).<\/p>\n

Having been inspired by Ken Bob, I decided to give my laptop and the videos a miss this week. If I remove the shock absorber that is YouTube, I will probably go and see my neighbours<\/em>, I told myself. Unfortunately, this did not happen: I did close the lid of my laptop, but ended up staying at home, listlessly staring into nothing. Thankfully, such indecisiveness is a logical consequence of the removal of one\u2019s shock absorbers, says Ken Bob. It kind of hurts at first. Just like running, which forces you to use muscles you have never used before.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019ll try again tomorrow, and maybe I will actually ring my neighbours\u2019 bell this time round. So that we can meet at last, and perhaps start watching YouTube videos together\u2026<\/p>\n

Marnix \u2018t Hart studies Philosophy at the EUR<\/em><\/p>\n\n\t

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