Journey of 1,000 Barefoot Miles - Weeks Ending August 14, 2011 Buffalo Runner's Half Marathon Edition Among Other Things

I been sitting here trying to think of what to write for the last week or so (actually about 3 weeks but who's counting), and I will admit I have been drawing a blank. You would think after the last 3 weeks that I have had, it would be easy to write a thought provocative post and normally I would agree. But for some reason the words are not rolling from my proverbial finger tips onto the keyboard. With some consultation from some good friends (you know who you are and thanks) who helped push me in the right direction, I started typing the following:

I decided to not to think to hard about it and just let the thoughts roll and see where they take me, so here we go:

I have come to the realization that I am most happy when I am running without distractions such as time and distance goals, music, etc. I look back at some of my earlier posts and I see a trend that I really don't like, there was a lot of mentioning of speed and pace, times over a certain distance and even a couple of mentions of time goals that I wanted to achieve. I am not sure why these were important to me at the time, but I can certainly say they are not now. I was reminded of this while my family and I went on our vacation to Alberta. I was lucky enough to get in some good runs in different locations including one special run which I will give a recap on later on in this post.

Now don't get me wrong, it is still nice to get Personal Bests, achieve a new top speed, push myself a little harder to run a little farther faster than the last time or beat the runner in front of me just because they are wearing shoes and I am not (its still fun to see the looks on some people's faces as I run by them with my bare feet). But it took my running adventures during my vacation for me to remember how much I enjoy just running for the sake of running. I do so enjoy running, connecting with nature and my surroundings, feeling the different surfaces and textures under my toes (it's good for the soles don't you know) and just being in the moment. It's hard to explain in words, but running allows me to break away from the stresses of life for a little while and I have no concerns except where I am going to put my foot down next.

I find it funny, I used to take my Ipod with me, turn it on so people would leave me alone while I ran, then I was forced to run without it on my trip, because it was accidentally lost somewhere in SE Calgary (if anyone finds a 8 GB Ipod Touch in Calgary let me know it might be mine or if you have the generous itch to provide me with one I will not say no) along the running trails adjacent Ogden. I would like to get it back as it has some really good music on it and I still haven't completed all the Angry Birds levels yet (damn game is addictive). I forgot how much I enjoyed talking to people while I run, it brings a smile to my face when people comment or ask me questions about the way I run.

I personally believe barefoot or with the use of minimalistic shoes is the natural way to run and shod runners don't know what they are missing. Overall fitness includes every part of the body and in my personal opinion, the use of these over cushioned boat anchors called running shoes is weakening the multitude of muscles in the foot and put multitudes of stresses on areas of the body that were not designed to move that way including the knees, hips, Achilles tendons, etc. (I shall now get off my soap box and return to the regularly scheduled programing).

As I noted above, myself, Nicole and the kids went on a little whirlwind family vacation to Alberta including stops in picturesque Cold Lake, Morinville, St. Albert, Edmonton, Pincher Creek, Crowsnest Pass (Frank's Slide), Calgary and Drumheller. We were able to jam this all in two weeks, which also included one half marathon and a whole lot of visiting. Unfortunately we were not able to see everybody we intended to on this trip but considering the extent I think we did pretty good.

It was interesting to go running in some of the places that we stopped, for instance in Cold Lake we got to go run along the lake shore and around the expanding residential areas (still amazes me the amount of development that has happened, some good and some bad but that is another story). Tackling some of the hills were good preparation as well for later runs and of course some of the looks I was getting were interesting as well. Morinville has a decent running path that travels the length of the town which ends with a nice pathway around a pond. They also have some workout equipment along the path as well for the ambitious souls that want to do some presses along the way. Calgary of course has some of the best running/biking trails in the country, you can pretty much get anywhere in the city via this trail system. I utilized the pathways in the southeast along the Bow River a couple times and quite enjoyed them. Hitting the hills were also a treat, I learned to embrace my fear of running downhill, and just let myself go and it was actually quite fun (note to self must remember to keep mouth closed though, picking bugs out of your teeth is not fun and they really do not have that much protein). Once again the looks I was getting were priceless, I was figuring with a bigger city there would be less of this because I do assume there are a few more barefoot and a whole lot more minimalistic runners around. I will log all my mileage at the end of this post as per previous.

Other than the visiting of family etc, one of the purposes of this trip was the participation in a little run that we (as a group) ran last year. Everybody had such a great time last year that I wanted to ensure that we (which ended up being only me) ran the event again this year. The run was called the Buffalo Runners Half Marathon from Pincher Creek to the Piikani First Nations located in Brocket, travelling through some of the traditional buffalo hunting grounds. This run is put on by the

and is in its 7th year of running (I hope I got that right). It is a small and intimate run, and more of a experience than a race. The run is timed but to me and many others that means very little, I have run it twice and both times my time has been substantially longer than what I can finish a half in and I really do not care. Even though I am not aboriginal (I have a Scottish heritage), for me it is about the spiritual connection to the earth and my surroundings, thinking about what it would of been like to run this area hundreds of years ago on a Buffalo Hunt. It may seem silly, but when you run this event, that thought creeps into your head numerous times, at least it did for me. This is a run that gives you time to reflect on what is important in life, for me it was about realizing how fragile the circle of life really is and how quickly things can change when that circle is broken or adjusted in anyway. In this, I mean the Blackfoot of this area hunted the buffalo for thousands of years, taking only what they needed to survive and finding a use for every part so nothing was wasted. This was until things changed and the white man (sorry if this offends anyone but there is no other way to say it and I am as white as you can get) came and changed a way of life for these proud people by basically wiping out the buffalo herds in a matter of decades. This is kind of a touchy area for me, I am a firm believer that you cannot force someone to change their way of life nor their beliefs, that is something that is personal to that party and should not be tampered with. I look back in history at some of the atrocities that have happened and I just shake my head and hope that we have learned something from it and make sure it will never happen again.

A little background on the Buffalo Runners that I have credited from their website, www.buffalorunner.ca is as follows:

"Buffalo Runners were elite runners of the plains, found among different tribes such as the Blackfoot, Lakota, Assiniboine, and Cree. They existed long before horse and gun appeared on the Plains of North America.

The role of the society was to help in the selection, training and preparation of runners who played a central role in the communal hunt. They were the scouts who would go out to locate herds, and then to maneuver them to kill zones (either pounds or jumps).

Speed, stamina, teamwork and skill were essential athletic qualities of these runners, but courage and spiritual preparedness were also central to the qualities of a Buffalo Runner. They were the Olympic athletes of their day, but their abilities were entirely committed to the survival of their communities. Contemporary elders refer to the role of the runners as 'providers'. The success of their running missions meant people would survive. The complexity and danger of the hunt demanded that individual accomplishment be matched by flawless teamwork and cooperation."

