International Barefoot Running Day

Paleo

Barefooters
Oct 14, 2010
225
19
18
Bonn, Germany
I've been pinballing the following idea around my little brain for a fortnight now:

International Barefoot Running Day.

Here's the gist:
  • At a specific day and time, the world's barefoot runners would hit the streets together.
  • Ideally, this would occur in local events organized by the local chapters. By "event" I mean nothing more than all starting together at an appointed place and time.
  • BRS could sponsor it. No money needed. We could maybe make T-Shirts, which the runners could pay for themselves. (Heck, it could become a fund-raiser.) It would be good to coordinate with any other major BFR websites.
  • We'd invite the media: "BRS cordially invites the Press to attend the First Annual International Barefoot Running Day on XX XX 2011. At exactly 5 P.M. GMT (= 12:00 P.M. EST, 9:00 AM PST, 18:00 Cent. European Time), some 1,000,000 barefoot runners will hit the streets together to show how much fun it is...." (Is that figure too optimistic?) The timing might get tricky for Australia and Asia.
  • There could be several distances: 5Km, 10Km. Rather than a race, all would run together, or at least all start en masse.
  • The local chapters could collect the names of all who ran, and we could compile a master list.
  • I would suggest a Saturday or Sunday in April or May.
  • In a show of magnanimity, the event would be ecumenical: all footwear allowed, but the 100% barefooters would start together in a group.
What d'yall think?

Cheers

Paleo



P.S. I'd be willing to organize the German chapter and lend a hand for press-releases (English and German).
 
That's a great idea, Paleo. 

That's a great idea, Paleo. How do you feel about organizing the whole event though? I am completely strapped and have no extra time. Of course, I would assist in whatever ways needed, and make the BRS's resources available to you. Maybe in the spring when the weather is warmer?
 
TJ, thanks for the commitment

TJ, thanks for the commitment of the BRS.

I suppose I could take the lead on it. I would hope to get a bit of help (since I am also perpetually double booked). Volunteers???



The local chapter moderators would definitely need to organize their locations. They would also perhaps have to send the press release (prepared centrally) to their local press.

To make nails with heads (as the Germans say) on the date, I would suggest 2 May 2011.

Cheers

Paleo
 
 I LOVE it. Its sort of like

I LOVE it. Its sort of like critical mass events that bikers do. Only we are hopefully not as irritating as some of them can get.
 
The individual chapters can

The individual chapters can organize their events to coincide with one another, but you and your staff of volunteers would need to communicate and organize with them. AJB, are you in?
 
Right-O. I can coordinate the

Right-O. I can coordinate the dates and times, maintain the communication, as well as write the initial press release. If we want to make a T-Shirt, I need someone to take that on (which would be best done in the States, anyway).

With respect to being "irritating", well I'd love to irritate some sport shoe executives.

Cheers

Paleo
 
 uh, I'm not a chapter

uh, I'm not a chapter president or anything, but I'm willing to help out with whatever I can. I think its a cool idea. I do want to say that press and such make me nervous so I'm probably not a good person to deal with that. I trip over myself when I talk to much :). But considering how many bf runners (including some famous ones) there are in SoCal I'm pretty sure you could find someone else to deal with that part of it here.

I'm wondering should we get this tshirt contest going ASAP then instead of waiting till the new year so we can have it all done by the time this happens. We could just use the BRS one for this year as the tshirt. It would sort of be a two birds one stone that way? If we start it this week and run the design through begining/mid Feb. that gives a couple weeks to vote, a couple weeks to get it put into the store and still have time to get order them and have them in hand. What do you think?
 
The T-Shirt contest is a good

The T-Shirt contest is a good idea. I hadn't thought of that. I was just thinking of the BRS logo, plus the name and date of the event, maybe with a cool slogan or something.

But, I would also be happy just getting people out there. The T-Shirts mean that we have to deal with money, getting them printed and shipped etc.

TJ, could we charge for and ship the T-Shirts via the BRS-Store?

AJB, would you be willing to coordinate the T-Shirt part?

Not to worry about speaking to the press. I am sure that they'll find plenty if interviewees.
 
A couple of years ago, Nike

A couple of years ago, Nike had a "World's Largest 10K", or something like that. They promoted it through their Nike+ program. The basic thing was that on 9:00 a.m. on a designated day, you would line up and run a 10K wherever you were. There were a couple of Nike sponsored runs in large cities, but only a few.

This could be promoted the same way. Through our website, Facebook, Twitter and our blogs. What about tying it in with one of those organizations that give shoes to 3rd world countries, and have a pair of shoes be the entry fee.

Not that I'm trying to get everyone in shoes, but if we could use "our" event, to help a larger organization, we might be able to get more runners (and more free PR).

I would think a shorter race would be better than a long one, because if you make it too long, only trained bf runners would be able to finish it (and I don't want to alienate our future converts).

Maybe a 1K or 1M fun run and "maybe" a 5K. Just my $.02

But great idea Paleo!! :cool:
 
 We are already on the tshirt

We are already on the tshirt contest. We were originally going to hold off but it could be a nice compliment to this details will come shortly. So that part you don't need to worry about. The BRS has a zazzle store that deals with all the money/shipping ect... issues.
 
