This is a very common statement from people with little or no experience with running barefoot. I run exclusively barefoot, never liked running shoes much, and only on asphalt and concrete. Concrete is by far the best surface on which to run barefoot. I’ve been looking into getting some Frees for interval training on grass. I would never run barefoot on grass in or near big cities. People leave syringes and broken bottles there, and in grass you may not see them. (And further away from the big cities you have twigs, sharp rocks and snakes.) I see syringes and broken glass every now and then on the concrete track where I usually go for my runs, but that’s the thing; I see them, so I step next to them.

I suggest that unless you clock at least a hundred kilometers barefoot (and when I say barefoot, I mean barefoot) before you start dispensing advice on the topic. If you plan on starting to run barefoot, never ask people whose salary depends on your shoe consumption.