This past Sunday I raced the Detroit Zoo's "Run Wild" 5K event. They also had a 10K as well as a 1 mile with over 2750 runners total. Not a bad turnout, of course I was the only barefoot runner/walker/spectator but so what.
http://detroitzoo.org/runwild
Race entry fee included zoo admission and after party lunch provided by corporate sponsors. Interestingly, one of the sponsors was a large supermarket chain that I challenged succesfully about a year ago when told by local management that shoes were required for entry.
The outcome was a letter from the director of operations clearly stating that bare feet were welcome in any of their stores.
Not sure, but I can only assume that they were the sponsor that provided the hot dogs and individualy wrapped Twinkies along with the bagged Cheetos for all of us highly trained athletes at the event.
I raced the same 5K last year, and kind of enjoyed being in the zoo and hanging out for the awards ceremony and music.
This year I was hit with a surprise: I was denied zoo admission AFTER completing the race because I was barefoot!
I pressed my case, and was eventually granted a waiver for the day. The zoo brochure they allowed me to view clearly stated the requirement for footwear, but the list of rules on the website did not.
I have now taken up the matter with the director, and will of course let the barefoot runners on this board know if it is a race they will want to do in the future or not.
http://detroitzoo.org/runwild
Race entry fee included zoo admission and after party lunch provided by corporate sponsors. Interestingly, one of the sponsors was a large supermarket chain that I challenged succesfully about a year ago when told by local management that shoes were required for entry.
The outcome was a letter from the director of operations clearly stating that bare feet were welcome in any of their stores.
Not sure, but I can only assume that they were the sponsor that provided the hot dogs and individualy wrapped Twinkies along with the bagged Cheetos for all of us highly trained athletes at the event.
I raced the same 5K last year, and kind of enjoyed being in the zoo and hanging out for the awards ceremony and music.
This year I was hit with a surprise: I was denied zoo admission AFTER completing the race because I was barefoot!
I pressed my case, and was eventually granted a waiver for the day. The zoo brochure they allowed me to view clearly stated the requirement for footwear, but the list of rules on the website did not.
I have now taken up the matter with the director, and will of course let the barefoot runners on this board know if it is a race they will want to do in the future or not.
