Reviewed By: Barefoot TJ
Date Reviewed: 03/11/2010
Review Type: Race
Barefoot Friendliness: 1 Excellent
Location:
Omaha Marathon/Half Marathon
Riverfront Drive Quest Center/Gallup
Omaha, NE
See map: Google Maps
The 34th running of the Omaha Marathon offered the 3rd year running of the Barefoot Runners Division in 2009. Omaha is the first in the country to offer a Barefoot Runners Division. (Waco is the second city to offer a Barefoot Runners Division, beginning in 2010.)
At the Omaha Half Marathon, I placed as first female winner of the Barefoot Runner Division! Yeah me! Well, I was the only female though, so my title/record is up for grabs this year! Won't be too difficult, since I am a turtle after all. Ha, funny. I placed 2nd overall, behind Barefoot Benny though. Hope Smejkal placed first female winner of the Full Barefoot Runner Division and 3rd place behind Rick. Not fair that they would match us girls against guys! Maybe this year they will separate us by gender like they do the rest of the runners and like they normally do the Athenas and the Clydesdales. I guess they didn't expect girls could do this too.
During the race, I saw another barefoot runner ahead of me on the course, and I wondered if he was Zolodoco from the Runner's World's Barefoot Running Forum. I ran at a 4:55 minute pace (according to my Garmin)
for a short time (a very short time) just to catch up to him to introduce myself during the race. Remember,
I'm a turtle, so I was panting hard at this point. Zolo and I ran together for about 3 or 4 miles, when I
hear Rick yell out from behind, "Barefoot TJ!" Hysterical! We all ran together for another couple of miles.
That must have been a real site for others to see. Later, I saw Barefoot Benny on the O&B part of the course; he was on the Back, and I was on the Out! What I loved most about running this race, more than any other thus far, was hearing over and over again, "Look! There's another barefoot runner!" Perfect.
This course is on the streets of downtown Omaha. The pavement is mostly concrete (I guess that's the way they do that in the midwest1) with some asphalt areas but not many. There was a small section of road that was made of brick. The crowds and volunteers were plenty and supportive. There were plenty of aid stations and porta-potties.
I was honored to be asked by Rick to join him and his wife Rebecca at their table for the pre-race pasta dinner. I had a wonderful time, and I met some new friends at the dinner and after the race, including Mayor Jim Suttle (Mayor of Omaha) and Mr. Martinez (Mayor's Head of Security), Chuck Engle (also known as the Marathon Junkie for winning something like 80 marathons--I thought that guy looked familiar when he sat down at our table), Susie Smisek (Omaha Race Director), Barefoot Benny, Zolodoco, and of course, my buddy Barefoot Rick and his wife Rebecca. Great memories. I hope to run the Full there next year! I've been invited to tour the Mayor's office and his home on my return.
This is a rare (and hopefully ever-growing) opportunity for a significant number of barefoot runners to be seen at a single event. A HUGE THANKS to Rick for getting them to open a division just for us. I hope to see you there this year!
INFO FROM 2009:
Per the Susie Smisek, Race Director, there is a Barefoot Running Division for each of the 3 distances (Full, Half, and 10K). You have to be truly barefoot to run in the BFR Division. When you go to Active.com (2009) there will not be a field/radio button to select Barefoot Division in the Half and 10K distances, but she is now working on that with Active to have it corrected. If you are running the Full, then there's no problem for you, since there is a selection for BFR for the Full. In the meantime, if you are interested in running either the Half or the 10K, all you have to do is print out the .PDF application, fill it out, be sure to check the Barefoot Runner check-box anyway (although it says "marathon only"), write out the words BAREFOOT RUNNING DIVISION in large print on your application somewhere, and mail it off with your check. If you want to wait, you can take advantage of the coupon codes on-line once Active has corrected their site.
Event's Site: http://www.omahamarathon.com/
Event's Barefoot Running Division Info Page: http://www.omahamarathon.com/barefoot_pr.html
Event's .PDF Registration: http://www.omahamarathon.com/omaha_marathon_2009_application.pdf
Mail To Address: Omaha Marathon, P.O. Box 241811, Omaha, NE 68124
Event Fees: Full Marathon Half Marathon 10K
Postmarked before August 14 $65 $45 $25
Postmarked August 15 - September 16 $75 $55 $35In person at Peak Performance (78th & Cass St.)
September 18 - 25 $85 $65 $40
In person at Peak Performance (78th & Cass St.)
September 26 $90 $70 $45
There is no race day registration.
