DQed for Running in Bare Feet! By Janice Nicholls

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DQed for Running in Bare Feet!By Janice Nicholls
Well, it has been a day. I have been racing in triathlons since 1995. My first race was in Barrie, Ontario (where I had a panic attack and near drowning experience in the swim) and today I returned to Barrie for the first time since then to race again. And I got disqualified for running in bare feet.

Turns out there is a rule about bare feet in triathlon. I've never read all the rules -- there is a top 10 list provided on the Ontario Association of Triathletes website, but I've not read through the full set of rules. Until today. That's when I found the rules that got me the DQ.

"6. RUNNING CONDUCT:
6.1. General Rules:
a.) The athletes will:
....(iv) Not run without shoes or run barefoot on any part of the course;"

These rules are the one that triathlons sactioned by the Ontario Association of Triathletes (OAT) must follow. They come from the International Triathlon Union.

I have to say that I am feeling pretty down about having a DQ by my name. In the results, I'm listed at the end. My husband and I had to look through the rest of the results to see where I would have ranked without the DQ. Turns out it was pretty good. Seventh out of 22 women in my age group. I was pretty happy about that. I was also extremely happy about my swim. 700m in open water and I never once got scared. That's an absolute first for me. After my bad experience in 1995, I was afraid of open water. I've worked really hard to overcome this fear and I think I've finally done it.

My daughter raced in the Kids of Steel category and she did awesome. She's just 10, yet her per kilometre run time was faster than mine. She didn't get a DQ because she wore her Vibrams. Smart girl:)

I'm still trying to figure out how to frame this DQ. It's never happened to me before. I'm feeling less down after chatting with my husband. After all, I did the race and I raced well. My swim was the best experience I've ever had in open water. My bike was fast for me. My run was good too, although the pavement was quite rough and had I known that ahead of time, I would have worn the Vibrams! I think he's right in that a DQ doesn't really matter -- it's just about how I did the race.

The next question is where to go from here. Clearly I violated the rules. There was a 16-year-old also in bare feet. She mustn't have been caught by an official, however, because she didn't get DQed. My husband looked through photos online of the race and spotted someone last year in bare feet, noted his number, looked at his results and found out he wasn't DQed. I imagine that's sort of like being mad about getting a ticket when others were speeding and getting away with it.

I chatted briefly with a couple of people at the race and was told I could challenge the DQ at a cost of $50. I can't find anything about the $50 on the OAT website, but the guidelines for appeal are lengthy and I don't think it's worth it. I've decided that instead, I will write a letter to OAT and the International Triathlon Union protesting the rule and requesting that it be changed. I'm also writing a letter to Triathlon Magazine Canada about the issue. After all, the evidence in favour of barefoot running is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. With publications such as "Barefoot Running Step by Step," by Barefoot Ken Bob Saxton and Roy M. Wallack, "The Barefoot Book," by Daniel Howell PhD, and "Born to Run," by Christopher McDougall, barefoot running is spreading. For it to be disallowed in the run portion of the triathlon is borderline ridiculous. If it's healthier for my knees and hips and my feet are trained for it, I should not be forced to wear shoes -- something I know is far less heatlhy for me.

I am really hoping I can get some support from the running and triathlon community to get this rule changed. If you are up for it, please write to Triathlon Magazine Canada, the International Triathlon Union or the Ontario Association of Triathlete in support of removing that rule. I've listed all the addresses below.

Barefoot running is here to stay. The triathlon community needs to wake up and recognize that.

Triathlon Magazine Canada
Unit 510, 344 Bloor Street West
Toronto ON M5S 3A7
or
PO Box 819, Station Main
Markham ON L3P 8L3

International Triathlon Union (ITU)
#221, 998 Harbourside Dr.,
North Vancouver, BC,
Canada, V7P 3T2

Ontario Association of Triathletes
3 Concorde Gate,
Suite 205,
Toronto, Ontario
M3C 3N7



http://www.chasingbarefootjoy.blogspot.com/
 
That's a massive bummer. I think you're taking the right approach looking at the race as a positive anyway, seeing how you would have placed and ignoring that DQ (which would be easier said than done for me). After all, we do this for fun. Right?

I've done one tri here in Hawaii where I remember the rules specifically saying, "You must wear shoes" and I've done tris where I've seen barefooters out on the course. Guess it's a case-by-race (see what I did there?) basis. I race in my VFFs.

I'll write in too. There is no good reason for the rule to be on the books.

Race hard! Keep on swimming.
 
that rule is useless and unjustified. It should be fought against and i'd love to hear why it is there at all.

The bad part is that fighting the DQ is probably futile since the rule stands and a rule is a rule as long as it is in effect. Hoever it should be taken out of the reglement at the earliest possible.

How are such rules created... Many questions...

Keep the good part in mind and take the challenge further!
 
