Zola Budd

I have been writing about Wendy's love of going barefoot, and it made me think of how 'normal' going barefoot is in South Africa. I used to take off my shoes all the time, and my kids did as well. It took years for me to adjust to the English ideas about covering the feet up. I hardly ever go barefoot now, but enjoy seeing Wendy running around barefoot, feeling the grass beneath her feet.

All this to say that Zola Budd was a famous South African athlete who famously run barefoot. Here are a couple of Zola quotes:

Coming from a farming background, I saw nothing out of the ordinary in running barefoot, although it seemed to startle the rest of the athletics world. I have always enjoyed going barefoot and when I was growing up I seldom wore shoes, even when I went into town.

I found them uncomfortable and after that I decided to continue running barefoot because I found it more comfortable. I felt more in touch with what was happening - I could actually feel the track.

If you type Zola Budd barefoot into Google, it comes up with thousands of entries.