1st Annual NYC Barefoot Run!

I have returned from a weekend in New York City, where I attended the 1st annual NYC barefoot run. It was an amazing event - big thanks to John Durant, Maggie Durant, all of the Barefoot Runners NYC group, and the sponsors who made the event possible.

The weekend started early. Really early. I was awake at 4AM on Saturday morning to catch a flight up to JFK. I touched down at 7AM, hopped on the wonderful New York mass transit system and was in Manhattan by 9. I love trains and subways - easiest trip ever.

I have a few old friends in the city and they all decided to leave town this weekend... not sure what that says about me...  but my buddy Raph left me his keys so I had access to a beautiful apartment all weekend. Of course, the first thing I did was inhale all the food in his fridge so after a short rest I ventured forth into the city in search of more food and adventure.

I stopped by Tip Top Shoes to do early event check-in. Here, I met John Durant, the New York Caveman himself. (you may have seen him here, or here) He is an incredibly nice guy. I suspect a real caveman would have knocked me out and stolen all the shiny stuff in my pockets but John did none of those things. Instead, he helped point me in the direction of decent restaurants.

Next up was a series of barefooting workshops in Central Park. These were led by Barefoot Ted, who I had just met in Seattle, and Jason Robillard, of the Barefoot Running University. The sessions were excellent - very practical tips and instruction from two of the top guys in the field. They also largely mirrored the advice that I have been giving those who have asked me about barefooting, which made me feel good.

One valuable insight was that (in Ted and Jason’s opinion) the best way to begin was completely barefoot on a smooth hard surface, like asphalt, because it would provide the most feedback. I have advised a few people to start off wearing vibrums and running on grass, but I think Ted and Jason are right - a few intervals of very short distances on a hard surface with bare feet is extremely instructive to a beginner.

At the workshops I also ran into my friend and Fifth Ape member Kevin Holbrook, who had driven up from Chapel Hill with his girlfriend a few days earlier. Kevin’s been a valuable addition to our group and has a great blog on the paleo diet and lifestyle, which you can find here.

Then it was back to the apartment for a short rest, before heading to the Terra Plana store for an incredible presentation by Dr. Daniel Lieberman, the “barefoot professor” who’s been doing some exciting research on barefoot running out of Harvard. The first half of the presentation was an elaboration of the material presented on his website, but the second half was a sneak peak into the work Professor Lieberman is doing now. It hasn’t been published yet, so I’m not going to go into too many details, but let’s just say things are looking up for the science of barefoot running. Despite all the fascinating research Lieberman presented, I most appreciated his appeal for all of us to remain skeptical, see where the research led, and to represent the barefoot community well in the public. Zealotry rarely leads to long term growth - a message we should all take to heart.

After Lieberman’s presentation, we had a round table discussion on all things barefoot with Ted, Jason, Dr. Daniel Howell, and Erwan Le Corre, who had just wrapped up another successful MovNat workshop. They all had great insights and some of the questions from the audience generated some interesting conversations.

Before I knew it, the alarm was going off at 5:00 AM the next morning. At 7AM I was on the ferry to Governor’s Island. The morning was clear and crisp - I was grateful for my warm clothes. By 8:30 we had all gathered, John got to use his awesome megaphone, and we were off!

The run itself was a lot of fun. I chatted with Kevin for awhile, ran over some rough terrain with Ted, and at one point stopped for a bit of MovNat climbing with Erwan. In total, I ran about 12-13 miles completely barefoot. There was a raffle, then it was back to the ferry for the ride back to civilization.

The rest of the trip was a blur. I got to see Raph for a bit, ate some really good food, and before I knew it I was being jostled awake as the wheels of my airplane touched down in North Carolina. My feet are a little sore, but none the worse for wear (probably better off actually).  So, all in all, it was an incredible experience. I am grateful to Barefoot Ted, Jason Robillard, and Erwan Le Corre for being so generous with their time.  Additional gratitude to the wonderful event volunteers who were all incredibly helpful. To John and Maggie, thanks so much for putting this thing together - I’m looking forward to next year!

Finally, to all the great people I met - you are all awesome and I feel very fortunate to have been in your company this past weekend. Keep moving and keep spreading the good word - let’s change how the world runs!

There are already some photos up here. I'll try to update this post as more media becomes available.

If it looks like I'm having a lot of fun, it's because I am.