On Saturday, 9/11/2010, I ran my first 'official' half marathon barefoot! It was a nice accomplishment for me, in that I met both of two goals for the race, and one goal for the year (to run a HM). My goals for the race were to run it all barefoot, and within a 9 min/mile pace. I completed the 13.4 miles (it was a few 10ths longer than a certified HM) in 1:53:58, which is about a 8:30 min/mile pace. Another nice thing is there were no ill effects for my feet, although my old soles were ready to be done at the finish line.
As expected, there were lots of comments and questions, but fortunately, none were negative. I've begun to preface anything I say with, "It takes some time to get used to, but ..." then I explain why I like BFR, or why I started and how it's helped me. I said that quite a few times that day.
No one else was running barefoot, but two other guys were wearing VFFs. They were each running the full marathon, and doing fairly well, by the looks of it. I didn't get to talk to either of them, except to say, "Great shoes!" to one at the starting line.
As expected, there were lots of comments and questions, but fortunately, none were negative. I've begun to preface anything I say with, "It takes some time to get used to, but ..." then I explain why I like BFR, or why I started and how it's helped me. I said that quite a few times that day.
No one else was running barefoot, but two other guys were wearing VFFs. They were each running the full marathon, and doing fairly well, by the looks of it. I didn't get to talk to either of them, except to say, "Great shoes!" to one at the starting line.