I've secretly always wanted to run this race without even knowing it. When I was a kid I heard of people running this Volta a Peu popular race in my hometown. I hated sports, so I wasn't only not interested on it, but I also tried to convince myself that it was a waste of time. Who want's to spend one day running and roaming around the city when you can do... anything else?
Now, since I started running, I had never had the chance to run it; in 2014 I got into running one month later than the date of the race and in 2015 I couldn't make it. This was the year and of course I was going to do it barefoot.
The Volta a Peu (or Walk Around) is an 8 km-long, 62-year-old popular race where everyone is invited. There's no time control except for those holding a preferential number. Everyone else can just relax and enjoy owning boulevards and broadways in the city for a while.
Much to my surprise, I seemed to be the only one out of more than 15000 runners in a city that benefits of warm weather, long beaches, large parks and is home to one (if not the only) barefoot and minimalistic running club in Spain. I could spot a few independent people running on sandals, though.
The day was bright and warm. At 10 am the temperature already was about 20ºC.
I made my way barefoot from home to the start area. At some point I had to walk in this rough surface of a park made of little stones. It's very common across parks in Spain and it's utterly uncomfortable to walk on when barefoot
The race was set to start at 10 am. I wanted to arrive early. At 9 am the place was almost deserted...
...but soon people started to pack in...
...and my feet really started to look different from everyone else's.
Black soles, and the race hadn't even started!
Running though the city I grew in was awesome, although some long stretches were paved with noise reduction asphalt, which turns to be quite rough
So I tried to run on paint lines as long as possible 
This was the finish area after having crossed the line. As popular as this race is, it's really cheap (only 3€ per runner), so it's also very basic. No time control (as stated before), no runners bag with promotional items, no water at the end (bring your own!
). Just a T-shirt once you return your number.
Kya! After the race, I walked back home... barefoot!
O'course!
For the record, here are the stats. Not bad.
Cheers!
Now, since I started running, I had never had the chance to run it; in 2014 I got into running one month later than the date of the race and in 2015 I couldn't make it. This was the year and of course I was going to do it barefoot.
The Volta a Peu (or Walk Around) is an 8 km-long, 62-year-old popular race where everyone is invited. There's no time control except for those holding a preferential number. Everyone else can just relax and enjoy owning boulevards and broadways in the city for a while.
Much to my surprise, I seemed to be the only one out of more than 15000 runners in a city that benefits of warm weather, long beaches, large parks and is home to one (if not the only) barefoot and minimalistic running club in Spain. I could spot a few independent people running on sandals, though.
The day was bright and warm. At 10 am the temperature already was about 20ºC.
I made my way barefoot from home to the start area. At some point I had to walk in this rough surface of a park made of little stones. It's very common across parks in Spain and it's utterly uncomfortable to walk on when barefoot
The race was set to start at 10 am. I wanted to arrive early. At 9 am the place was almost deserted...
...but soon people started to pack in...
...and my feet really started to look different from everyone else's.
Black soles, and the race hadn't even started!
Running though the city I grew in was awesome, although some long stretches were paved with noise reduction asphalt, which turns to be quite rough
So I tried to run on paint lines as long as possible This was the finish area after having crossed the line. As popular as this race is, it's really cheap (only 3€ per runner), so it's also very basic. No time control (as stated before), no runners bag with promotional items, no water at the end (bring your own!
). Just a T-shirt once you return your number.Kya! After the race, I walked back home... barefoot!
O'course!For the record, here are the stats. Not bad.
Cheers!
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