New To the Collective and Smiling and Enjoying All The Way

I stumbled onto this little gem of a blog a couple of weeks ago via the BRS and have been stalking (I mean enjoying) it ever since. Enough so, that I had to contact Kate to check if I could help contribute in anyway, and hopefully help spread the word of the great joy of running.

To me running is not work, or something that you have to do because someone told you too, for me it is fun and pure enjoyment. To get out and just go for a run whether it be by myself or with a group is absolutely fantastic and it usually brings a perma-grin to my face that just doesn't want to come off and that is the way I like it.

As this is my first post, I figured I would start with a post I had on my blog, http://www.winnipegbarefootrunners.blogspot.com/ from the last marathon I ran in Bismark, North Dakota last month. I had so much fun and the experience was second to none in my books in a short history of running for me. This will also give you a idea of what I consider a great running experience and why I like the smaller runs so much.

I hope you enjoy,

So this has been an interesting week, since last Sunday when I ran the entire Treherne Half Marathon barefoot on gravel to the dismay of a lot of people, and accepted an invite to join a friend on an excursion to Bismark, ND to run there on Saturday, I have found out alot about the resilience of my feet and body in general.

Lets start with Sunday, after I finished the half, my feet were a little tender, ok that would be an understatement they were down right sore. After running 13.1 miles on gravel (with about a mile reprieve on asphalt) that was very understandable, I figured I would have tender feet for a couple of days. I was wrong within hours my feet were back to normal, my calves were a still a little tight the next day and my big toe was still sore from my toe drag at mile 10 or so, but other than that my feet felt fantastic. Also note my toe healed up nicely in a couple of days. I was even able to do some trail running Monday night out at Kilcona Park with the WH3 barefoot and it felt fantastic, no ill effects of the race the day before.

But just to be on the safe side, I did not run the rest of the week, since I committed to going to Bismark with Mike (from See Mike Run), I wanted to ensure my feet were ready for what I was thinking was going to be a fast half marathon. Nothing like a last minute decision to run a race, within the last two weeks I have signed up for 2 runs at the last minute (Treherne the Wednesday before the race and now Bismark the day before). The crazy thing is that on the trip down to Bismarck, I was contemplating running the full instead of the half because I didn't know what I would do waiting the extra approx 2 hours for Mike and David to finish after I was done. So as we drove the 450 miles (not km's eh Mike) to Bismarck I tossed the idea of throwing caution to the wind and running the full marathon around. So here we are driving for about 7 hours to an American city, trying to figure out what race I was going to complete. We arrived in Bismarck around 6 pm and headed straight to the race pick up / registration area which was located in the mall which was adjacent the Scheel's (a really cool sports equipment store similar to MEC and REI). Still completely undecided which way I was going to go, I started the registration process and got to the run selection and checked Full, I thought why not you only live once, right?

Now lets put this into perspective for all you runners and non-runners out there:

I have not ran more than 16 miles since June 17th in one shot (only adding 10.2 miles onto of my max run, no problem).

I haven't trained for a marathon at all and definitely not at race pace.

I was still battling my breathing issues, carried my puffer through Trehere just in case and would do the same here.

There was a killer hill to tackle not once but twice (1.5 or so miles up at a 5% grade incline) Remember I am from Manitoba the biggest hill we have is a speed bump

There was chip-seal on the course

There would be off and on rain throughout the run and a pretty good head wind

Of course I was running barefoot

That all being said, I was pumped to get out there and run. It was really interesting, as I was registering, one of the ladies behind the table noticed my Vibram shirt and mentioned that her son runs in them, and Mike mentioned that I actually run barefoot and would be running tomorrow that way. That was when all the hoopla started, all of a sudden they were quizzing me so they could write down my bib number, my name and contact info on a separate sheet, for at the time some unknown purpose. It really didn't hit me until the next day what it was, but I will expand on that later. I just answered their questions, smiled and we headed out to go check in at the hotel and then off to Olive Garden for some pasta and beer (a traditional pre-race feast).

With a 7:30 am start time and really not sure where were going and how to get there (thank you Garmin GPS), we wanted to ensure we were up early enough to ensure we had plenty of time. After we got back to the hotel, it was a early bedtime to try to maximize on the sleep that we would probably not get and true to form all three of us didn't get much. Pre-run jitters are common, as you start to run the course in your head and lay out and try to perfect your strategy for the day ahead (note: I have found this really never goes to plan but so be it I still do anyway). It was interesting to hear this never goes away, I found out that David who has run over 80 marathons and a number of ultras (including The Canadian Death Race and numerous other 100 milers) still has this happen as well.

Mike was up at around 5:00, I dragged my butt out of bed at around 5:20 and David fell out of bed at about 5:35, a quick shower, dress and prep for run and we headed downstairs to hit the continental breakfast and a coffee. Met some other runners from Ohio and Kansas who seemed a little over dressed to me wearing touques, tights and heavier running jackets, but they were ready to 'Get 'Er Done!' (That one is for you Mike). Here I was planning to wear my shorts, tri shirt (which is sleeveless) and my arm sleeves for the start, along with my bare feet, must be a Canadian thing, overheating is not a good thing in my mind. Anyway, we piled into the car and headed out to find the run, thanks again GPS for pointing us in the right direction. About halfway there we picked up a runner who was walking along the side of the road looking rather chilled. He in fact was from Houston Texas, and was only wearing his running gear which consisted of a muscle shirt and shorts, he was very grateful for the ride. He was unaware how far it actually was from the hotel to the start line so we were glad to give him the opportunity to warm up before running the full marathon. As we arrived we started to get ready, I took off my long sleeve shirt and my VFF's but left my Injini toe socks on to keep my toes warm, I did get some looks from other runners as I was walking around in socks (just wait till those come off, hee hee!).

It wasn't long before everybody started lining up at their posted target times, we all settled on a 4:00 goal (I say this with tongue in cheek) and positioned ourselves in that area. Off came the socks and the OMG's started with earnest and with them the questions. Now I do not think myself an expert in any stretch of the imagination (with only about a year and a half of experience) on barefoot running but I do like to pass on my knowledge if people are interested. This race seemed to be one where there was a lot of interest, I had numerous conversations and questions with runners, volunteers and spectators alike on the way i run. You would almost think this 'Barefoot Running' thing was catching on or something. After the National Anthem was sang (and she did a fantastic job), we counted down from 10 to the start, it was nice to hear everybody get louder as we approached one..... and we were off!

It's always interesting how runners always position themselves in time areas that are realistically beyond their capabilities, even at the start. I love optimism (and I will admit a 4:00 marathon for me is a stretch but I can keep that pace from the start for a number of miles), but Mike, David and I must of passed numerous runners in the first few minutes that couldn't keep up that pace at all. For some runners this could be very frustrating, if they are looking for a time or a personal best to have to weave in and out of slower runners that they really shouldn't have too. I personally say, even though it is frustrating, you have to keep a positive outlook and be happy they are out enjoying a run, because not that long ago you were probably exactly like them. Life is to short to let little things like that get to you, enjoy the day.