I commend Ken Williams and all his team for putting together this website, to not only tell the story of the Buffalo Runners but also to keep the traditions alive of the Buffalo Runners Society. This story should not be forgotten but told so people understand the impact the loss of the buffalo has made on this great nation and many others like it.

As appears to be the norm with a night before a big run, sleep was little and far between, I would guess a couple of hours at best. I still had many thoughts going through my head for my final preparations:

Will I be able to do the entire run barefoot? How bad is the gravel roads this year?

Would I take my newly completed custom made moccasins (thanks honey) to be more traditional or my VFF's for my backup shoes?

Do I take a handheld or just rely on the water stations along the way?

Should I wear my contacts and trust that I will be able to see better than the last time I went out?

These questions and many more circled around and around in my head for most of the night. That was when I decided that I would just trust that I would make the right decision when the time came, and with that I drifted off to sleep.

The morning came quick, and unlike last year it was not as cool as I puttered around the camp site getting prepared for the adventure ahead. Running gear on, contacts in, VFF's on for the drive over (not sure why I do this, but I think it has something about protecting my feet before I need them), family in the van and we were off to the start line. Pincher Creek is pretty quiet on a Sunday morning at 7:30 am, I think we saw a couple of cars at best, one person walking down Main Street and a little dog utilizing the crosswalk to get across the street.

We arrived at the start and I headed over to pick up my race kit so I could make final preparations. Just to show you how intimate this event is, I was approached by numerous of the volunteers and the runners to welcome me back again this year. Now I know I ran barefoot last year (and I was the only one) but it is still nice that people remember you when they see you, especially by name. What a great start to the morning, with some quick catching up, I was approached by one of the new participants who happens to also work for Shaw TV out of Lethbridge. She wanted to do a quick interview on what the Buffalo Runner's Half Marathon means to me, I'm guessing this had something to do with this being my 2nd run and travelling over 1400 km to get there to run. This was my second attempt at an interview, I did complete one with a local Shaw TV reporter in the spring, but it did not air, and I'm not sure I fared any better at describing my feelings for this event. I have this habit of starting with something like, "I am not a spiritual type......." and then I usually go onto talk about how this run makes me feel like I become one with Mother Nature, with the sounds of the wind, the birds and the sound of the fields swaying.... which is the best way to describe it. But this time I think I completely goofed it up, I just got nervous in front of the camera. I'm not completely sure what I talked about but it was probably something silly, oh well. I know what this run means to me, and that is all that matters.

The run starts in Pincher Creek at the Horse Shoe Pavilion, which is a symbolic spot in its own right to the Blackfoot Nation and the Buffalo Runners as a traditional hunting ground. It was interesting to see a number of hawks circling around the area looking for breakfast, totally ignoring the happenings going on around them. One hawk even snagged a prairie dog and settled down on a picnic table to have a snack as he watched us mill around, it was quite the sight to see, nature at its best. Kind of a sign of things to come you could say (I mean nature at its best not the eating of a prairie dog, come on). After some brief announcements, including the introduction of the newest Buffalo Runner, Wendy Lumby who was running the 5km, one of the elders came forward to deliver a prayer and blessing of the runners. This was done in the local Blackfoot language and was both beautiful and inspiring. I do not know what it translated into, but I am hoping the race director will one day share that with me. Next Ryan Smith, grandson on Nick Smith (founder of this event) sang and drummed the Buffalo Runners Society song to send us off.

I found this prayer on the Buffalo Runners Website that I thought was quite appropriate:

Prayer 1
Written by Ken Williams
Sunday, 24 July 2011

Spirit of Life, come unto me.
Spirit of Life, sing in my heart all the stirrings of compassion.
Spirit of Life, blow in the wind, rise in the sea, shine in the sun, moon and stars; move in the hand, giving life the shape of justice.
Roots hold me close; wings set me free;
Spirit of life, come to me, come through me.
(I like to think of our legs as being both roots that connect us to the earth, AND wings that set us free.

As the call of Ready, Set, Go went all the half marathoners took off from the parking lot, including me floating over the gravel with my barefeet to the limestone pathway that runs along the creek through town. I think I surprised a few people as I passed a couple of the runners on the gravel part, as I was only thinking about the exfoliating my feet would be receiving once we hit the limestone. Since there wasn't many runners, maybe 25 at most, the field quickly spread out and everybody was running with one or two runners. I had a couple in front of me and a couple behind all within striking distance, but as I stated before, I was just out for the run and going to enjoy myself doing it. I passed a couple of startled walkers along the trail, and I heard somebody yell, look at that guy he's running barefoot from the campgrounds, but other than that it was a pleasant run along the trail. My feet barely felt the rocks as I glided along, with my head in the clouds looking forward to the experiences in front of me.

As I sprinted out of the trail at about the 3 km mark all I heard was, "Wooohoo, here comes our Barefoot Runner" from a couple of the volunteers as I headed up the embankment to the road crossing. This put a smile on my face, the amount of support shown for the runners is unbelievable and is part of the reason why I like this run so much. I crossed over to the highway out of town and hit the asphalt which was starting to get warm as the day heated up. Remembering last year, I had to toe the white line to regulate my foot temperature as the day went along, I was figuring I would be doing the same thing this year as it was warming up quite quickly. With the open vista ahead of me, nothing but blue skies and the ability to see for miles and miles, I could see the front runners literally flying up the highway in front of me.

Once I left town and got into the open fields and starting ascending up the road towards Kettles Hill (there is a elevation climb of almost 1000 feet and a descent of almost 1200 ft on this run from start to finish), this is where I started to get my mojo going. I felt like I was floating along running with the buffalo, sometimes I felt I could hear the thundering sound of hundreds of hooves striking the ground as I pushed myself along. I know what you are thinking, he's full of crap, but honestly I just kind of lost myself in the run. I ran with a couple of different people along the way, which was good as well, but there is nothing like the feeling of running by yourself in this type of environment. The different sounds from the whistling of the wind, the swishing of the tall grass, to the noise of the livestock in the fields. From the feel of the wind against my face to the different textures of the ground as my feet glided over them. It all brings me to a state of inner peace, where I believe I can run forever.

After tackling the highway up to Kettles Hill, I hit the next water station at the base of the gravel road which heads up to the wind turbines. After some orange slices and some more water, and a quick joke from one of the volunteers. One of the runners who was as the stop with me asked the following question, "I wonder what the Buffalo Runners before us ate along the way when they ran this type of distance?" This is when the volunteer spoke up with a serious look on his face and said, " I believe it was one of these!" as he held up a used up pouch of GU gel (vanilla bean I believe). We all started laughing, as it was one of those priceless moments.

