Gebre Gebremarian NYC Marathon Winner is a Barefoot Runner

pbarker

Barefooters
Sep 19, 2010
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Gebre Gebremarian now famous for winning the NYC marathon last Sunday, also won the 2002 title of Junior World Cross Country Championship after losing one shoe then kicking off the other to win barefoot.



“I lost my shoe at the start of the race,” said Gebremarian, who didn’t reveal whether it had been clawed off by another runner or just by the spongy surface, which had got noticeably more muddy from Saturday after some overnight rain.

“It took me a few kilometres to get used to the sensation of running with just one shoe, but I’ve run barefoot in the past so it wasn’t so strange. ..."




http://www2.iaaf.org/wxc02/

 
I can't pull up the link,

I can't pull up the link, PB. Can you fix it please?
 
I got it now.  So the NYC

I got it now. So the NYC Marathon winner used to be a barefoot runner. Hmmmm. Lots of these African elites can be found to have run barefoot in their pasts. Except us, no one looks at it that way though, which is sad. It's as if that part of their running history just fades into the past when it should be studied and celebrated.
 
I remember years back, and I

I remember years back, and I have had trouble finding the story, I was watching I believe the NY City Marathon on tv and the guy winning it started slowing down. You could see him struggling and suddenly he stops right in the middle of the street where everyone thought he was going to quit. Maybe he went out to fast, maybe the pressure of leading was getting to him, but it was none of that. The guy reaches down and rips of his shoes, tosses them aside, and takes off running again. He wound up winning and picking his speed back up along the way. He said afterwards that the shoes were new and were hurting his feet so he figured he would be better off without them.
 
You would think professional

You would think professional runners would know better than to run a race in shoes they have not broken in. Aren't we always advised to break-in our shoes for a few weeks before relying on them to race in?
 
yes that is the rule of thumb

yes that is the rule of thumb but sometimes these guys get handed a new design and stuff days before or right before the race. most times it's not an issue unless the shoe has a lot of build to it you don't really need to break it in. typically racing flats are not thick or built for stability and what not but in this guys case the shoes were hurting his feet. I keep trying to find a blurb about it but it's hard with this guy recently finishing rome barefoot. The guy runs 500 ft barefoot and it's a huge news deal that forces me to sift through tons of articles to find anything about actual barefoot runners.
 
Well, please share it if you

Well, please share it if you find it.
 
What really blows my mind is

What really blows my mind is he only maxed out at 70 miles per week during his training for the NYC marathon. That is extremely low mileage for an elite marathoner. I watched the whole marathon on TV, I never seen such a more fluid stride, I swear his heels never touched the ground.
 
70 a week if done correctly

70 a week if done correctly can yield great results... Julian only ran like 30 mpw before his last 3:00 mary in chicago
 
Adam, In Julian's case...Im

Adam, In Julian's case...Im sure talent is part of it BUT he has a LONG background of running. He was on the XC team, has done A lot of track work and has run quite a few marathons .For him a 3 hr. marathon is not real hard. He has it it the tank. He has a background of fast running that most of us havent. He is the reason I have recently hit the track.
 
SayPay, Yea! Heck I ran 74

SayPay, Yea! Heck I ran 74 this past week I should be able to take Gebre and do a 2:08 at NYC... right?? :)