I am founder trustee of an Indian NGO by name "Barefoot Runners of India Foundation (BRIF)," whose aim is to promote barefoot running. BRIF is conducting the first ever Barefoot Half Marathon on 12th December, 2010, near Bombay in India.
There will be 300 runners, who will all run totally barefoot - no shoes, no sandals, no foot-gloves, no FiveFingers, for all the 21.1 km of the half marathon. In fact these boys relish running barefoot and wear shoes only reluctantly, if forced by trainers. Many of them had never used footwear entire life. They feel they can run faster barefoot. All these 300 runners hail from a single district in India. There are 600 plus districts in India, many of them with more hilly and rugged terrain. So we are sure, when we expand the scope of this run next year, we will harvest a good crop of the Indian Tarahumara.
This being the world's first barefoot half marathon run, we are also recording our claim with Guinness World Records under the category "Largest Barefoot Half Marathon". There is a retail sponsorship scheme, in which anyone can sponsor a runner by paying $50 at http://www.barefootrunnersindia.org/yesiwanttohelp.html
On facebook, we are available at www.facebook.com/barefootrunnersindia
I got this idea of barefoot marathon when I was running Marathon to Athens on October 31, 2010. There’s a statue of Pheidippedes on the route. As marathoners, we are all duplicating his miles. Are we imitating his style? Just look at his feet!
There will be 300 runners, who will all run totally barefoot - no shoes, no sandals, no foot-gloves, no FiveFingers, for all the 21.1 km of the half marathon. In fact these boys relish running barefoot and wear shoes only reluctantly, if forced by trainers. Many of them had never used footwear entire life. They feel they can run faster barefoot. All these 300 runners hail from a single district in India. There are 600 plus districts in India, many of them with more hilly and rugged terrain. So we are sure, when we expand the scope of this run next year, we will harvest a good crop of the Indian Tarahumara.
This being the world's first barefoot half marathon run, we are also recording our claim with Guinness World Records under the category "Largest Barefoot Half Marathon". There is a retail sponsorship scheme, in which anyone can sponsor a runner by paying $50 at http://www.barefootrunnersindia.org/yesiwanttohelp.html
On facebook, we are available at www.facebook.com/barefootrunnersindia
I got this idea of barefoot marathon when I was running Marathon to Athens on October 31, 2010. There’s a statue of Pheidippedes on the route. As marathoners, we are all duplicating his miles. Are we imitating his style? Just look at his feet!