At this point I had travelled about 7 miles barefoot, but that was going to come to an end fairly quickly. As I looked up the gravel road, I thought I saw some clearer paths that I would be able to traverse up barefoot on, so off I went, I made it up to about the start of the 10km run and my feet were protesting all the way. I guess the asphalt was a little warmer than I originally thought because the soles of my feet were not sore from being poked by the gravel but they felt slightly raw though sort of like when you touch slightly sun burnt skin, very interesting. I had not experienced this before, it was a rather odd sensation. So I decided to put my Vibrams on for the balance of the gravel road and see how they felt at the start of the next section (yes, I decided to go with the Vibrams, I was a little concerned how the moccasins would hold up on the gravel, Nicole just finished them and I didn't want to ruin them that quickly).

After the Vibrams went on, I picked up the pace and was not so worried about finding the clearest route, this also allowed me to look around and take in the sights. It is surreal being on top of Kettles Hill, you can see for miles in all directions and it is overwhelming to think how small you actually are in the grand scheme of things. There are wind turbines all around you as you are running through the middle of a wind generating farm. Seeing these devices from a distance on a hill as you drive by them on a highway, you do not get the whole appreciation of how big they are till you are standing directly under one, they are quite impressive. The gravel road section was about 5 km or so as I reached the end I saw the sweeping prairie grasses spread out in front of me as I entered the fenced area that led to the top of the hill and the single track trail down towards Brocket.

I think I did a little skip and a hop with a fist pump and a Woohoo!! when I saw the fenced area with the pronounced trail (I thought it was interesting that the organizers took the time to mow or it might of been just beaten down, the long grass to highlight the trail for the runners until they reached the single track trail. I was getting some interesting looks from one of the volunteers who was positioned to ensure everybody went the right way when she noticed me taking my shoes off. I just could not pass up the opportunity to run san shoe, plus I wanted to see how the soles of my feet were after the slight burning on the asphalt. My feet appeared to be doing fine, and they were reacting well, the grass and vegetation felt normal on my feet, so I pressed on. As I zigzagged along, taking a little more care where I was planting my feet, I was sneaking looks around me as I went. When I reached the top of the hill, I stopped for a look, and to just take in my surroundings, I could see the pow wow grounds in the distance to the east with about 5 km to go I assume. It really is a humbling feeling as you look around and see the landscape just unfold before you, it really makes you think how insignificant you really are, just a little fish in a very large pond.

I must of stood up at the top of the hill for at least 5 minutes just looking around, including to the south towards Chief Mountain (called Ninastiko in the Blackfoot language), which is a sacred location to the Blackfoot Nation. I have attached a bit of the lore regarding Chief Mountain for your reading pleasure, one day I hope to go visit Ninastiko up close and possibly take the trek up to the top, as this is still a annual pilgrimage for some.

Chief Mountain
Siksika

Many years ago, a young Piegan warrior was noted for his bravery. When he grew older and more experienced in war, he became the war-chief for a large band of Piegan warriors.

A little while after he became the war-chief, he fell in love with a girl who was in his tribe, and they got married. He was so in love with her that he took no other wives, and he decided not to go on war parties any more. He and his wife were very happy together; unusually so, and when they had a baby, they were even happier then.

Some moons later, a war party that had left his village was almost destroyed by an enemy. Only four men came back to tell the story.
The war-chief was greatly troubled by this. He saw that if the enemy was not punished, they would raid the Piegan camp. So he gave a big war feast and asked all of the young men of his band to come to it.
After they had all eaten their fill, the war-chief arose and said to them in solemn tones:
"Friends and brothers, you have all heard the story that our four young men have told us. All the others who went out from our camp were killed by the enemy. Only these four have come back to our campfires. Those who were killed were our friends and relatives.
We who live must go out on the warpath to avenge the fallen. If we don't, the enemy will think that we are weak and that they can attack us unhurt. Let us not let them attack us here in the camp.
I will lead a party on the warpath. Who here will go with me against the enemy that has killed our friends and brothers?"

A party of brave warriors gathered around him, willing to follow their leader. His wife also asked to join the party, but he told her to stay at the camp.

"If you go without me," she said, "you will find an empty lodge when you return."

The chief talked to her and calmed her, and finally convinced her to stay with the women and children and old men in the camp at the foot of a high mountain.

Leading a large party of men, the chief rode out from the village.
The Piegans met the enemy and defeated them but their war-chief was killed. Sadly, his followers carried the broken body back to the camp.
His wife was crazed with grief. With vacant eyes she wandered everywhere looking for her husband and calling his name. Her friends took care of her, hoping that eventually her mind would become clear again and that she could return to normal life.

One day, though, they could not find her anywhere in the camp.
Searching for her, they saw her high up on the side of the mountain, the tall one above their camp. She had her baby in her arms.

The head man of the village sent runners after her, but from the top of the mountain she signalled that they should not try to reach her.
All watched in horror as she threw her baby out over the cliff and then herself jumped from the mountain to the rocks far, far below.

Her people buried the woman and baby there among the rocks. They carried the body of the chief to the place and buried him beside them.

From that time on, the mountain that towers above the graves was known as Minnow Stahkoo, "the Mountain of the Chief", or "Chief Mountain".
If you look closely, even today, you can see on the face of the mountain the figure of a woman with a baby inn her arms, the wife and child of the chief.


Chief Mountain is a mountain in Glacier National Park.

- Source : Neshoba "

As I continued on the trail, I was overwhelmed by all the sensations that were assulting me, the sound of the drums in the distance from the pow wow, the smell of the prairie grass (and cow patties), the heat of the sun and the whistle of the wind. This is one of the biggest reasons I like rural runs like this, the sounds of nature are much more appealing to me than the sounds of hustle and bustle that the city offers. My feet were enjoying the feel of the grass and even the occasional rock, thistle, rose bush, etc. (Nicole even had to pull out a couple of rose thorns out of my feet 4 or 5 days later, never even noticed them). The single track down and thru the pasture land to the last bit of gravel road was challenging but fun, with a pretty substantial elevation drop in was interesting finding clear spots to put my bare feet down on that wasn't either a bunch of thistle or rose bushes, and obviously I didn't miss them all.

