I have been reading a bit more about running barefoot, and decided this afternoon to give it a try.
I jogged down to the park in my usual shoes (I started barefoot, but soon discovered how many sharp stones there were on the lane!) Once I was there, I took my shoes off (and placed them carefully side by side on the touchline of the football pitch) and jogged the length of the pitch. As I got used to it, I tried to keep my back straight and chin up, kick my heels up and stay light.
It felt very light and natural. I didn't seem to be bobbing up and down as much as I normally do, and my feet felt fine. I carried on and did about 1400m barefoot, and decided that that was probably enough for a quick first trial.
I put my shoes back on again for a final lap, and immediately felt the difference. I could clearly feel that I was hitting the ground harder, and I was bouncing up and down more. Walking home I could feel the tension in my calves, suggesting that they had had a good workout. In fact I jogged the last few hundred yards, but stopped with a sharp pain in my left calf, and stopped and walked again. It looks like 1400m was far enough.
An interesting experiment. I shall do some more!
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PS - I wrote that a few days ago. In the days following my run I had very tight calves, despite a lot of stretching. Maybe 500m next time!
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