On to the race, let me say it was a blast, they had friendly volunteers and for a smaller race and not ideal weather conditions there was some very enthusiastic spectators along route. I kept pace with Mike and David for probably the first 10 miles or so, which was fantastic for me because they are both stronger runners than I am. The course of the start was on a bike or runners asphalt path so it was a little congested until things started to thin out, but once it did it was smooth sailing. I had numerous conversations along the run (which did slow me down a little bit) with runners along the way, either with runners that had started the conversion to barefoot or wanted to give it a try but were a little hesitant, too the runners that thought I was totally nuts but amazed at the same time. I ran and talked with a younger guy from Bismarck for about 5 minutes about how to start running barefoot and what not to do. I was amazed at how enthusiastic he was, I almost thought he was going to stop and take his shoes off right there, but luckily he didn't he still had a good 24 miles to run. I do not know what it is about running, but you can talk with a complete stranger about anything and there is no problem, no inhibitions at all everything is fair game. One girl I was talking to about barefoot running suddenly changed topic to bodily functions and noises without a bat of an eyelash. This is someone I met not 2 minutes before, where else do you get that. This is another reason I like to run.

As we trucked along the course, we started heading to "the Hill", that would be Mary's Hill towards the The University of Mary (she must of been important to have a University named after her) which was located on top of a plateau to the north side of town. This hill was very interesting, not usually on the course the race director had to change the route due to the flooding of the Missouri River, thus the hill was added (not once but twice - at mile 5 and 18). It is a on paper, one mile long at a 5% steep grade incline up towards the University (officially I would say 1.5 to 1.75 miles up to the top by the University but who's counting). This was going to be a challenge for us flatlanders but of course we were up for it. Along the way to the Hill we passed a couple of young musicians playing away to help inspire the runners. It put a smile on face to see a couple of teenagers playing their hearts out in the cold and drizzle as they were. One had a full drum kit set up and was going at it like a wild man and the other was a younger teen who was strumming Smoke on the Water on his electric guitar. Very impressed that they took the time to do this, they were still going at it as I passed them for the second time on the second lap, pretty darn impressive. There was also a harpist playing at the University grounds as well, I would think her fingers were probably pretty cold strumming the strings for 4 hours, so kudos to her as well. The view at the top of the hill behind the University was really impressive, you could look into the river valley and even with the fog and mist it was still a pretty impressive sight. I of course had to stop and take some pictures, as I decided that I was going to play tourist on this little adventure and I was having so much fun. As I started up and headed towards the first Relay Transition Point, the strangest thing happened, I heard some guy on a bullhorn calling out relay numbers as they came into the transition area (not unusual) but then i heard him announce the following, " Look out folks, here comes our Barefoot Runner, give him a big cheer when he goes through!" I really didn't think much of it, I waved, high fived a bunch or spectators and runners alike, smiled and thought to myself, wow that was nice, and carried on my merry little way towards the down the hill part of the run.

As David and Mike pulled away once we got down the hill and headed back to the end of the first loop, I got once again into a conversation with a couple of runners who were running the half marathon, they were having the time of their lives and you could see it all over their faces. Not really paying attention to my pace I ran with them for a while, fielding more questions and comments, having a few laughs and just enjoying the run. They started to slow a little bit and I said my goodbyes and good lucks and slowly pulled away. My legs and feet felt fantastic, there was no sign of fatigue at all, and I was keeping a good pace somewhere around 9:10 mile, which I was ecstatic about. I then started running with this one older gentleman who was running a leg of the relay, I believe he was a city engineer as he was telling me about the earth dikes that were still along the side of the road and how they had just finished clearing some of the dikes off the course route that week, kudos to the city workers who helped get the course in as good of shape as it was. He also told me he wanted to run the half but he was out early putting all the race signs out so he decided that the relay would still give him the chance to run. Awesome stuff, I like to hear stories like this, it shows dedication, unfortunately I did not get his name but I know he finished strong.

Once again, I was coming around the corner towards relay exchange number two, when once again "I hear, "Here he comes give a big cheer for our barefoot runner, Bob Nicol from Winnipeg". I really didn't think much of this once again, just thinking that's strange why did they announce my name as I ran through with some more hi-fives, etc. As I headed to the half way point and the end of the first lap, I started thinking to myself, 'How did she know my name?' (this also happened at the rest of the Relay Stations as well, very humbling. Shaking that off I proceeded to the half way point, and came up to the only area that was really a little confusing, there was a volunteer standing on a split in the path asking the marathoners as they came through if it was their first or second time through? Me not really comprehending what he was talking about, said, "Damn only the first time, I am not that fast", thinking he was talking about finishing of my second loop. Nope, it seems the start of the second loop consisted of a loop inside a loop so you pass that junction twice in about 15 minutes or so, a little confusion but I guess it could of been worse. As I ran towards the half way point (and the finish for the half marathoners), I once again heard, " Lets hear a big cheer for our barefoot runner, Bob Nicol from Winnipeg who is running the entire marathon barefoot today!" At this point, I started wondering what the heck is going on, this is a little weird, I am no where near the front, I do have a good split with just over a 2 hour 13.1 miles but really. Then as I pass the announcer he gives me a big thumbs up and a quick reference to 'Born To Run' being a great read and wishing me good luck on finishing, as I was the only barefoot runner.