I put my Vibrams back on for the gravel road back the pow wow grounds just so I could make a good run of it to the finish line, as I did not want to slow down to much for the last mile with picking my way through the nasty gravel. Same as last year I disgarded my shoes for the last couple hundred yards to the finish line once I reached the grounds, trying to avoid the gopher holes, etc. I was quite happy when I crossed the finish line and looked over at my time and it read 2:34 and change. Even though I wasn't concerned about the time, I still managed to best my time from the previous year by almost 30 minutes. I was met at the finish line by one of the elders for a quick photo for prosparity and of course Nicole and the kids. Overall a great run, and a very meaningful one as well. Finishing totals were just over 10.2 miles barefoot and the balance with the Vibrams.

Once the rest of the runners made it in, we all gathered in the makeshift arbour for the awards ceremony and some more speeches, etc. This was where I got the biggest shock of the day, when I was called up and presented with a gold medal for winning the male 40 to 49 age catagory. This was very cool because it was my first gold medal in a running event ever, as I am not the swiftest runner out there I never really expect to win anything. Now I must note that I was the only one in the age bracket, but the honour of receiving is less none the same as this is not an easy run. Therefore, I will chalk it up as a win-win just the same.

To wrap up the ceremonies there was some speeches given by some of the elders, Ken Williams the race director and by Wendy Lumby who also brought out the olympic torch she carried at the Smashed In Buffalo Jump prior to the Vancouver Winter Olympics. It was a great event again this year, and I know we will be back next year with Nicole running.

Once again a big thankyou to Ken Williams and all the volunteers that help make this a great experience once again. Also a big thanks and congratulatons to all the runners in all of the distances for finishing and proving that if you have the drive you can accomplish anything.

To continue with the logged mileage for the period between the last entry and this one they have been placed below. I have also included some misc. photos from the run for your viewing pleasure in no particular order (actually all the pictures are in reverse order so if you want a chronlogical pictorial then start at the bottom and work your way up):

Wendy Lumby after the run displaying the Olympic Torch she carried at Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump

Me after I received my gold medal for first in my age class, I was quite taken aback even though I was only racing against me, myself and I.

Receiving my gold medal from one of the elders.

Ken Williams showing off the unique trophies for the men's and women's 5km winners. All the trophies were created by a local artist and all focus around the Buffalo Runner's symboligy.

Ken explaining the meaning of the trophies for the 10km winners. Unbelievable keepsakes that anyone would be proud to display.

Ken showing off the Half Marathon winners trophies also sculpted by a local artist. I would of loved to get my hands on one of these, as they are absolutely fantastic.

The awards ceramony gathering.

Me trying to get my Vibrams back on after the race. Yes, most want to get out of their shoes, me on the other hand seem to be always putting them on

Me crossing the finish line, you can see the new arbour construction in the background. Next year we should be running into it at the finish.

Me sprinting to the finish line, no huge crowd just the ones that matter. As this race is more about the journey and reflecting on the past as well as looking to the future.

Me heading into the pow wow grounds and towards the finish line. You can see some of the hills that we just finished running in the background.

Nicole and Jeannie our 13 year old blind samoyed at the finish line cheering in the runners. Photo credits my 10 year old son Tynan.

Ready, set, go!! I started in the back as is becoming a tradition with me. Lots of gravel off the get go, a perfect way to break the soles in for a great run.

Heading up to the start line, notice I am the only one sporting bare feet. They just do not know what they are missing (or not missing if you know what I mean! ;~)

Ken introducing Wendy Lumby and announcing that she was just brought into the Buffalo Runners Society as a Buffalo Runner. Congratulations Wendy, to me that is a great honour, and one day this Scottish Canadian would love to have this honour bestowed on him.

One of the elders says a prayer for all the participants on a great run.

Ken going over the pre-race instructions

Getting ready to head out for a great run on a great day.

The participants milling about discussing the run to come and getting re-aquainted.

Me getting interviewed, I wonder how much of an idiot I sounded like this time.

and here is the mileage:

Monday, July 18th, 2011

Barefoot: 3.25 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 3.25 miles

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Barefoot: 7.25 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 7.25 miles

Saturday July 23, 2011

Barefoot: 11.75 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 11.75 miles

Monday July 25, 2011

(First Run in Cold Lake)

Barefoot: 4.75 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 4.75 miles

Tuesday July 26, 2011

(Second Run in Cold Lake)

Barefoot: 5.85 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 5.85 miles

Thursday July 28, 2011

(First Run in Morinville with the Kids)

Barefoot: 1.75 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 1.75 miles

Friday July 29, 2011

(Second Run in Morinville)

Barefoot: 10.28 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 10.28 miles

Sunday July 31, 2011

(Buffalo Runners Half Marathon - Pincher Creek)

Barefoot: 10.28 miles

Vibrams: 2.94 miles

Total: 13.22 miles

Tuesday August 2, 2011

(First Run in Calgary)

Barefoot: 5.60 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 5.60 miles

Wednesday August 3, 2011

(Second Run in Calgary)

Barefoot: 4.75 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 4.75 miles

Friday August 5, 2011

Barefoot: 2.58 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 2.58 miles

Saturday August 6, 2011

Barefoot: 15.00 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 15.00 miles

Sunday August 7, 2011

Barefoot: 10.32 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 10.32 miles

Tuesday August 9, 2011

Barefoot: 6.42 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 6.42 miles

Total For This Entry
Barefoot: 99.83 miles

Vibrams: 2.94 miles

Total: 102.77 miles

Year To Date

Barefoot: 452.44 miles

Vibrams: 75.70
Total: 528.14 miles

Hope you are having a fantastic summer and enjoying your runs as much as I am.

Have some happy feet!!!!

On On

Bob

Dog Days of Summer

Long Run Sundays will resume August 7/11.

Long Run Sunday July 24

Meeting at 8 am at Timmies at Westwood and Portage.  Bring some  $  because there will be treats at the end ( or halfway point if we can't get a ride back).  I don't know the mileage because the Garmins, I mean Bob and Nicole, have gone out West.  I know y'all like numbers so lets just say it''ll be around 13 miles.
See you tomorrow!

Gail

Journey of 1,000 Barefoot Miles - Weeks Ending July 17, 2011

Whew, what a week, not a lot of big mileage but a lot of fun none the less. I can sum it up in one word:

Trails, Trails, Trails

Ok maybe a word cubed.


Nothing brings a smile to my face like running trails. I don't know what it is, whether it is the connection with nature, the feel of natural surfaces on the soles of my feet, the serenity of running without the hustle and bustle of the city or the bouquets of flowers and foliage that I end up picking up between my toes. No matter how I look at it, I just enjoy trail running much more than running down roads or sidewalks. For me it is the ultimate challenge, some people think I am nuts for running trails barefooted, well other people think I am nuts for running barefoot at all. So I am just trying to appease the masses, and let everybody think of me equally, I don't want anybody to think I am prejudice or something......


