Here comes my report:
It was the second year we hosted a barefoot running workshop in Marburg.
The event had been announced approx. six weeks before IBRD via the
website of Marburg Running School (MRS).
Including the two instructors - me an my co-coach Tabea - we were 16 people meeting at the public stadium of Marburg at 11 a.m.. Weather was sunny, but rather chilly (maybe 11°C at the beginning). Nine participants were female, seven were male. Their ages ranged between 21 and 56 years.
Twelve participants had attended the regular training of MRS for a longer (1-2 years) or shorter (some weeks) period and therefore were in principal already familiar with the basic concept of barefoot running. The other four attendants had come across the event via the german Runner's World Community and had (nearly) no previous experience with unshod running.
Therefore, it was quite a mixed group we had to serve.
I tried to give a general introduction by mentioning the anatomic and evolutionary aspects implicating that barefoot running is the standard method of moving forward for humans. Also, I gave some tips how to start as smooth as possible and how to avoid painful mistakes (e.g. bf running in the cold, in the dark; problems with rough surfaces/rocks/glass;, etc.) This part was followed by a demostration of the elements of good running technique (upright upper body; avoiding lateral movements; high step frequency) by co-coach Tabea. It included some workout to optimize co-ordination and strength. For the more experienced barefooters, this may have served as a compact summary of things most of them had already realized during our weekly trainings.
Then, we started a short "question and answer" part, giving beginners the chance to profit from the MRS barefooters' experience. One aspect was how to combine barefoot running and race running, so we tried to oppose the influences potentially making barefooters faster (reduced moving mass; more precise foot landing; utilization of elastic recoil) with the ones making them slower (increased pressure in some areas of the sole; friction when running downhill; slippery surfaces).
Around 12:20 pm, we had some refreshment drinks at my car on the stadium's parking lot, and then went for the barefoot run which took us about 5 miles along the river Lahn on paved cycleways. Of course, the "old" barefooters ran all the way barefoot, while the newbies did between 1 and 4 miles without shoes. Shoes were carried in ultra-light backpacks, provided by a German health-insurance company.
The event ended at 1:30 p.m. with consuming the remaining refreshment drinks and eating some cake home-made by one of my MRS guys.
Especially during the barefoot run, we had very good conversation. In the end, the novices stated essentially that barefoot running is much eysier than they had thought. Two of them announced they will join the weekly barefoot running group of MRS.
And I hope, then I will be able to convince them also of joining the BRS.
All the best,
Martin
)
