In training this week, I was doing a bit of running on a beautiful cross-country path near where I live called the Downs Link.  After a while, I could feel a stone or something in my shoe, so I stopped, shook out my shoes and socks, put them back on and carried on.

But it was still really uncomfortable, so I stopped again.  This time I really felt around inside my trainer and found that a sharp thorn had gone right through the sole and it was that sticking in my foot.  After 10 minutes of bending the sole around and trying to pull the thorn out, or push it right through, I finally got it out.  It was a 1 cm long thorn as tough as a nail from some tree or other.  Unfortunately, I dropped it onto the stony path as I was trying to take a picture of it!

As I put my shoe back on it suddenly occurred to me – what if these were the only shoes I had?  I have the luxury of trainers for running in, tennis shoes for playing tennis in, boots for walking in, smart shoes for work….but what if I really only had one pair?  What if I was a child on a long and arduous trek in a harsh landscape to collect water?  What would I have done and how differently would I have felt?  It made me appreciate how lucky I am – and also the fundamental reason why I was running on that path in my fancy trainers.

It really made me stop and think – and as K-Day gets closer, I’m sure it’s going to be something I think about every time I run past that spot.

For more footwear-related musings – watch this space 🙂