Anyway onto the week that was, it was a very good week all in all, some new experiences with some highs and some very humbling moments as well.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Barefoot: 2.93 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 2.93 miles

This was the weekly hash run, the first one I have run in three weeks. Really had no choice but to run this one, as we were hosting it from our house. Nice and Easy (Nicole) with the help of the kids as always laid a great trail, with the all important 'Crown Royal' drink stop. Nothing like a good shot of CR on a hot and humid night when you are running, ahhh refreshing. Anyway no major mishaps on trail, but we had a guest hasher from Scotland join us for the run, so I had to don the HHH kilt in tribute to our guest and my heritage. We learned some new songs and my youngest son due to his uncanny ability to not hold a secret regarding the direction of the true trail at the start was named in true Hasher fashion, 'Blabber Hash'. A name fitting a true hasher, he even got a pop down down to solidify the occasion. Once he was taken back inside, the standard hasher style circle commenced. Oh yes, there was a little bit of field running which I will constitute as easy trail running to start the week.

Wednesday July 13, 2011

Barefoot: 3.98 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 3.98 miles

The City Park Runners Marathon Clinic Wrap up BBQ is a gathering of all the participants and their families at Assiniboine Park for some fun and games. This year (being my first year with this group) was a quick fun run including a 6.0 km with a catch, you had to guess your finishing time. Of course, as always I was fashionably late, so as I ran up to the start line, all I hear is give me your garmin and what is your 6 km time. In total confusion about having to give up my garmin, I thought they said 5 km so I blurted out 27 mins, but I recovered and quickly added on an extra km and screeched out a 'No wait, make that 30 minutes!' All pleased with my quickness of my correction, I didn't think to much about my 3 min km that I would need to do to make this time, ooopps (my best 5 km time is a 26:15). It wasn't till a couple minutes into the run that I realized my mistake, and I thought to myself, 'Crap, I meant 32 minutes not 30.'


To top my adding blunder all off, I started the run off trying to keep up with Alice and Roberto without realizing it. Who was I kidding, as soon as I realized this, I backed off from a pace that I could probably hold for a mile (6 and a halfish minute mile) to a more reasonable 8ish minute mile. I was basically sprinting with my bare feet, not something that I am completely comfortable doing yet. So as we tore around the course, I started to slow down a little more and I finished with just under a 8 min mile average with a time of 31:15. Not to bad I guess considering I did not hydrate before the run and I ended up with side stitches about half way through.


The potluck was great with a unbelievable assortment of foods to try and some good company. I even won a door prize, I let my 4 year old pick it out, and to my delight he chose a pair of running socks, go figure. I run barefoot and he picks socks, irony at its best.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Barefoot: 4.65 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 4.65 miles

This was the Thursday night run with City Park Runners, it was hot, stinking hot and humid. Was originally thinking of doing a 10km run but it was cut short, really it was very hot, and that is all I have to say about it.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Barefoot: 3.94 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 3.94 miles

Here we go the start of the Trail Run Series at Birds Hill Prov. Park, this was the first in the series starting at a cool 6.4 km and leading up to the 3hour/6hour/12hour Lemming Loop in October. This is my favorite type of run, I just love trail running, because you just never know what the conditions are going to be like and what nature is going to put in front of you (last year we ran beside some deer for a short distance before they bolted into the trees).


This race started out exactly like most others, some weird looks and whispering things like 'He's not going to run like that is he? and 'Is that the guy that ran the marathon barefoot? No it can't be he was taller and not so good looking!' Ok I made up the last one. I couldn't help but smile and snicker to myself, but really you think people would be getting used to idea by now, and yes it is possible to run this way.


I did see a couple pairs of Vibrams being worn, not including Nicole's and a few more minimalistic styles of shoes including the NB Minimulas and Nike Free's. It is interesting to see more and more people get away from the boat anchors I call running shoes.


The conditions were not the best, quite warm and humid in the open, so I expected very humid once we got into the trees. The RD (Dwayne) advised us the course was very dry and should be fast, all I could think was I would of liked at least a little mud to fly through. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers.



Overall it was a great run, I finished in 35:34 good enough for 35th overall out of 88 finishers, not bad for this barefoot runner amongst a mass of shod runners. I even sprinted the final distance over gravel to the finish line to the total dismay of numerous participants who I passed and spectators alike.

A little dusty and dirty but fairly clean for a trail run. It did feel good to blast by a number of runners in the last bit of the run over the gravel road leading up to the finish line.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Barefoot: 4.25 miles

Vibrams: 1.50 miles

Total: 5.75 miles

To top the week off we were going to participate in a group run with City Park Runners on Hunt Lake Trail at Westhawk Lake in the Whiteshell. But due to unfortunate circumstances Erick (the organizer got sick and had to cancel). But not to be undaunted, we decided to go and run it anyway, so myself, Nicole and Andy headed out to Westhawk to meet up with Gail and go for a run. We also met up with Mark from City Park who was camping out at one of the lakes and did not get Erick's cancellation notice. So here we were, prepping for the run, not really knowing what to expect but excited none the less.


Unfortunately Nicole was not able to run as she was watching the kids on the beach and she graciously sent me out to participate. Have I mentioned how much I love that woman. As the trail head is about 4 to 5 km down the road from the beach, with us all being the die-hard runner types, we jumped into Gail's VW bug and drove up to the start of the trail. No sense wasting good trail running energy on a crappy road now don't you think.


So as we pulled up to the trail, we got out and this sign was the first thing we saw (of course this is a map not a sign but we forgot to take a picture of the actual sign but you get the picture):

There was a big warning on the posted sign that advised, would be hikers, that this was a difficult trail and not for beginners. Well then, this did not apply to us as we were going to run it not hike it. To further push the limits I was going to run it barefoot, nothing like a challenge to start the day. We were all excited to get going on this little adventure, so off we went.

We started off at a cautious pace with Mark in the lead, Andy second and myself and Gail right behind. Not really knowing what to expect, we plowed ahead through some really technical trails. Lots of rock, roots, vertical climbs among other interesting obstacles.






This is where the humbling part of the week comes into play, it felt like we were running for a good period of time (in fact we were) when we got to our first stop point a vertical cliff face that was just awesome to look at, we actually took a picture of it with us on it, but unfortunately I do not have the photo handy so will have to post later. Anyway I looked at my garmin to find out we had been running for about 25 minutes and we have logged a whopping .35 miles, hence the humbling part of the experience. We were definitely not going to complete a land speed record on this trail. I have some photos of the trail terrain that I will post at the end of the blog to give you a little bit of a idea of what we ran through, but honestly the pictures do not give the trail justice. You seriously have to experience it. The views are breathtaking, the trail is difficult and at times impossible to run (vertical climbs up and or down at between 50 to I would say 75 degree slopes). The rocks (or boulders in some cases) are everywhere and in areas where the foliage overhangs the trail and you can't see your feet or the ground another rock will suddenly appear.