It sounds like besides the DQ the day was a resounding success. I would be fuming about the DQ so I think you are handling it quite well. I will be sure to write a letter. It seems so weird that you were singled out.
 
No such rule in USA Triathlons! http://assets.teamusa.org/assets/documents/attached_file/filename/28818/usatcr.pdf

I think you should be arguing to the Ontario Tri Board that based on the rule language you quoted, it looks like everyone should have been disqualified! I haven't seen anyone wear anything on their feet during the swim and they exit/run into transition BAREFOOT! You aren't allowed to ride your bike in transition and many athletes run out barefoot because their shoes are already clipped to their pedals! After the ride, many leave their shoes attached to their bike and run back into transition barefoot. In most races, there are more sharp and dangerous objects scattered about in transition than on the run course.
 
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Very good points, Pete, that she should bring up to them. -TJ
 
I'm a long time runner and triathlete. I haven't done any triathlons in the last year or so as I've been focusing on my barefoot running. I'm going to send a letter to all these addresses to hopefully get this rediculous law taken out.
 
This reminds me of the days when women weren't allowed to participate in marathons. It eventually changed but not before some women had to endure the consequences of the narrow-minded thinking -- as you did. Sorry you had to pay the price for being one of the pioneers.
 
Janice
Here in Alberta the same thing is happening. A friend of mine was DQed for barefoot running in the Chinook Half Ironman in Calgary. I am hoping he will come and tell his story.
 
...their reasoning for the ban. It looks like a relic rule, kind of knee-jerk wording and sentiment.

In my opinion, people who opt to participate in such a race are already accepting a big chunk of liability on their shoulders. What's a little more? (if you ascribe to the belief that BF is more dangerous.) Or maybe they feel that BF is an unfair advantage!

But Janice, your attitude sets a good example for us all. You can't control the world but you can control how you respond to it. Good for you!
 
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Dear Triathlonmagazine.canada,I want to call you to task a bit to reconsider the triathalon rule prohibiting Barefoot Running.Isn't the world a little farther along than that? Legitimate research and many happy healthy runners throughout the world now bear witness to the legitimacy of Barefoot Running.If nothing else, leave it to the discretion of your atheletes, who know the risks and benefits better, and for whom the added liability, if any, would be negligable.Please give this matter some consideration. It might even be the basis for a timely and important article!Thank you!Sincerely,Joseph Christopher
 
Janice, you have a great attitude about the race. It IS more important that you did well in the race rather than what THEY think of your running barefoot. However, that does suck to have a DQ next to your name. I plan to write to them as well. I hope that even if your DQ is not overturned, that we still get them to wake up to the new reality that barefoot runners are part of the general running/racing community and we are not going away! I hope to hear on the BRS site that they change their minds.
 
Well, it isn't really fair after all, you're running unhindered by footwear, and competing against all those other folks whose running technique is almost certainly negatively affected by their footwear to some degree....

Just kidding, competition should be about finding the best way for you to run naturally, without using any assistive devices that give you an unfair advangage. I wouldn't call running shoes, "assistive", but certainly bare feet are not assistive, their a natural part of our bodies. Obviously the rules are not reasonable, and rules should be based on reason, not ignorance.

Have fun,

-barefoot ken bob
 
At an event I just did held by Merrell, they asked a couple of questions of everyone who wanted to run barefoot. Basically, they wanted to know that you had been running BFF/MR for at least 6 months prior to the race or they wouldn't let you do it. As much as I want to push for barefoot rights, I don't want someone who read Born to Run YESTERDAY to go out there and try and run a tri, and hopefully neither does anyone else. Make sure your articles, letters, and posts give them the option to account for that and I think you'll be better served.
 
In the beginning, Merrell wouldn't even let barefoot runners in their Barefoot Runner Division in their Mud Runs, but after some of us posted here about it, then I contacted Jason and he had a sit-down with them, they changed their minds and now allow us in their races. That's a start.

Jason wrote a really cool article about this on the home page.

Now to your comment, Andy, do we ask shod runners if they have ran more than six months before they enter an event? No. Should we? What they are wearing on their feet is damaging to them just as much, or more so, than a new barefoot runner who may not have developed a good healthy form for themselves.
 
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I pretty strongly disagree, but that's ok, it's your forum. There's a very different correlation between having never run barefoot and trying to push out 3 miles your first time out and having walked in shoes presumably your entire life and trying to run, even for the first time, for 3 miles.
 
And of course you know I disagree...on two counts. This is not MY forum. It's yours and mine and everyone's. :)
 
Id imagine the rules is there less for the safety of the runners, and more for the 'unfair advantage' running barefoot could give you. However the wording does seem to be a little unspecific as Barefoot Pete points out. Its certainly worth following up with them, however id not bother contesting the the DQ.
 
I'm planning on doing a duathlon next spring and I love the idea of going BF, using a recumbent, and being DQ on both legs :)

But I currently only do grass sprints true BF so would have some work to do to drop the Vivos.