Reviewed By: fredvp71
Date Reviewed: 05/07/2011
Review Type: Race
Barefoot Friendliness: 1 Excellent
Location:
Canal Fulton, OH
8574 Erie Ave.
Canal Fulton , OH
See map: Google Maps
Picture:
Another 5K race in the can for 2011! Brief race report:
Time: 8:30 AM EST
Temperature: 50 degrees fahrenheit.
Road conditions: 2.35 miles on wet asphalt, and .75 miles on light gravel. Not raining, but still quite damp.
Finish Time: 23:11 (3rd of 9 in age group; 32nd overall of 180)
Barefoot Runners: 1 (me, nobody with Vibrams or Lunas. Ohio, always behind the times. Sigh)
Feet: Little tender from stupid attempt at speedwork 2 days earlier. Even more tender after race, but not blistered, just a little "zingy" for the day. No bleeding, nothing drastic.
Photos: Awful. I looked down for ONE second. That's when they took my picture!
Flavor Text:
Yet another chilly, rainy day in northeast Ohio (seriously, a dismal winter has been replaced by a dismal spring). Showed up to the race about 30 mins. before start time, and walked in to registration in my trusty flip flops. Everyone jokes with me if I'm going to run in flip-flops (if only they knew what was coming), which is nice. Put on my race numbers (is it really a "bib"?). Can never seem to get it symmetrical on my stomach - always too far to one side or the other. One thing I've learned, you can futz with that bib all you want, it's never gonna be right, and you're never gonna notice it, so just go with it!
Had to run from the school gym to the starting point a quarter mile away. I hate barefoot walking, so I just ran it as if I was some big deal runner warming up. Lol. Lots of people talking to me, and asking questions. I at least attempted to be civil - I prefer to be the barefoot chupacabra, un-photographed and shrouded in myth and shadow. But this dude announced me on the loudspeaker, so there wasn't much hiding out this time!
Talked to some nice folks with lots of questions. Not judgmental, very inquisitive. The big deal runners are definitely more rude. "How's that working out for ya?" "Ya any faster?" Unless you're doing 6-minute miles they think it's a waste of time. So, we line up, and the guy counts down and off we go. First mile is mostly downhill, and I did a 7:05. Felt like I went a little too fast, but nothing hurt too bad. After 1.5 miles or so, hit the gravel part of the trail. I've found gravel normally takes about 60 or 90 seconds off my mile, and this was no different. Got passed a lot on the gravel, but it didn't hurt me and I was having good form. Just slows you down a little.
Second mile was almost all gravel; 7:55. Got off the gravel and there were a lot of tables of kids giving out water. Lots of exclamation as they see my bare feet, which is, let's face it, a lot of fun. Awesome finish, as I passed at least 5 high school track runners in the last mile. Think I did 7:30 for mile 3, all up hill. Finished in 23:11 at 7:30 pace. Got a "bronze" medal for 3rd in my age group, which was nice. Feet are fine as I type this 12 hours later, but probably will take a day or two off to reload. Thanks for reading!
Date Reviewed: 05/07/2011
Review Type: Race
Barefoot Friendliness: 1 Excellent
Location:
Canal Fulton, OH
8574 Erie Ave.
Canal Fulton , OH
See map: Google Maps
Picture:
Another 5K race in the can for 2011! Brief race report:
Time: 8:30 AM EST
Temperature: 50 degrees fahrenheit.
Road conditions: 2.35 miles on wet asphalt, and .75 miles on light gravel. Not raining, but still quite damp.
Finish Time: 23:11 (3rd of 9 in age group; 32nd overall of 180)
Barefoot Runners: 1 (me, nobody with Vibrams or Lunas. Ohio, always behind the times. Sigh)
Feet: Little tender from stupid attempt at speedwork 2 days earlier. Even more tender after race, but not blistered, just a little "zingy" for the day. No bleeding, nothing drastic.
Photos: Awful. I looked down for ONE second. That's when they took my picture!
Flavor Text:
Yet another chilly, rainy day in northeast Ohio (seriously, a dismal winter has been replaced by a dismal spring). Showed up to the race about 30 mins. before start time, and walked in to registration in my trusty flip flops. Everyone jokes with me if I'm going to run in flip-flops (if only they knew what was coming), which is nice. Put on my race numbers (is it really a "bib"?). Can never seem to get it symmetrical on my stomach - always too far to one side or the other. One thing I've learned, you can futz with that bib all you want, it's never gonna be right, and you're never gonna notice it, so just go with it!
Had to run from the school gym to the starting point a quarter mile away. I hate barefoot walking, so I just ran it as if I was some big deal runner warming up. Lol. Lots of people talking to me, and asking questions. I at least attempted to be civil - I prefer to be the barefoot chupacabra, un-photographed and shrouded in myth and shadow. But this dude announced me on the loudspeaker, so there wasn't much hiding out this time!
Talked to some nice folks with lots of questions. Not judgmental, very inquisitive. The big deal runners are definitely more rude. "How's that working out for ya?" "Ya any faster?" Unless you're doing 6-minute miles they think it's a waste of time. So, we line up, and the guy counts down and off we go. First mile is mostly downhill, and I did a 7:05. Felt like I went a little too fast, but nothing hurt too bad. After 1.5 miles or so, hit the gravel part of the trail. I've found gravel normally takes about 60 or 90 seconds off my mile, and this was no different. Got passed a lot on the gravel, but it didn't hurt me and I was having good form. Just slows you down a little.
Second mile was almost all gravel; 7:55. Got off the gravel and there were a lot of tables of kids giving out water. Lots of exclamation as they see my bare feet, which is, let's face it, a lot of fun. Awesome finish, as I passed at least 5 high school track runners in the last mile. Think I did 7:30 for mile 3, all up hill. Finished in 23:11 at 7:30 pace. Got a "bronze" medal for 3rd in my age group, which was nice. Feet are fine as I type this 12 hours later, but probably will take a day or two off to reload. Thanks for reading!