We were originally intending to run this trail (approx. 16 km) in about 2 hours and change, let me tell you that was not going to happen. By the time we reached 2 hours we were just over 6 km in and Gail and I decided we would turn back to relieve Nicole of the dubious task of watching the kids alone. Now don't get me wrong, I really wanted to finish the trail, but I do believe there are more important things in life, like the sanity of my lovely wife. So even though my bare feet felt fantastic other than a couple of bruises from the rocky trail, Gail and I turned back and let Andy and Mark carry on. Let me tell you, Gail says she has no sense of direction, well I am no better. We lost the trail going back 3 times and areas of the route were completely unfamiliar, we were so glad that someone took the time to mark the trail with flags and signs or we would of probably ended up in Ontario or something. We were also some glad that we ran into a trio of hikers that were frequent hikers of this trail and new it like the back of their hands. I will say, I did not come out of the run (or quick hike) unscathed, as I played pinball with my little toe off a bunch of rocks and I seriously thought I broke it. But even with all the bruising and swelling, my strong feet appear to have prevailed as it seems to be a deep bruise only. Yeah for strong feet and toes. I did end up putting my Vibrams on for the last mile and a half out just to ensure i did no more damage to my toe, but even so that was still over 4 miles of really crazy trail barefoot, and to me that is pretty impressive.

Anyway to bring this to a conclusion, it was a great run, and Andy and Mark did finish the run, both out and back, and both myself and Gail are determined to finish this with Nicole, so we will be allocating a good part of a day to complete this next time. For any of you out there that wants a good technical trail to either hike or run (for ultra training) this is it, it has a little of everything and a great view along the way.



My very bruised and swollen little toe




















A close up of the damage, I seriously thought it was broken, but apparently not as I can move it with no issues today.

This is some of the trail that we ran up at Hunt Lake, take this and add rocks and boulders and you have most of the rest of the trail. lots of fun.




















This was one climb that we had to make this is the mild one, the majority were more of a vertical for the climb or the descent. It was really cool how my feet had no issue with this.

With this week coming to a end I conclude with some numbers:

Week Totals:

Barefoot: 19.75 miles

Vibrams: 1.50 miles

Total: 21.25 miles

And for the year to date:

Year to Date:

Barefoot: 352.61 miles

Vibrams: 72.76 miles

Total: 425.37 miles

Until next week,

Keep your feet strong and free!!

On On,

Bob

Sunday, July 17, 2011 Scheduled Run

Taking the show on the road this week, off to West Hawk Lake for 10 am. Going to run some trails, more exact Hunt Lake Trail. Not sure of the mileage we will see when we get there. I know there will be at least 4 of us, and maybe some more.

Hope to see you there.

Bob

Journey of 1,000 Barefoot Miles - Weeks Ending July 10, 2011

So we begin once again, with almost 3 weeks of not much running after the Manitoba Marathon, I am trying to ramp up the miles to get closer to my goal. It has been a struggle, more mentally than physically, as I know I can run the distance but getting the gumption to get out there and do it has been a bigger challenge then I anticipated. I have come to the conclusion that I need a goal, and not just a little goal but something;

that is going to make the smoke turn into a spark,

feed the spark until it becomes a ember,

take the ember and feed it until it becomes a flame,

fan the flame so it becomes inferno.

I have the Buffalo Runner's Half Marathon on July 31st, and I am really looking forward to that, but that run is more about the experience, the re-connection with nature and your lost spirit, but it is not the challenge that I am seeking. There is also the 50km Manitoba Trail Ultra in Spruce Woods on August 20th, but I am preparing for the expected cancellation of this event due to the Spring Flood that never seems to end. Needless to say, I need to find something to get me modivated to run the big miles, get my mojo going again. As I continue to look, I have made it out a few times this week, its funny once I get out and start running everything falls into place. Everything is right with the world again, I am out there running because I love to run no pressures nor stress just the feel of the road, sidewalk, trail, etc under my out stretched toes.

So until I find that modivation factor again, I will be forcing myself out the door and to quote a shoe manufacturer (oh the horror!!), 'Just Do It!'

Here was the week that was:

Tuesday July 5th, 2011

Barefoot: 5.25 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 5.25 miles

Lunch run from the office, just a mildly warm day at 29 degrees Celcius before the humidity factor kicks in (honestly don't know the true temperature but felt like 40 degrees plus). Had to cut the run a little short, because of the heat, the asphalt paths and roads were scorching when you had to stand in place longer than a couple of seconds. Got some real interesting looks as I was hopping around from foot to foot in place while waiting for lights, etc. All in a days work for a barefoot runner I suppose. Also had to do a sprint through some broken glass again at one intersection, which got some more wide mouth open type looks from a cyclist and walker who was beside me at the time. Glass really is no issue, as long as you don't stop and grind your foot into it. As long as you brush the bottom of your feet off once your through, your golden. Overall a good run, if it was about 10 degrees cooler, I would of tried for about 10 miles that day.

Thursday July 7, 2011

Barefoot: 12.71 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 12.71 miles

This was an interesting run in the evening, I decided I was going to run from my house to City Park Runners to meet up with my Thursday night run partners, complete that run, than run over to Nicole's Taekwondo class to meet her when she was done. Great plan except for one small detail, it was stinking hot and my contacts decided to malfuntion about a mile in (ok maybe two small details). Once again the temperature was quite warm and the humidity was quite high, I believe this caused my contacts to either dryout or just fog up. I'm not sure which, all I do know is that I couldn't see anything in front of me except a big mass of blur. I could see enough to keep me out of trouble, but seeing what was in front of me on the ground, no chance. This was quite the experience as I had to make sure my form was really good and my step really light, so if I did step on a rock or something, it would not affect me to badly. Now all things considered, I did really well, because I only stepped on 2 or 3 stones that I really noticed enough to do a one-two hop (it's kind of like doing a skip in the middle of a full out run, quite funny to see, I'm sure).

After a fun and eventful 5.65 mile run to City Park from the house, I found out I had missed the group run start by about 10 mins. Knowing I would never catch them, I decided to head over to the park and run 5km or so around the park (actually turned into 4.25 miles). I was quite happy with my time as I was making my way around (if I put my garmin right to my face I actually could read it), and by the time I reached the formal gardens I almost caught up to the Eric and the gang who left before me (of course they were running a 10 km loop). All and all a good run to that point.

