They look totally stupid, but you could pick up a pair of Vibram Five Fingers. I have an old pair (they don’t seem to die...) that I occasionally wear when mowing and doing other yard work, and I occasionally do short runs in them. Pretty much like barefoot but gives some protection.

I run barefoot on grass after most runs at the local park and school sporting fields. I pick fields that I know are tended to and used frequently. The key here is just to trust the field. Walk around it and inspect the field and where you want to run on it before you start on a new field. I have never had any issues

I'd avoid golf courses. I worked as an assistant greenskeeper for a summer years ago and you wouldn't believe the amount of chemicals we drop on those fields. I'm not really afraid of pesticides having worked with them plenty, but a golf course grass have serious demands

---

Strava

You will quickly learn how many dog owners won't pick up after their pets.

I have done a lot of this in the past and actually I should restart more now that the snow has been melted for a few months. I go with vibrams as the grass has built in padding and you don't have to worry about stability and twisting ankles as you have your natural stable platfform without the "side to side rocker effect" that a normal sole creates.

there are some good minimalist shoes such, particularly the altra escelante comes to mind, as good low drop shoes with low cushion that are similarish to barefoot from what I have heard

other piece of advice is to ease into volume of barefoot or this type of running in general. you are likely not too used to it and trying to resume normal mileage too quick is a common way to get injured

I used to do one 45min grass run per week in a small parklet near my home barefoot.
It helped strengthen and toughen my feet.
Years later it occurred to me how much dogshit I probably got on my feet... so pick your park carefully.
Soccer fields are probably the best as they are level, have no holes and are not used by dog walkers.

Personal view if you have had injury issues then I wouldn’t be running barefoot. I would run on grass in cushioned trainers just like you would wear on road. A light pair of cushioned shoes, like a pair of Hokas, with a wide/flared midsole to prevent twisting your ankle, is ideal. I’ve run 25% off road on grass for years, easy sessions, intervals, fartlek you name it. Take it easy to begin with, look carefully where you are putting your feet. Choose short grass, such as parks and sports fields if you can.

I run a lot on grass and you can use your regular shoes or get yourself some trail shoes which might be nice when it gets wet and soggy. A lot of high school and college cross country runners do much of their training on the grass. I like doing intervals by time and striders and things like that to kind of mix things up a bit. I have known some fairly elite runners who did a ton of mileage all on grass. I think it's good for you It is a bumpy surface and if that bothers your knee, you might want to incorporate some treadmill running in addition or instead that has a nice soft surface and is quite smooth obviously

Thanks to everyone for the advice!

For now, I will try it with my regular shoes and make sure I know the route well. And I will watch out for dog crap. Thanks!

Here are some views based on my experimentation and my experiences from other sports where we want connection with the ground or a surface.

• Grass forms around your foot (if on moist soil). Its like the perfect orthotic
• Grass has perfect aound of padding (again if on moist soil).

Your body is actually trying to make a firm connection between your brain and the external world contact point. Try catching a football with a mittens on. You become totally uncoordinated trying to catch the ball. Shoes are like putting mittens on your feet. They take away the connection to the ground. Its why sprinters wear shoes with no padding. Just a bit of protection and a hard connection to the ground. Like wide receivers wearing those stickly thin gloves.

In general the better connected your body is to the ground the less likelihood of injury, not less due to better coordination.

The main reason for getting injured running barefoot or with vibrams (for protection of skin) on grass is you're running in zero drop and most of us are not used to running with zero drop.

But running on soft grass you have a perfect orthotic (support) and perfect padding. So your risk of injury is super low once you get over the zero drop part and that's the part that takes some patience. But you don't need padded shoes on padded grass as they make things more unstable (basically increasing injury chances).

I used to try to run in the grass, typically the section between the sidewalk and the street, whenever I could to try to get a little more cushion under my feet. Then I rolled my ankle quite severely and have not done that again. I got some Hoka’s and they seem to do the job.

drn92

I see two forms of advice.
Minimalist or maximulist (is that a word?)
I've tried both and they both kinda work. Both have lots of anecdotes but actual evidence for either is tricky.

Running is pretty simple but analysing what is going on is complicated. We tend to want to boil things down to good or bad but, I'd agree with you, it just isn't that simple.

Some people will benefit from one or both but I doubt there is a panacea. I think going to any extreme is risky but even there some people will do well at the edges. Balance is good, small changes and listen to your body.

14 years ago had meniscus surgery. No issues since.
For 6 months after that I ran barefoot on a large soccer field complex, the best thing I ever did.
specifically worked on form, foot plant, gait etc.
I now still run once a week on grass barefoot.

I do all ranges....some maximalist on the road with 4mm drop, some zero drop decent padded on the road, some no padding on zero drop on road and some zero drop barefoot on treadmill and some vibrams on grass. Each has its purpose.

I also use a standing desk wearing zero drop at work. That's way more time on my feet at zero drop than while standing, and I try to walk in zero drop minimalist (flip flops in good weather). Our feet are designed for zero drop. The only reason why we have drop is because footwear was invented with heels to ride horses (stirrups). So its a matter of getting your lower leg and body used to what its designed for. I also run with some 6mm drop On Cloud shoes in my rotation, but that's the biggest drop.

For what it's worth, running barefoot on any surface teaches you to land softly.
Evolution happened without shoes, Persistence Hunting (still done today) developed a foot that is extremely efficient in conserving/returning energy.
One of the reasons humans are the only animals with an ability to literally sweat from everywhere.
Doing a little of that will certainly return you to a natural form.
Once you have done that, buy some Hokas.