I was a little taken aback by all the attention, but figured ok, lets finish this baby off. I headed out on the final lap, with a little bit of a slower pace but still good in my books. As I finished the loop I came up to the volunteer who directed me around the first time, and joked with him see you in a couple of hours, he smiled and cheered me on. The second loop was very similar to the first time around a lot of chatting with everybody, I got to see a really cool drum solo, and the guitar player was still cranking it out as I ran by. Everybody was throwing comments my way about my feet and I was having a great time. I even started playing duck, duck, goose with another marathoner as I would pass her, then she would pass me, then I would pass her. We did this the entire rest of the race. Going up the second hill I decided to walk a good chunk of it to conserve my energy for the final push to the finish, this was a good thing as there was a killer headwind as well for the entire distance up the hill. I ran down the hill with a fresh abandon, just letting go and with a great tail wind to boot, I have never had that type of energy at this stage of the run (was around 20 to 21 miles). I cruised to the bottom, and stopped for my one potty brake and a gel stop. I think the volunteers thought I was crazy because I was grinning from ear to ear and even started picking up some of the cups around the garbage can that missed (must be a Canadian thing). Off I went to catch up to my duck, duck, goose partner, when I noticed that she was slowing down quite a bit, so as I passed her I told her she had to run in with me and I wouldn't take no for an answer. She smiled, agreed and I took off ahead, so I got a couple of minutes ahead of her and started to walk to let her catch up and pass me, even though I felt fantastic and could of ran it in I was having fun and I wanted to help this runner get in. So once she got about 500 yds ahead of me, I started running again and passed her with a 'Duck', ran ahead stopped and started walking again, in which she passed me again with a smile and a 'Goose'. This happen a couple more times until we were at about mile 25 and change, this was where Valerie from Nebraska and I started running together to the finish. We also picked up Melissa who was part of relay team (who were running in support of a friend with cancer), Melissa started running a couple of years ago to get active and has lost 60 pounds since starting. She was doing awesome but I could see she was starting to falter a little, so on went my 'Motivational Speaker Cap' and I told the both of them, let's go we are almost there, and I want to both of you to kick my barefoot Canadian butt. They both laughed and the closer we got, the more I pushed them to finish. You could see Melissa's teammates cheering her on in the distance and that must of inspired her as she took off from the both of us, it was great to see and put a smile on my face. That was when I looked at Valerie and told her, now its your turn and egged her on through the finish line. She beat me by 3 seconds. Official time was 4 hours 36 minutes and 55 seconds. With a quick hug and thank yous from both of them we parted ways, it was fantastic to see. This is another thing I love about running, to see them as they crossed the finish line was priceless, and why I will continue to run.

Even though I could of shaved some time off my finish, to me it was not about that, it was seeing the looks on everybody's faces as they crossed the finish line realizing if they push themselves that little bit harder, they can do it and have done it. To cap this off I had a great time running this race and even though it was not a personal best, I will not forget the fun that I had and discovering how my body and feet have adapted. Previously, I could of never imagined running a marathon, let alone one without training for it, I be thinking this ultra marathon thing could be possible after all.

In short, I like to just go out and enjoy the run and the company along the way. My biggest objective to make sure I am 'Smiling at the start, the middle and definitely at the end'.

Me at Mile 8 still smiling and having a whole lot of fun

Just before crossing the finish line, man my feet were black, and yes I was still smiling.

Barefooting Bob aka Bob Nicol

Virtual (Spirit) Run 2011: Gold Coast, Australia

This weekend saw the launch of the first ever Naked Running Workshop. 

A group of 13 enthusiastic runners took part within the stunning surrounds of the Currumbin Valley Ecovillage (on the Gold Coast). 

Sorry, no nudity, only naked feet!

After spending time running, talking, running, eating then talking some more, the announcement was made to the group that we would be taking part in an Official Run Smiley event - a Virtual Run to be held in conjunction with the NYC Barefoot Run.

I found out this type of run is also called a 'Spirit Run'. After attaching the official event bibs, we were on our way, running 'in spirit' with our barefoot brothers and sisters in New York. Such a great concept, and one I have subscribed to for years but never had a name for it.

For many of the group this was a breakthrough barefoot running experience, making it all the more special. We were blessed with new, smooth roads and paths along with wide open grassy spaces to hang out with the resident kangaroos.


It was great to feel connected to the rest of the Run Smiley tribe, and also to those lucky enough to run in NYC. Would love to get over there next year and test out the Barefoot Ted rickshaw service!

A big thanks for organising the Virtual Run and lots of smiles and high-fives to you all from down here in Oz! :)

Run Smiley Virtual Run: Baker's Dozen Beer Run, Marshall, MI

This September 24th was the inaugural Baker's Dozen Beer Run, a half marathon fun run in Marshall, Michigan.  The organizers said they wanted to incorporate their favorite Marshall businesses, Louie's Bakery and Dark Horse Brewery.  The "race" started at the Bakery and the finish line was at the Brewery, so it was a very cool concept.  As luck would have it, all my brethren in the Run Smiley Collective were in New York for the New York Barefoot Run and had designated this weekend as our first official "Virtual Run" so I rolled in with my "Run Smiley Participant" bib pinned to my shorts.

I had suggested the event as a low cost ($15 entry) meet-up for the Michigan Chapter of the Barefoot Runners Society, but registration closed pretty early and Colleen and I were the only ones who were able to sign up.  This would prove to be a good thing, which I'll get to in a minute.  I did get to see a few friends from last winter's Beyond Group (Sarah and Lori) though, and found out they would be acting as pacers for a couple of the half marathon pace groups this coming winter.  Turns out Sarah is going to be my half marathon distance partner in the 11:30-12:00 group, so that was pretty cool!

Anyway, at the start I was a little sad none of my barefoot buddies were there, but I got some consolation in the form of a delicious custard filled donut from Louie's.  Everyone thought I was completely nuts for eating the thing minutes before the start of the race, and maybe I was, but I'm a sucker for the things and I have a tendency to use bizarre fuel before long runs.  My breakfast had been a fried egg sandwich with mayo and some chili on a slice of toast, shit on a shingle style, and everyone thought that was nuts too!

Breakfast of Champions!

The run started at 8:00AM and we positioned ourselves near the back of the group.  This would keep me out of the way of the faster folks but force me to pass a lot of people early, and the streets near the starting line were fairly narrow (think single lane boulevard-style roads).  About a half mile in I would meet up with Nikki, who I'd met at the Kalamazoo Marathon back in may where she had been working the Kalamazoo Area Runners tent.  We had to reintroduce ourselves, as we'd both long since forgotten each others names (if we'd actually told each other at the time).  Turns out we were aiming for more or less similar paces and we hung out chit-chatting for a few miles.

The course wound through the neighborhoods on the north side of Marshall before heading out into the country.  As soon as we left city limits we were on chip seal roads, which was something I had assumed would happen but was determined to handle as best I could (and also why I had my bedrocks in my belt, just in case it got too rough).  From mile 2 to 4 the chip seal was manageable and appeared to be relatively old.  If this was the worst I had to deal with I would have no problems.

The marker for mile 3 had the "kick you in the nuts" message of "Almost Done!"  I know it was supposed to be a joke, but the last thing someone with another 10 miles to run wants to see is an "Almost Done!" at mile 3.  I took it for what it was though and jokingly said "What kind of jerk says that?!" and had a big laugh.


At about 3.75 miles in things got a bit ugly for me.  I had been eating some Honey Stingers and dropped the package on the ground, so I took a minute to stop and take a couple pictures, and in doing so lost Nikki and the other couple people we had been pacing with.  Getting back running again it dawned on me that I was about to enter some freshly chip sealed road.  Yeah that sound you heard was the dramatic "dun dun duuuunnnnn"!  I was terrified, but decided to give it a shot and see how bad it was.  It was too early to put the sandals on (it would feel like failure) so I soldiered on wondering what Colleen would think when she reached this area.  I figured something like "I bet Troy didn't like that!" or "I wonder if he put his sandals on?"  I would later find out it was more like "Uh Oh, I bet he just ran through that tearing his feet to shreds."  Fortunately for me it would only last about a quarter mile before we turned onto a smoother road, so I did soldier on through it knowing it would soon be over and hoping there wasn't much more of it over the rest of the course.  I would be disappointed.

