In the summer of 2012 my wife gave me the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall as vacation reading. It was so inspiring that i read it twice and bought a pair of Merrell Road Gloves before the vacation was over. Despite my flatfoot condition i was determined to start my journey to become a true barefoot runner.
Filled with enthusiasm I started to run up to 12 kilometers a week in my new running shoes without cushioning, i even ended each session by running the last two kilometers on asphalt without shoes. This lasted for around one and a half year until what was left of my foot arch started to hurt for more than two weeks after the last run, so I decided to quit running for a while to let my foots heel, but even after months of inactivity the pain was back as soon as I went for short barefoot run again.
Obviously I did something wrong by running to relaxed and landing on the middle of my foot instead of making slow progress by practicing forefoot strike and build up the strength before going for longer distances. This simple fact took years to realize until I tried out a pair of Vibram Five Fingers and started to walk with a constant foot lift and tension in my calf muscle letting my heels barely touch the ground. It might look funny but this style of walking felt just right, and after just a few weeks I could feel the difference as painless walks for up to 10 kilometers each time.