Active's Event Info Page: http://www.active.com/page/Event_Details.htm?event_id=1709365
Active's Registration Link: http://tinyurl.com/kopa7j
Active's Coupon Codes: $10 for the full - omafull; $5 off the half - omahalf
Date Reviewed: 03/11/2010
Review Type: Race
Barefoot Friendliness: 1 Excellent
Location:
Omaha Marathon/Half Marathon
Riverfront Drive Quest Center/Gallup
Omaha, NE
See map: Google Maps
The 34th running of the Omaha Marathon offered the 3rd year running of the Barefoot Runners Division in 2009. Omaha is the first in the country to offer a Barefoot Runners Division. (Waco is the second city to offer a Barefoot Runners Division, beginning in 2010.)
At the Omaha Half Marathon, I placed as first female winner of the Barefoot Runner Division! Yeah me! Well, I was the only female though, so my title/record is up for grabs this year! Won't be too difficult, since I am a turtle after all. Ha, funny. I placed 2nd overall, behind Barefoot Benny though. Hope Smejkal placed first female winner of the Full Barefoot Runner Division and 3rd place behind Rick. Not fair that they would match us girls against guys! Maybe this year they will separate us by gender like they do the rest of the runners and like they normally do the Athenas and the Clydesdales. I guess they didn't expect girls could do this too.
During the race, I saw another barefoot runner ahead of me on the course, and I wondered if he was Zolodoco from the Runner's World's Barefoot Running Forum. I ran at a 4:55 minute pace (according to my Garmin)
for a short time (a very short time) just to catch up to him to introduce myself during the race. Remember,
I'm a turtle, so I was panting hard at this point. Zolo and I ran together for about 3 or 4 miles, when I
hear Rick yell out from behind, "Barefoot TJ!" Hysterical! We all ran together for another couple of miles.
That must have been a real site for others to see. Later, I saw Barefoot Benny on the O&B part of the course; he was on the Back, and I was on the Out! What I loved most about running this race, more than any other thus far, was hearing over and over again, "Look! There's another barefoot runner!" Perfect.
This course is on the streets of downtown Omaha. The pavement is mostly concrete (I guess that's the way they do that in the midwest1) with some asphalt areas but not many. There was a small section of road that was made of brick. The crowds and volunteers were plenty and supportive. There were plenty of aid stations and porta-potties.
I was honored to be asked by Rick to join him and his wife Rebecca at their table for the pre-race pasta dinner. I had a wonderful time, and I met some new friends at the dinner and after the race, including Mayor Jim Suttle (Mayor of Omaha) and Mr. Martinez (Mayor's Head of Security), Chuck Engle (also known as the Marathon Junkie for winning something like 80 marathons--I thought that guy looked familiar when he sat down at our table), Susie Smisek (Omaha Race Director), Barefoot Benny, Zolodoco, and of course, my buddy Barefoot Rick and his wife Rebecca. Great memories. I hope to run the Full there next year! I've been invited to tour the Mayor's office and his home on my return.
This is a rare (and hopefully ever-growing) opportunity for a significant number of barefoot runners to be seen at a single event. A HUGE THANKS to Rick for getting them to open a division just for us. I hope to see you there this year!
INFO FROM 2009:
Per the Susie Smisek, Race Director, there is a Barefoot Running Division for each of the 3 distances (Full, Half, and 10K). You have to be truly barefoot to run in the BFR Division. When you go to Active.com (2009) there will not be a field/radio button to select Barefoot Division in the Half and 10K distances, but she is now working on that with Active to have it corrected. If you are running the Full, then there's no problem for you, since there is a selection for BFR for the Full. In the meantime, if you are interested in running either the Half or the 10K, all you have to do is print out the .PDF application, fill it out, be sure to check the Barefoot Runner check-box anyway (although it says "marathon only"), write out the words BAREFOOT RUNNING DIVISION in large print on your application somewhere, and mail it off with your check. If you want to wait, you can take advantage of the coupon codes on-line once Active has corrected their site.
Event's Site: http://www.omahamarathon.com/
Event's Barefoot Running Division Info Page: http://www.omahamarathon.com/barefoot_pr.html
Event's .PDF Registration: http://www.omahamarathon.com/omaha_marathon_2009_application.pdf
Mail To Address: Omaha Marathon, P.O. Box 241811, Omaha, NE 68124
Event Fees: Full Marathon Half Marathon 10K
Postmarked before August 14 $65 $45 $25
Postmarked August 15 - September 16 $75 $55 $35In person at Peak Performance (78th & Cass St.)
September 18 - 25 $85 $65 $40
In person at Peak Performance (78th & Cass St.)
September 26 $90 $70 $45
There is no race day registration.
Active's Event Info Page: http://www.active.com/page/Event_Details.htm?event_id=1709365
Active's Registration Link: http://tinyurl.com/kopa7j
Active's Coupon Codes: $10 for the full - omafull; $5 off the half - omahalf