Fresh chip seal road!  Egad!

Nikki and the group remained in my sights the whole time, despite slowing my pace somewhat over the chip seal, and when I got the chance, either on grass or once I got back on smooth road, I did my best to persistence-hunt her group and see if I could catch up without burning myself out (I had just finished mile 5 when the chip seal ended).  I finally caught up shortly after the chip seal ended on what would be the first real downhill of the course (up to this point it had all been more or less flat or gently uphill).  I've mentioned before that I've been working on the "No Brakes!" method of running downhills, and apparently I was on my game today.  I caught up to Nikki and the group and went flying past yelling "Heads up! No brakes!"  They'd never catch up with me again, but I spent the rest of the race assuming they would.

I spent the next mile cheering for the crowds and chit-chatting the people I passed.  Conversations were usually short, along the lines of "How're you doing?  Having fun?" and one or two chatted about barefoot running and its potential benefits.  I crossed I-94 around the 6.5 mile mark and made a point to hoot and holler at the cars going by, getting a couple cars to honk and wave, which felt great!  Shortly after clearing the freeway I met up with my friends Sarah and Lori again, who were actually running as part of a relay team.  They gave me some cheers and said one of their team members was right behind me and they'd catch up with me later.  They had 4 members, so every 5k they were handing off and Sarah would be handling their last leg at about 10 miles.

I spent the next mile or so pretty much alone and got passed by the first of the cyclists, who had started at 8:45, somewhere around mile 7.  This section of the course wound through some more country neighborhoods, and there was a really big crowd at the mile 8 aid station.  They were very nice and topped off my water bottle for me.  There were lots of cyclists coming through by now, and the serious ones were long gone and we started seeing the casuals who were there for fun along with some people who had started out running and had stashed their bikes along the course.

It was about this point in the race I realized that I'd had a smile on my face pretty much the whole time.  The crowds had been great and I think I had only passed one person who wasn't out there having a good time (some grumpy old man who didn't even respond when I said Hi! How's it going?").  I had been thanking just about everyone on the sidelines for coming out and cheering at kids who were playing in the yards i passed and was feeling great.  On top of it we had expected cold and cloudy weather with a chance of rain, and the skies were cloudless and the weather was fantastic!  No wonder i couldn't wipe the smile off my face!

I passed Sarah near the 10 mile mark and wandered into the final 5k of the course.  The next mile would be almost as tough as the other fresh chip seal areas, testing my smile a little bit, but I got a lot of kudos from the cyclists through this area, some cheers from an aid station and another round of waves and honks from the cars on I-94 as I crossed back to the south and it kept me going strong.  I would finish the section with a nice long "No Brakes!" downhill section before hitting the city limits and settling into the final mile and a half through town.

There were few runners around me at this point but still a fair number of cyclists.  I spent my time chatting with the police and fire department personnel who were out doing traffic control and after a few twists and turns through some neighborhood streets I found myself hitting the final few hundred feet.  I had to cross some tricky railroad tracks that made me (cynically) wonder if I would pick up some splinters this close to the finish line.  The crowd at the finish line was great and there was a lot of cheering as I crossed the line at 2:18:15.  I was expecting to finish around 2:36, so beating that by 18 minutes was huge!

Nikki and Sarah would finish within a few minutes of me and I spent a couple minutes cooling down and chatting with other finishers.  One woman asked me if I'd run the whole thing barefoot and I said "yeah" and she followed that up with "How are your feet?"  I replied with (thanks to John Yohe, from whom I stole this reply) "Great!  How are yours!" with a big smile on my face.  We had a big laugh and she said she was on a bike so hers were just fine.  After hanging out for a few minutes I remembered Colleen had wanted me to come out and pace her to the finish, so I strapped on my sandals (my feet were a little tired at this point and I was ready to give them a rest) and started walking.

I was expecting her to be running around a 15 minute mile, so I checked the time and guesstimated about where I would meet up with her.  While walking back a lady on a bike stopped me to take my picture, as her daughter runs (or had run) in FiveFingers and she wanted to show her that some one had (been foolish enough) run the race totally barefoot.  I obliged and we chatted for a minute before heading our separate ways.  I stopped to talk to the police officers on the way back and stopped at the last aid station to talk to the volunteers too.  They must have had something to do with the course planning and gave me an interesting bit of trivia: when they finalized the course none of the freshly chip sealed roads had been treated yet.  Those roads were done within the last week!  Inwardly I congratulated myself on handling as much as I did, considering how fresh the treatment had been.

I met up with Colleen at about the mile 12 marker, right on time.  I was impressed that she looked as good as she did.  Having run a 10 miler with her a few weeks ago I expected her to be a little tired and ready to be done, but she was trucking along and still had a positive attitude so I was really glad she was doing so well.  We headed back the way I came, and I talked and talked in an effort to make sure to distract her from the mile she had to go.  Apparently the police had gone home in the last 10 minutes or so, because when I looked for the guys I had used to mark the turns they were gone and I led Colleen down the wrong road.  This proved to be a huge mistake, as the road we had to take to get back on course led to a bunch of tents and whatnot that was setup for some other event (Hispanic Festival, I think), and Colleen thought it was the finish line.  When she learned it wasn't she kind of hit the floor a little bit with a simple "I'm done."

She got going after a minute though, with some semi-gentle prodding from me about how we were only a turn or so away from the finish line.  The damage had been done though and her mood wouldn't really improve until we finished.  The tracks gave her some problems, as the footing wasn't great, but she crossed the line at 3:18:42 and immediately broke into tears.  I totally understood, having gone through the same thing in May when I finished the Kalamazoo Marathon, so I didn't say anything and just attended to my hugging duties (because that's what everyone needs when they finish something like this the first time).

In lieu of medals, we got free pints of beer from Dark Horse, which was excellent beer!  We hung out, drank beer, stretched, took pictures and chatted with other runners for a while.  It was a lot of fun and our only regret was that there weren't donuts at the end because we could have really used one at that point!  It was a great event with great people and I'm hoping to make it back next year!

Paradigms (and other Big Words)

(Originally posted on my blog, ...when i talk about running.)

After being very active here at the Run:) Collective, I've been pretty quiet lately -- I teach high school, and the start of the school year has really put the brakes on my blogging. But with a significant number of the Collective winging into my home city for the weekend, I've been inspired to muse a little. . .