I followed up those legs of the run with the run to Nicole's taekwondo class to finish it off, by this time I could barely see anything, so I was glad to just sit my butt down on the bench and watch a mass of blurs kick and punch at each other (took me about 10 minutes to figure out which one was my wife, ssshhh don't tell her).

No harm done from my lack of vision, just a couple of blisters on my toes from overstretching and trying to hard to step lightly, I believe, anyway they were gone by Friday morning.

Saturday July 9, 2011

Barefoot: 14.01 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 14.01 miles

Saturday morning City Park Runners long run with Elaine. Elaine is currently training for the Twin Cities Marathon in September, and I have volunteered to be her pace and training partner on all her long runs. This week's run was 14 miles, so we had a plan to run to the Forks, over to Tache and back across the Norwood Bridge to the Forks prior to heading back to the store. This should of worked out to 14 miles or so at least we hoped.

Anyway, as we took off the temperature was just about perfect, there was a overcast sky and the route was errieily quiet. It was almost like it was a very early Sunday, as there was very little traffic on the roads (both vehicle and runner's alike), it was a little odd. As we went along the humidity started to increase but we were managing fairly well, keeping a 10 min/mile pace throughout. We made some stops at the Miss and the Forks to ensure we stayed hydrated, as this is very important in the heat on long runs. As we made our way to the foot bridge and across, I did a quick calculation on what we needed to make the 14 and what I expected we had left, we would get to the store just shy. So as we got close to the store, I looked at Elaine (this one is for you Mike) and said, "Just past the store to the Lights". Elaine looked at me, like she was going to crack me across the back of the head, I had to start laughing. Anyway, in case you were wondering what this was about, Elaine told me about the week 's before run where Mike (from See Mike Run), goaded Elaine into running past the store to the lights to make the 12.5 mile mark. Anyway I thought it was funny at the time. It was a great run, and this will be one of my modivation factors to help Elaine run the best run that she can in the Twin Cities.

Here is the milage for the week:

Total Mileage for the Week:

Barefoot: 31.97 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 31.97 miles

and the year to date:

Year to Date

Barefoot: 332.86 miles

Vibrams: 71.26 miles

Total: 404.12 miles

One item that is worth mentioning as well, although it has nothing to do with my 1,000 mile challenge is that Nicole ran the Grand Beach Sun Run on Sunday July 10 and she absolutely killed it. Not only did she have a personal best, she had a sub 1 hour run at 59:44, and to top it off she medalled. Nicole finished in 3rd place for her age group, which is absolutely awesome. I am so proud of her and knew she could run faster than she had last year once she put the camera away at the race.

Have a great week and may the sun tan the tops of your bare feet during your runs.

On, On

Bob

Journey of 1,000 Barefoot Miles - Weeks Ending July 2, 2011 Manitoba Marathon Edition

Me Before the Manitoba Marathon

(Photo Courtesy of City Park Runners)

Note Added July 1, 2011:
Wow, I just realized that I have been working on this post for almost 2 weeks!! I know there usually is a letdown after you finish a marathon, as suddenly you don't have anything to train for, but holy crap I have to get out of this funk. I have been really not keeping up with my runs, as is truly evident by the mileage that I haven't ran in the last two weeks. Things are going change. But on the note here is where we are sitting to date.

I decided to change up the format on my weekly mileage wrap up due to the running of my first official barefoot marathon on Sunday. Because you know, it's kind of a big thing, the first step (all be it barefoot) in my future goal of transitioning to running Ultras a la naturale.

Anyway I digress, this week I am going to start with Sunday the 19th and work backwards towards Monday the 13th, because, well I am writing this so I make up the rules.

So here we go:
Sunday June 19, 2011
Father's Day

Manitoba Marathon

Barefoot: 26.51 miles*
Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 26.51 miles

*Marathon distance of 26.2 miles plus additional wide corners, etc. or so they tell me.

Well, what can I say to explain the nervous excitement I was experiencing up to the start of this race. Sleep did not come easy the night before, I would of been lucky if I got more than 2 hours of seeing the back of my eyelids. I just could not shut my brain off, no matter what I did, I was pre-running the race in my head over and over again (which is really ironic because I had no clue where I was really going). The alarm clock went off at 4:15am, not sure why I set it quite that early, so after a couple of snooze button strikes I jumped out of bed and started to get ready. The nervous energy was still there, so I had a hard time sitting still enough to get some breakfast down which consisted of oatmeal and a banana for some quick energy. Someone told me once that you should ensure to eat no sooner than 2 hours before a big run, so I was taking this advise to heart. Once I finished packing my "After The Race Bag", getting my number (673)pinned on, eyes in (I was wearing my new contacts), application of Glide.

Funny story here, I was so distracted with my upcoming run, I accidentally applied Solid Relief instead of Glide where I typically chaff in the thigh area from my shorts rubbing, for those who do not know what that is, here is a quick explanation. Solid Relief is a all natural hot/cold muscle relief stick that heats up quite nicely, a great product for loosing up tight and sore muscles and joints. Not so good to apply on the inner thighs, needless to say I had some hot flashes that I was really not wanting nor prepared for. After removing the Solid Relief and applying the correct stuff I was ready to go and it was only 5:15 am. I was quite pleased when I looked at the weather and found out the forecast was 15 degrees Celsius and overcast, perfect running conditions in my books.

Nicole and the kids were going to drive me to one of the shuttle stations, so I could get to the start location at the University of Manitoba in plenty of time for the 7:00 am start. I also had planned to meet up with everybody from City Park Runners prior to the race for pictures and well wishes as well. With this in mind, we left the house at 5:30 to ensure I could make the 6:00 shuttle from the pickup spot. Wow, what a sight when we got there, obviously everybody else had the same idea, because the parking lot was full of runners waiting to get on one of the buses. There was an easy 500 plus people waiting to catch a ride to the U of M, but fortunately the volunteers were doing a great job of organizing everybody and getting them on and off to the Marathon site in a timely fashion.

The crowd of runners waiting for the shuttle buses. It took me about 20 minutes before I got on my shuttle, and the line grew substantially by that point.



It took us about 5 minutes to get to the drop off spot with the WPS doing a great job of directing traffic away from the university. I decided that I would leave my VFF's on my feet till I dropped off my 'After the Run Kit', as I wanted to fly under the radar so to speak until it got closer to race time. I got a really strange look from the volunteer at the clothes drop off station when I took my VFF's off and shoved them in the bag before I handed it to her. Then she realized I was running the marathon and I wasn't wearing any shoes, I just shrugged and smiled and turned to walk away. I figured there would be some type of conversation going on after I left, about the crazy guy running the marathon with no shoes.

