The International Barefoot Running Day that we have come to know and love over its last ten editions has been cancelled. With Coronavirus still raging in many parts of the world and with countries everywhere in various stages of lockdown, bringing people together physically in celebration of barefoot running would not be helpful (or, in many cases, legal). But that doesn’t mean that barefoot running (or walking, hiking, climbing, whatever) stops. Connecting ourselves to the earth, to nature and to our primal selves is an incredibly important act, offering us immense physical and mental health benefits. With the world in turmoil and our overall wellbeing under unaccustomed stress, it’s never been more important to kick off our shoes and get out there (safely and responsibly).

So this year, International...

The Barefoot Autism Challenge is here! Many people who are autistic prefer being barefoot because they feel like they are not constricted by shoes and socks, and they feel aware of all that’s around them.

To take part in this year's BAC, all you have to do is post a picture or video of your walking barefoot and then share why you advocate for someone who is autistic. And if you don't know, your post will show others that you support those who are autistic.

This year we're doing themed weekly challenges and you can be eligible to win a Barefoot Autism Challenge decal! Each week will have different rules on how to win. Remember to use #barefootautismchallenge when doing your posts.

Check out these weekly challenges!

Two Kelowna women will run 500 kilometres barefoot along the coast of Vancouver Island on June 21.

Savannah Holmes and Asha Tremblay hope to set a new world record to raise awareness and funds for Enhance Humanity Uganda.

The charity takes teens from the most impoverished slums in Uganda and gives them the opportunity to transform their lives through a leadership education program.

Neither Holmes or Tremblay have ever run more than 25 kilometres with their shoes on, so they're anticipating it will be a painful challenge.

• YouTube Orientation Video:

• Follow their journey from beginning to end here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvN9N2Fk-6CHDRhFE9ix-Nw

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This is what we're talking about in another thread, if you'd like to comment as well (here or there): https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/threads/barefootcrew5k.22743/

Anything you all want to do for IBRD is fine.

I've asked before and received no solid ideas (thanks to the 2 or 3 who commented) and no volunteers to organize it, so we're probably just going to have a "virtual" IBRD for this year like we did last year. I understand it's still difficult in some places around the world due to lock downs and virus variants popping up (we're told) to actually pull off get-togethers too.

I wanted to use this guy as our virtual mascot for 2021 on the tee shirt, but we need someone to create the artwork for the tee shirts (running out of time) to go with it. (The artwork basically has the name of the event, the date, and maybe the web address on it.)


We'll...