Tomorrow is the kick-off to the second annual NYC Barefoot Run, a two day event that Christopher McDougal bills as, "The Woodstock of wild human animal mayhem," though I suspect might be overselling it a bit. If the bloggers I know who are coming are any indication, it will be more like, "The SanDiego Comic Con of slightly flamboyant weirdos who don't like to wear shoes." Let's just say that I agreed to be the local recipient for a shipment of yellow and orange tutus, and that one of my colleagues is flying out in a spartan costume, complete with a crimson cape -- you be the judge of which description sounds more apt.

I thought of going to the run last year, but the weekend didn't work for some reason or other, and I was toying with the idea of going this year when I found out that most of the members of my blogging group, The Run Smiley Collective, were flying out for the weekend. That pushed me into committing. As someone who is vaguely suspicious of on-line communication and social-networking, I continue to heavily emphasize the air-quotes whenever I mention one of my blogging "friends." I feel a bit weird referring to people I have never met in person, spoken to on the phone, or even exchanged text-messages with as friends, but over the last 8 months or so I've really enjoyed getting to know this somewhat sprawling, ill-defined, and eclectic group of runners and writers. I'm really looking forward to finally meeting many of them face-to-face.

So in anticipation of this weekend, I've been thinking a lot about barefoot running. Most of my fellow Run Smiley bloggers coming in are serious bare-footers. Jason Robillard is one of the keynote speakers, finished the Western States 100 in just a pair of Merrell Trail Gloves, and recently quit his job to travel around the country with his wife and kids in an RV to teach and promote barefoot running. Kate, Christopher, and Jesse are being flown in by Merrell to speak on a panel discussion of barefoot runners. These people run barefoot all the time, in all kinds of weather, on all kinds of terrain.

Then there's me. I've run barefoot a few times, and honestly at this point don't have any real desire to become a full-time "barefoot runner." I don't have any lingering injuries that running barefoot might cure, and I am very happy with my minimalist shoes. So why am I going to this thing, other than its in my back-yard?

***

That's what I've been musing about, and I realize its all about paradigm shifts. If you've ever been within 50 miles of a liberal-arts campus, you know the bumper-sticker: "Subvert the Dominant Paradigm." Meaning: question the way things are normally done, don't accept the world uncritically, work to change assumptions and underlying values when they are harmful or even just baseless. And in a small sense, thinking about barefoot running and minimalist footwear has reinforced that for me.

I've been running to and from work in my Softstar Dash's (review coming soon!), and if you haven't seen them, they are are essentially a simple rubber sole with a thin leather upper -- think a somewhat unattractive, very flexible bowling shoe. When I tell my coworkers that, "Yes, I did just run to work in these," they look at me like I'm insane, like something like that is impossible. Paradigm Assumption: you need 30 millimeters of rubber and gel pockets and a wedge of EVA foam to run? Question: why?

Ah, that dangerous, empowering, revolutionary word: "why?" And in something so simple -- why do we all wear running shoes? While reading about and following the minimalist foot discussion, there was one "why" that always bothered me: if heel striking is so detrimental, why did shoe companies ever add built-up heels in the first place? And the most telling answer is: no one knows. Not the critics, not the companies. They just did, then it became an assumption, and assumptions become quote-unquote-fact.

Rather than demanding, "Justify to me why I need a supportive shoe," for nearly all runners the shoe is the assumption, the paradigm, and instead they ask why one would want to run without a supportive shoe? As if the shoe is the base-line, not the addition. And it really is the dominant paradigm, despite the "barefoot revolution." Since getting into minimal running 10 months ago, of the hundreds (if not thousands) of runners I've passed, I've noticed maybe a dozen runners in Vibrams, half a dozen in Minimus and Trail Gloves, and one in a pair of Inov8's. Not a single haurache, not a single Softstar, not a single barefoot runner.

***

Like I said, I'm not fully barefoot, but just to ask the questions seems important. As a society, we assume you must wear shoes at all times in public, but why do we wear shoes? Really, they are like gloves for our feet. Like gloves, they can be worn just for fashion, and like gloves, they can be worn to protect us from the weather and dangerous work-conditions. But no one today wears gloves every day -- but no one leaves the house barefoot. Walk down the sidewalk without shoes, walk into a department store barefoot, and you'll get stares, if not asked to leave If you seriously try to imagine doing that, I guarantee that most of you will feel uncomfortable, transgressive just thinking about it, right? But again: why? Most store floors are clean. Our feet are really no less dirty than our hands, no less likely to contract or spread germs or diseases, but there is something forbidden about them, as if they need to be hidden away from polite society. But walk into a store and tell that to the other customers, and you'd look like a lunatic.

Why?

I realize this is rising to the intellectual level of a sophomore in high-school discovering philosophy for the first time, but while running home the other day I had one of those blindingly-obvious epiphanies, like in Calvino's brilliant story "The Flash." One of those realizations where you realize that so many of the things we as a society do are just mindless reactions to "the way things are." We all wear shoes, without thinking about it. Now, I'm not actually going to go full-blown barefoot hippie-nut-job, but I think that just asking the question, realizing that it is a choice and not a given, is valuable. To be open to possibilities, and the non-objective nature of reality. To ask "why?"

Because why is an important question, and allowing oneself to ask that about anything, to question the anecdotes and conventional wisdom that most people accept as reality can lead to some very powerful places. From the industrial complexes that generate tons of nutrition-less food to a legal system that recently committed a murder in the state of Georgia, we are surrounded by powerless forces that are empowered merely by our willingness to accept them without question. I don't think that by wearing minimalist footwear I'm changing the world, or doing anything important or meaningful, but it's reminded me to question things. Skepticism, like all skills, takes practice, and heading out the door each morning is both a question and an answer to a question, asked of me and of the world. "Why?"

And running smiley does the same thing. It questions the way things are normally done: running is hard, running is difficult, running is work. Running involves shoes and Garmins and VO2-Max negative-split repeats. Instead, we say: "Shoes? No shoes? Who the hell cares?" How long did I run? No, the question is, "How happy did I run?" Wine? Dr. Who? Capes and toddlers, one-hundred miles or once around the block, its all running, and it all can make you smile. More things should make you smile. Jason urges you to quit your job -- or at least question why you haven't. Wear a kilt when you run. Ignore everything the nice man at the running shop tells you about pronation and motion control shoes. Climb a tree. Run in the rain. This Collective is an encyclopedia of bad advice that turns out to be really good for you.

Why run smiley? Why WOULDN'T you?

Race Report: Naked Foot 5k, Grand Rapids MI

This was the smiliest race I've been to!  It was less about the race itself and more about the people who were there and the fun to be had!  I just had to share!  -Troy "BarefootRoot"

Photo Credit:  The last 2 photos here are courtesy of Johnny and Dee Jeffery!  You guys rock!