You could do a large picture

You could do a large picture on the front, with International Barefoot Running Day incorporated into it. And on the back up near the neck, put a small BRS logo there like a brand. Or a small BRS logo on the front (upper left) and put a large IBFRD picture on the back. Just my thought, since I have seen other event T-shirts done like that.
 
miker wrote: I would think a

miker said:
I would think a shorter race would be better than a long one, because if you make it too long, only trained bf runners would be able to finish it (and I don't want to alienate our future converts). Maybe a 1K or 1M fun run and "maybe" a 5K. Just my $.02

Shorter is probably better, 1mile and 5K is probably doable though so long as people are warned not to sprint it. We can all use it as a way to trick our friends into taking their first barefoot run. Then they'll be hooked. Besides people who want to run longer always could.
 
That sounds cool! May 2 is

That sounds cool!



May 2 is a Monday though. I vote for a Saturday.
 
More people have to work Sat

More people have to work Sat than Sun. For biggest turnout Sun is probably best. Shorter runs can start later than we are used to, and more spectators are likely to turn up as well. I would suggest 10:00 a.m. Sunday for the biggest impact.

Wait. I forgot about church.

O.K., May? We could easily do it late, like after church, say noon.

Worldwide barefoot running day run at high noon Sunday.
 
I think a staggered start

I think a staggered start would be best, everyone starts at the same local time. The reason I think this is because, well, time zones are a b!tch. What we do in different parts of the world on a given Sunday probably doesn't differ that much but finding one time that works in every time zone seems to me to be more trouble than it's worth. For the Ozzies it'll be dinner time and for you Americans it'll barely be time to get out of bed most likely...
 
That's what I meant, noon

That's what I meant, noon local time all over the world.
 
This is a great idea, and I

This is a great idea, and I am all for it. But on that note I have a 1/2 marathon on Sunday May 1st that I will be running barefoot, so if possible, I would like to incorporate IBRD into that, would anybody object to that. Although I could always run the extra milage after the race, I guess, that could be fun too. Sold, I will run both ways sporting some BRS swag.
 
Thanks, everyone, for the

Thanks, everyone, for the comments. (@ Others: Keep 'em coming.)

Here's my current thinking (based on the feedback and my own thoughts):
  • May 1 it is. (I got confused between my various calendars.) This is, by the way, "May Day", which in many European countries is the equivalent of the American "Labor Day".
  • I think that Sunday is better, which is known for better turnout. Church might be an issue. I'd like feedback from those whose participation is hindered by religious obligations. But, let's avoid speculation. Rather, those who have a conflict should PM me. If I get a lot of messages, we can reconsider the date. (Saturdays are, of course, a problem for Jews.)
  • High noon, wherever you are. I was charmed by the idea of all hitting the road at exactly the same time, but the time zone issue is a problem. I spent a good half-hour last night trying to figure out how the Australian day light savings time (which is "off" at that time) affects the time differences. There is a window: If the Aussies run at 6:00 AM and the Europeans at 8:00 PM, with the North Americans in the middle, it would work. But, that also means that the Australians have to run on MONDAY!
  • For those who have races, I agree with Bob: let's incorporate those. If there is a local 10k, marathon or whatever, then the Barefooters could all start together, making a plug for IBRD.
  • A 1km, 5km (and maybe a 10km) would be best. The 1km would be great for those who want to give it a try.
  • Important for me is keeping the whole thing simple. The priority is that it happens and that it gets some attention. For this first go around, all of the usual race stuff--race numbers, registration, big start and finish signs etc.--will be too much, particularly since everything has to be organized in each locality. Furthermore, in many localities an "event" may require a permit or a fee. So, the spirit of the thing should be "a bunch of barefoot folks showed up and decided to run together."
I am counting on the local chapters to get it moving locally. Without that, it won't happen.

Here's what the local organizers will need to do (it's not much really):
  • Choose a location in each chapter/area, and I will assure it is posted to a central website (presumably a page at BRS).
  • Send the press release to the appropriate local press (the PR will be prepared by the central organization--at the moment, me)
  • Identify a contact person for the press. (We can also prepare "talking points".)
  • Translate the press release if the location is in a non-english speaking country (I got German covered, too).
  • Optional, find someone who can give a mini-workshop (15 minutes) prior to the event, on the benefits of BFR.
  • Compile a list of those who ran, or at least a count.
Centrally, we will be doing the following:
  • Compiling a list of the locations and posting them
  • Communicating with the local organizers
  • Communicating with other BFR-Websites and organizations
  • Preparing the press releases and talking points
  • Printing T-Shirts that people can order
  • 1000 other things that I haven't thought of yet.
Keep the feedback coming. Feel free to PM me if you prefer.

Cheers

Paleo

[Edit: formatting]
 
Let me know when the idea is

Let me know when the idea is a definte go, I can contact the appropriate BFR resources to get the word out (other sites, bloggers, BFR leaders, etc.)

I think there may be some companies that would be interested in celebrating this, also...
 
May 01 sounds like a

May 01 sounds like a excellent choice to me since a few crazy Canucks as well as myself will be running the Vancouver Marathon that day.

May 01 also tends to be a popular race day as well. http://www.marathonguide.com/races/races.cfm?Sort=RaceDate&Place=USA&StartDate=4%2F4%2F11



If anyone would like to join us in Vancouver for this event, we'd love to have you!