Your Race Reports, Stories, and Pictures are Wanted!

Barefoot TJ

Administrator
Staff member
Mar 5, 2010
21,467
7,012
113
If you have any race reports, stories, or pictures with articles you would like to share with the BRS members, please email them to me at [email protected]. These stories will appear on the home page of the BRS. We appreciate your contributions! -TJ
 
Hi,

we are preparing a national meeting of barefoot runners in Spain next February. Could it be eligible for a cronicle/review? Convention, workshops etc...Also a race barefoot/minimalist is included.

Other question: Can anyone let us know what are the requisites to become /create the Spain chapter? Thanks again.
 
Hi EN,

We would love to have a report and pictures from you about Spain's national barefoot running meetup to share with our members. It most definitely is eligible.

Don't forget about International Barefoot Running Day on Sunday, May 5, this year. We would love to see Spain involved.

If you have the dates, details, and any links, we would also love to share that with our Calendar and members. We can also help you get the word out via our main Facebook and Twitter pages.

For the race with a barefoot/minimalist runner division, we also have a Stomp of Approval I can send to you.

For a Spain Chapter (or any new chapter) to be created, we will need to show the potential for growth. I think once your national Spain meetup is completed, and we see how the turn out is, we can talk more about that then. How's this sound?

If you are interested in any of these prospects, please email me at [email protected].

In the meantime, please feel free to join the Nomad Chapter, of which I am the only member at present. :)

Thanks!
 
Wish me luck! I am running barefoot for the first time in a race! Tomorrow - Saturday May 30, 2015 - Thanks!
Good luck and have fun! :barefoot: Give us your report when you're finished, and some pictures, for a home page article, please.
 
I'm running the Greenway 2020 10K in Los Angeles this Sunday, November 8th (2015). Wonder if I'll be the only barefooter there...
Have fun! Share a report!
 
Have fun! Share a report!

Well, as promised, here's my humble dispatch:

Yesterday I barefooted the Greenway 2020 10K in Los Angeles. It was a mostly paved, flat course, that ran along the LA "River" in support of turning the aforementioned waterway into 50 miles of wilder, more recreationally-minded space. It began at the Ferraro Soccer Fields, coursed along the bike path, crossed Los Feliz Blvd. and doubled back along the opposite side of the concrete wash -- I mean, LA River -- and finally wended its way through Atwater Village to end at Golden Road Brewery.

At the starting line, I saw exactly zero other barefooters. None. Just little ol' me and my tootsies. Got some strange looks, but that was about all. I carried on my back a hydration pack that I removed the bladder from so I could carry my running sandals (Shammas), just in case I hit some bad asphalt. But the bike path for the first three-to-four miles was fairly smooth and pleasantly glass-free.

(Side note: despite the lovely day, I spent much of the run zoomed in on the ground in front of me so as not to destroy my feet on something sharp. Anyone else do this and miss the scenery?)

I was feeling great as I crossed the Los Feliz Bridge and headed towards the other side of the river. Unfortunately, what had been a good surface quickly deteriorated into eroded asphalt -- cracked, broken, and super-sharp. I contemplated a stop and a switch to my sandals, but decided to tough it out. Thankfully, for part of this stretch (about a mile) there was a soft, dirt path to the right of the asphalt -- primarily for horses -- so I moved onto that. For the other half-mile, I just gritted my teeth on the tarmac and kept on.

The course map had indicated that we'd be heading down this stretch and looping back up it, before turning into the neighborhood, but when we got to the end of the line, we were diverted into the city streets. (Methinks there was a last-minute change made!)

But the newly-paved city streets were a blessing to my feet and the remainder of the run was smooth-sailing. Plus, every finisher got a free beer!

I think in retrospect what was billed as a 10K was more like an 8.5K. The half-marathoners I spoke to attested to their course being short by about .6 miles. I wasn't wearing a Garmin, so I don't know. But I also don't care.

In January 2015, I started running. Traditional footwear, too much too soon, etc. By April I had a stress-fracture in my knee.

By June, I'd finished 'Born To Run' and transitioned to a completely barefoot lifestyle (except in stores -- and then I'm minimalist). So to be able to finish this run was more than just one race. I really feel like I've achieved something, albeit a small something.

I appreciate having a forum in which to share it. Thanks for reading!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tedlet
Nice report jjb.
Congratulations both on finishing the 10k (give or take), & not resorting to the Shammas of course, and also on your achievement since the start of the year... Definitely a well earned free beer!:cool:
 
  • Like
Reactions: jjb
Nice report jjb.
Congratulations both on finishing the 10k (give or take), & not resorting to the Shammas of course, and also on your achievement since the start of the year... Definitely a well earned free beer!:cool:

Thanks Tedlet. My next goal is a barefoot half marathon -- possibly in March.