This past Sunday I attended the Merrell Naked Foot 5k in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  The early returns are already in from John Yohe and Johnny Jeffery, so we obviously saved the "best" for last.  The other guys had better photos though, so they get extra points for being awesome.  The event appears to have been a huge success, as I am told there were nearly 250 people in attendance!

I woke up at about 4:30AM to get ready.  Colleen and the kids had gotten home about 1:00AM from Grandpa and Grandma's house, so the car was still fully packed and I was glad I had given myself extra time to unload it.  Once emptied, I loaded up our massive double stroller.  The plan was that I would push the kids through the race since they had insisted on coming back so Mirei could run in the kids 1k fun run.  At 6:00AM I got the kids out of bed, got them dressed and hit the road at about 6:40AM.

The kids were extremely sleepy, since while they had slept a bit in the car the night before, they had only been in bed for about 5 hours when I roused them.  Oren fell asleep pretty quickly once we got going, but Mirei stayed awake, promising me she would be ready for her race (which she'd been talking about all week).  We rolled into Riverside Park in Grand Rapids at about 7:40AM to a sparse crowd of early birds.

Most of the sponsor booths were all set up, including Merrell, The Hadley Clinic, Gazelle Sports and what I believe was either Forest Hills Foods or Harvest Health Foods (Unfortunately that booth would stay pretty busy all morning and I never really got a chance to see exactly which it was).  There was also some tents where some massage therapists were setting up, but I never found out who they were nor was I able to actually take advantage of their services.

I wandered over to Scott Hadley's booth, where we chit-chatted and I got to meet Brandon Mulnix, a local ultra runner who had run 50 miles the day before with his jaw wired shut!  Dude's got cahones!  I made my best effort to plant myself and the kids in an open space near registration and to look conspicuous, but quickly realized I should have made a sign or something.  There were a lot of people filtering in, and while I knew a few people who were coming most of the folks I wanted to meet up with were unknowns.  This was a weird problem for me, as I can normally find my barefoot peeps at an event just by looking for the other 1-2 people with no shoes on, but EVERYBODY was either barefoot or in some kind of minimal shoe and the size of the crowd made it impossible to pick any faces out.  I would eventually hook up with John Yohe, Johnny Jeffery and his family, Ken Jones and Eric Cooper, but the other 4+ members of the Michigan Chapter were folks I just didn't know.

This is the load I had to push!

As the crowd got bigger and bigger, we began to get ready for the kids 1k.  Mirei had been complaining about the cold all morning, and still wasn't looking all that awake.  I had a bad feeling she wasn't up to it but she said she would run in it.  She insisted I run with her (while pushing Oren in the stroller), so we lined up in the back.  The gun went off for the kids and we headed out.  Mirei got off to a bad start, nearly walking through the starting gate, still complaining of the cold.  As the other kids left us in their dust she actually slowed to a walk, which made me really frustrated.  Colleen and I had gone to great lengths to make sure she was around to run in this race and she was totally flaking out on me.  Once we got into the sunshine she perked up and finished strong, but still finished pretty much last.  I was disappointed because I know how well she runs, but she just wasn't feeling it I guess and I had to let it go.

After the kids race we hung out and watched the 1 mile run, which had only a few participants (I think someone said there were 10-12 people in it).  It was a nice run topped off with a triumphant finish by a heavy lady who had run with a young girl.  She looked pretty happy to have finished and the crowd gave her a huge round of applause when she crossed the finish line.

Now for the main event: the 5k.  Johnny's wife Dee offered to watch the kids while I ran, but Mirei decided she had to ride in the stroller.  The others commented on how bumpy it would be and I could only shrug.  Since I was one of only 2 strollers there and the only double stroller, I made my way to the back where I lined up next to Barefoot Ken Bob Saxton, and we chatted for a moment while the race got underway.  The gate was way too small for the assembled crowd, and everyone kind of walked through the gate before taking off onto the course.

The first leg was grassy park lawn with large trees here and there.  I came out faster than many of the people ahead of me, so there was a lot of dodging people and trees until we hit the first section of paved bike trail.  The grass was wet and the ground was kind of squishy, making the stroller hard to push (not to mention I am terrified of running in grass because of what it could hide), so I was glad for some pavement to run on.  I settled into a pretty good pace, passing several people.  I was surprised to see the number of people running in traditional trainers, but quickly realized they were in a distinct minority.  That realization made me feel pretty damn good.

Whoever came up with the course did a good job of finding a good variety of surfaces, as we eventually turned back off the bike path and onto the lawn once more.  This stretch led down by the Grand River and took us through some squishy mud.  It felt good to tromp through the stuff, but the stroller wasn't playing nice with the surface.  After a little more lawn area we got back up on the bike path and crossed a timber decked bridge, so I was making sure to watch for protruding nails or anything that said "splinter" on it.  The course would eventually turn off onto a road, requiring some careful negotiation of the concrete curb-stops along the edge of the road (my stroller was far too wide and I needed to slow down and lift the back wheels over the blocks).

I was keeping a pretty steady pace, moving pretty quickly considering I was pushing nearly 100 pounds of kid and stroller.  I was dismayed to learn that the back half of the course would be back on the grass though.  I kept hoping for some more pavement but never got any.

I did my best to hold the pace I had at the halfway point, slowly persistence-hunting the people in front of me while I barreled through the wet grass and mushy ground.  The stroller was bouncing all over the place and my legs were burning.  Anyone who's ever run while pushing a stroller knows that it's about twice as hard as running alone.  Add grass and soft ground to the equation and it's closer to ten times more difficult than running solo.  Eventually my legs would get the better off me and I would walk for about a minute.  I can't remember the last time I walked in a 5k, but there I was.  I wasn't feeling all that impressive, but I knew I needed some rest if I wanted to finish strong.

The course would wind around some baseball fields and around the parking lot before heading into the final stretch to the finish line.  Once I had it in my sights I told the kids to hang on and went for an all-out sprint to the finish, determined to pass at least a couple more people.  With the stroller catching air off every root and my legs flying beneath me the crowd cheered as the stroller and I flew across the finish line in just over 30 minutes.  As hard as the run had been I was all smiles at the finish, knowing I was the only one bold enough (or stupid enough) to tackle the course with the kind of load I was pushing.

When all was said and done, there was plenty of mingling with all my barefoot friends, comparing notes on the course, finish times, and how many shoddies we saw.  Many of us would head over for a clinic by Jason Robillard while the kids finally got out of the stroller to go play.  Jason said he'd been working to simplify his teaching method, and his ABC's method certainly accomplished that well.  It was well worth seeing.

Left to right: Me, Scott, Ken, John, Jason and Johnny.  Yes, that pose is mandatory!

After the clinic we tried to gather as many of our Michigan Chapter members as we could, and managed to get myself, John, Johnny, Ken Jones, Scott and Jason into a fun group photo.  Meeting Jason was a great thing for me, as he complimented me on my efforts as Michigan Chapter President.  It feels real good to have one of the guys you look up to give you the thumbs-up.  Afterward we all headed for our cars, and on the way got another photo-op with Ken Bob, which was also an honor.  I consider him an honorary Michigan Chapter member as he grew up here.  I'm not sure what kinds of questions he gets from the people he meets, but the one thing I asked him was where exactly he was from (he mentions the Traverse City area in his book) and was pleased to learn he was from Grawn, a little town I remember because my mom and dad grew up in nearby towns themselves.  When I mentioned my dad was from Mesick he said "yeah, it makes Mesick too..." and went on to say "The main thing I remember is playing my only night game in pee wee baseball there and getting hit in the face by a pitch."

Left to right: Johnny, Ken Bob, Ken, John and Me

After the final photos were taken we all headed for our cars.  We all had a great time and met a lot of great people we had spoken to online but had never met in person.  It was definitely a great way to recharge the batteries as far as my duties as Chapter Prez.  Being able to see all those guys in one place and having such a good time makes it all worthwhile.

Running with the Doctor

[Also published on http://barefootkatiek.blogspot.com/]


Yesterday I ran with the "Doctor", my "Doctor".

Let me first explain, I am a category one British Nerd.  As a consequence I am a fan of Doctor Who - let's add Torchwood too (except for this year, but that's a whole difference essay).

Yesterday, was the first episode of the second half of the sixth season.  Yep, it doesn't make sense to any of us either, but let's just say there are quite a few of us [Category One Nerds] who were pretty excited about it.  So many questions, so many plots... Do they kill Hitler? Do they find Melody? Does RiverSong come back? Will Amy become all lame-arse because she is now a "Mother"? The usual life-death questions.

So in celebration for, 1) I can now run and 2) Doctor Who was back, I made an effort to run with the "Doctor" yesterday.  I have a pretty eclectic play-list on my ipod and it get's weirder every year. I do run without music on the technical trails. If I do wear my iPod, it's usually on an easy, well-known trail.  I usually only have one earbud in and it's on very low.  I can still hear my footfalls.  It's more of a background beat than anything I consciously listen to.  Quite often it set's the mood of what could be a mundane run.  I have my warm-up music (Bowie) and I have my fartlek music (currently Arcade fire and the Killers).  I have my mental reset music (snow patrol).  I have my happy music (Noah and the Whale and Mumford and Sons). I also have a fantasy tune.  This is a fast sprint with a grin - where I run with the biggest smile and as I quick as I can.  It's a narrow margin if I don't kill myself as I fall over a tree root.

It's this:

It's called "I am the Doctor" and it's the 11th Doctor's theme tune.  I do not have any other orchestral music on my iPod except this, but this is one of my favourite tracks.  When this comes on, I run over my bit of trail as fast as I can.  I pretend there are aliens in the sky and that the sky is a funny shade of purple.  I imagine that we are being chased and shot at. I dash from bush to tree and try to hide from deadly ray blasts. I see explosions and debris flying in the air.  For 4 minutes I am transported and I am running for my life.  I skip and I dance over the roots and gravel and if I had a "sonic screwdriver" I am sure there would be a few trees without leaves and quite a few squirrels scared "poo-less".

This is my unbidden fun track.  I know that no-one would understand what's going in my head when this comes on, but that's fine.

So yesterday I ran from the Soltaran, the Darleks and the Cybermen.  Okay, my knee didn't like it and I developed a kick-arse blister on my funky toe.  My 3 mile run only ended up being 2 miles before I accepted defeat.  However I DO NOT care.  I got to play this and for 4 minutes I was 7 years old and hiding behind the sofa, imagining what it would be like to be with "Doctor Who" on his travels in the TARDIS.  I was having the best time.  Many people would count the fact I had a "technically" bad run as something to be upset about.  I don't - I got to run with the "Doctor".

So, Run. Basically Run.

[Note: Fantastic episode last night.  Just want to know, WTF happened to Hitler? Is he still locked in the cupboard?]

Race Report: Steve's Raider Stomp, Decatur, MI

Having taken the week off due to sore feet, running a race may not have been the best decision in the world. However, this particular race would attract a bunch of my buddies from the Beyond marathon training group (Piper, Carolyn, Brent, Ginny, Frank and Angie) so I was willing to throw caution to the wind. It would turn out to be a grew morning and I'm glad I was there.

Steve's Raider Stomp is a charity race for the local track and cross-country teams in Decatur, and is a memorial for one of their outstanding student athletes who had died in a car accident a few years back. It's run by my friend Bob Smola, who was my group pace leader during the Beyond Marathon Training Program put on by the Kalamazoo Area Runners, and I was determined to show my support. The race included a 5k walk, 5k run and a 10k run. I thought about doing the 10k but since I had taken all week off I figured I would be better off with the shorter distance. It was a pretty small event and rumor had it there were around 400 participants between all 3 races (the 5k had 104 finishers).

Heading for Decatur, I was a bit nervous about the weather because there were some nasty thunderstorms rolling through north of Paw Paw (the town so nice they named it twice!). I wasn't too worried about rain, since I enjoy running in wet conditions, but lightning is where I draw the line. Fortunately the weather would hold for us and we wouldn't see a single drop of rain.

I met up with my friends outside the high school gym where they were handling registration. Checking in was super smooth, possibly due to the smallish number of racers, and took maybe 2 minutes. I went out and visited with my friends for a few minutes while getting my number pinned on and after a quick jog to the car to drop off my race shirt I headed for the starting line with the others. We met up with Bob briefly on our way over and got in some hugs and "how ya been!" before his duties as race director took him away. It was great to see him and the others. The summer running has been lonely since the marathon back in May.

The course started on the road near the high school and headed kind of northwesterly in a nice loop on country and neighborhood roads. Most of the roads were older chip seal surfaces. I figure they were probably done in the last couple years, as they weren't as rough as a road done this year, but were rough enough that they were slightly uncomfortable. My runs on the Kal-Haven Trail, Al Sabo and the trails in Marquette last week had prepared me well for the surface though, so it didn't really slow me down. Six months ago I'm not sure I could have handled it without I affecting my performance.

The roads were completely closed off, which was nice as runners weren't crowded into a bike lane or anything. It allowed a lot of people to hug the inside of the curves, which is something I didn't really consider, and I'm sure many runners were able to shave a few seconds here and there by staying inside. I would later wish I'd done it myself, but I'll get to that in a bit. At one point I did have a car behind me, but the fire chief was ahead making sure the road was clear for runners and he stopped to chew out whoever it was that was nipping my heels with their car.

The aid stations were well manned and the drinks were nice and big. I went out of my way to thank everyone for being there, even the spectators, as I hadn't been as good about that lately as I'd like. My last two races were ones where I had concentrated on speed and I had really gotten away from my usual crowd-cheering self. It was nice to get back to that. Almost everyone I thanked also thanked me for running the race which felt good. The crowds weren't the thickest I'd seen, but they were a good crowd regardless and their positive energy kept me running a brisk pace.

I had planned to stop and take pictures, but because the field was so small I thought I had a chance to medal if I ran it hard, so I didn't stop to take any. I did stop once though at about 1.5 miles in when I saw a kid who must have been around 13 stop at the side of the road. It looked like he was spitting water out, since he still had a cup from the aid station, or maybe was getting some loogies out. Other runners just kept running past him. As I approached though it was obvious he was throwing up, and as a parent I just have this instinctive urge to help when I see a kid vomiting. I stopped and said "dude, are you ok?". He nodded and waved me on before unloading his digestive system again. I was still a bit concerned and said "is there anyone I can call for you?". He shook his head and waved me on. In the meantime about 10 people passed us and I don't think any of them even slowed down. Savages. Anyway, after waving me on the second time I gave up. "I hope you feel better" I said and headed back into the pack. I probably lost a half minute, if not more, from my finish but I didn't care. I was worried he wouldn't make it back in.

Getting back in I focused on keeping a couple young girls in my sights. I was trying to persistence-hunt them down, but my week off was keeping me a little winded and it was all I could do to keep my pace. They would stay just out of reach until the finish line.

At about 2.5 miles the race turned off the chip seal and onto a gravel road/driveway. There was a course marshall there who gave me a friendly "barefoot eh? This should get interesting!". I gave him a friendly laugh and said "yeah, we'll see!". The gravel was pretty rough, but there was a nice semi-mowed grassy strip along the road which I ran in. It made me super nervous because grass hides a lot of potential dangers for barefooters, but I bore down and kept pace, even passing some people who'd slowed down on the gravel. Eventually we crossed someones lawn and headed into some brush-hogged field and then onto a gravel two-track. There was no grassy shoulder on the two-track, so I just bore down and ran it as lightly as possible. There was a very slight hill here and I passed a few people, but they would overtake me again once we got back on chip seal.

After a few hundred feet on the chip seal we crossed a gravel approach onto Decatur high school's new track. It was that weird spongy stuff that I don't think a shoddie would take much notice of, but that reminded me of running in shoes again. There was a lot more friction and the give of the surface felt really strange. Bob was at the PA calling out names and numbers as they ran by and he gave me a big "way to go, Troy!" as I headed by before calling my name and number over the PA. I kept my brisk pace over most of the track, as I didn't have a ton left in the tank: I'd left most of it out on the course. Once I got around the bend and had a nice straight-away to the finish I kicked into sprint gear and finished as hard as I could. I managed to catch and pass not only a couple people who had passed me on the chip seal but the two girls I'd had in my sights for half the race.

I finished with a respectable 26:03, about 12 seconds off my personal best of 25:51. Later I would lament that if I'd hugged the turns tighter (I'd stayed on the outside where it was less crowded) and not stopped for that kid (although I don't think I would have actually done anything different in that situation) I may have been able to shave another minute off my time, which would have set a new best. It wouldn't have helped my standing though, as the 3 guys in my age group who beat me were all running around a 7:00 mile, and there was a 3:30 difference between me and the number 3 guy. I'd hang around the finish to get pictures of my friends finishing, which was cool. I actually got some pretty good shots!

Carolyn's last 5k finish before knee surgery!

Piper finishing strong on Decatur's new track

The kid who had been sick back at mile 1.5 would finish a couple minutes behind me, which was good.  When I saw him I gave him a "way to go!" and a "glad you're feeling better!"  he gave me a nod, but otherwise got a bottle of water and walked away.  Wasn't the nicest kid in the world, but I was glad he made it back ok.


The race swag and food would be yet another highlight of the event. As soon as you cross the finish line there was someone there with a cold wet towel (which felt great!) and a bottle of water. The next station had popsicles and a table of cool swag. The volunteer said "take whatever you want!" and we were stunned. There were water bottles, coolers, bags, golf towels and I think a couple other things. I grabbed a cooler and a golf towel and headed towards the results board and food tables with my friends (who had finished the 5k anyway... Ginny, Frank and Angie were all running the 10k).

The food was awesome! There were a fee varieties of muffins, which had to be some of the best I'd had in a long time. I even took one home for with my lunch and one for my wife (with the volunteer's blessing, of course). They also had fresh watermelon, apples, plums and peaches. Since Decatur is on the edge of fruit farm country, I assume the melon, peaches and plums were all fresh picked and local. Did I mention they were awesome? The plums were huge and juicy and the peaches were great as well.

My friend Piper placed 3rd in her division!

The medals were very nice, and some of us actually medalled! Piper would take 3rd in age group for the 5k while Angie and Ginny would take 1st in their respective age groups. The overall winners got some gorgeous glass trophies. They also had photographers taking pictures of the division and overall winners which were ready in about 5 minutes! I've never seen that before!

All in all this was a great event. It was small enough that you had a chance to medal as long as you gave it a good effort, and the food and swag were more superb considering the race only cost $17 to enter. The volunteers were great and everything was well done. Bob had put together quite an event and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun, fast race where anybody has a decent chance to bring home some hardware. My only reservation would be for other barefooters: the chip seal and gravel areas would be pretty bad if I hadn't been running on similar surfaces all summer. Some huaraches or minshoes would be recommended if you aren't used to rough surfaces.

My (abbreviated) Story

I was born a BFR. I was a BFR until I was about 1.5 yrs. old.

In HS, I ran XC, but not BF. I was on JV. I was slow. I always wanted to run a 26.2.

Then I got married. Then we had kids. We raised them. I still wanted to do a 26.2.

I had dreams of a BQ someday. So I got a GF305 with a HRM to monitor my MHR, log my LSDs, and PRs. I studied the BQTs for my AG. I XT'ed. I worked to increase my VO2Max. I started a BLOG.

But every time I ran 10K or more, I got injured. ITBS in one leg. PF in the other foot. Always DOMS. Lots of RICE. Had my first DNF due to a hamstring pull.

Then I read "BTR". Then I became a MR. Bought 3 pair VFF, and huarches. No more ITBS, or PF, or even DOMS!

But I did TMTS, got TOPF. But ignored it. Ran 5K race. SFX, 2nd Metatarsal. 3 months off.

Then I became a BFR again, 50 years after the first time. I didn't do TMTS. After 1 yr. I can run at least 18K BF with no pain. Happy BFR.

Then I learned about Run:) I joined the RSC. Happy, :)ly BFR. BQ? Who cares.

The End (for now).