As I headed to the start line, as it was getting closer to 7:00, I noticed the City Park Runners crew over in the adjacent parking lot, figuring I had enough time, I sprinted over to wish everybody a good run prior to lining up. City Park had a good representation for this run, and I have to thank Eric, Cheryl and the rest of the gang for helping me reach my goal of completing this marathon run. Without the extra training runs, the open minded running partners (you know who you are) and the motivation and encouragement showed throughout by all, I might not of been ready to do this. Also a big thanks to Cheryl for the great before picture shown above, I hope you don't mind me thieving it (I promise I will not use it for profit). I did miss out on the group photo, which I probably had time to do, but once again the nervous energy and excitement got the best of me, as I headed to the start line.

Once I figured out where I was going, I found the 4 hour 30 finish time starting point and started limbering up. I set a goal time of 4hr30 mins for this race based on how my training runs went previously, I figured if I went out at a 10 min/mile pace for the first couple of miles until the field thinned out. Then if I felt good I could pick up the pace and start moving up the ranks, as the race went on. I have been very happy lately with my ability to pick up the pace and finish all my runs strong no matter what the distance, so I was expecting no different today.

I was also trying to meet Andy as well, as the plan was to run the race together to help push each other along, and at about 6:50 both him and his wife Liz arrived to join me. Liz wasn't running but was there to see Andy off prior to heading to work to tend to her flock (she is an ordained pastor). As we waited we saw the wheelchair marathoners head by for their start, and the nervous energy was really starting to rear it's ugly head. Luckily while we waited, I had a number of curious runners asking questions about my barefeet including, 'You're not really going to run like that are you?', and 'You're running the full marathon?' . Also my favourites, 'Damn that's hardcore' and 'You must have really crazy callouses?' This of course distracted me as I answered questions and had some fun with some of the people as I did leg lifts to stretch out my hips and quads. This of course brought more attention to my bare feet and thus more finger pointing, oooh's and ahhhs, and whisperings which brought a uncontrollable crazy grin to my face.

Then after the introduction of the race director, and the standard call of the 'Ready, Set, and Go', there was a slow shuffle to the start line as the front runners took off to begin the race.

The Start of the 2011 Manitoba Marathon
(if you look really close you can see my bare feet through all the legs)

It took Andy and I about a minute to get to the starter strip to begin the race but once we got there we started to slowly pick up steam, the plan of the 10 min/mile went out the window as soon as we started, as we were swept up by the atmosphere and all the adrenalin that was surrounding us. For the first mile or so, we were struggling to keep the pace down to a reasonable rate, we both knew from previous experiences if we go out to fast at the start, once the miles added up we would not be able to keep it up, and our goals would be in jeopardy. With this in mind, I was a little surprised at how I was feeling, my feet were responding really well to the road, my breathing was even and steady, and it appeared that no matter how fast I was running, it felt right.

As we left University Drive and turned north onto Pembina, it was like people started to notice I was running barefoot, I started hearing ooohhs and ahhhs from the crowds, etc. I also starting hearing runners talking behind me as I moved along, Comments like "I could never do that, I can barely walk on my deck without shoes" and "I would be worried about stepping on glass or sharp rocks." I always find it funny, do they not think I can hear them, or do they think that I wouldn't connect the dots that they were talking about me. I just smiled, shook my head, and answered their questions over my shoulder. The most common question seems to be "You must have some crazy callouses on your feet to run like that!" This one still amazes me, because let's think about that, I am running on pavement, rough concrete, gravel, etc. Can we say 'Nature's Emery Board!", my feet are probably softer than most peoples, I get a pedicure everytime I go out for a run. For some reason a lot of people relate tough strong feet (thicker plantar skin) to callouses, oh well I am taking this as a opportunity to educate the masses I guess.

Anyway as Andy and I moved onto Crescent Park Drive and through the park, we started to slowly pass other runners, we were unintentionally doing this, but we ended up tailing a couple of quicker runners and once again we were caught up in the excitement and off we went. Running through the water stations, we both took advantage of the wet sponges to douse ourselves with to keep cool. This was becoming more and more important to both stay hydrated and cool as the humidity was starting to creep up. I actually had one girl drop the sponge she was holding out for me before I got to her when she looked down at my barefeet. Good thing there was another one just after her which I snagged with a quick thanks, the sponges were a good thing to keep my body from overheating throughout the run.

South Drive was fairly uneventful, I had one of the bike support crew members riding along side me for a short period asking all sorts of questions, his curiosity got the best of him I guess. After he went on his merry way, another one of the great volunteers (and I sincerely mean that everybody who volunteered was great and a big thank you goes out to all of you) pulled up to check on me as well, he had more of an agenda though, as he was checking to make sure I knew what I was doing and had ran this far barefoot before. He was glad to hear that I have been running this way for over a year and this was my full time running thing. He then proceeded to tell me he was concerned when he first saw me because of a girl that decided last minute to try to run the marathon barefoot and got pulled off with shredded and bloody feet. Talk about 'too much to soon' that is how people get hurt and barefoot running gets a bad reputation, you seriously can't think that you can just take off the shoes and run a marathon, pretty silly if you ask me.

Just before we pulled back onto Pembina, we hit Relay Exchange Station No. 1, this was a hoot. I charged through there with the biggest smile, as the largest gathering point of spectators was the Relay Exchange Stations, both runners and cheerers (is that right) gather at these points. After another quick sponge soak, some waves to the crowd and some well wishes from some of my adoring fans (lol even I find that funny), I was on my way once again. It's funny you go through those cheering sections and the adrenaline just starts pumping and I felt higher than a kite (bad comparison but it seems to work in this instance). Once back onto Pembina, we hit the split with the half marathoners, not sure if there was too many of those as we carried onto the Jubilee Overpass, but I am sure there was a few.

It was a straight shot up Harrow towards River Heights and Wellington Crescent, passing more confused spectators and runners alike. I was just having a whole lot of fun and my feet were feeling fantastic, no ill effects as we passed mile 8 and 9. I pulled away from Andy a couple of times as I got started into conversations with other runners, including an absolutely amazing woman who was running her first marathon. She was a single mother of 5 (yes I said 5) children from Steinbach, I don't know to much of her story because she keep changing the conversation back to barefoot running. Try as I might to find out a little more about her and express my admiration about her determination and drive to train for and run a marathon along with raising 5 children, she keep turning it around. She even went so far so call me her hero, for doing what I do, all I can say to that is: No way, you are my hero for doing what you are doing!! Anyone who can raise 5 children on their own and still have enough time to do some serious marathon training (with one of those wheelie cart strollers to push her two youngest around), deserves more kudos than my barefeet do. Also a big ooh yeah goes out to her sister for graciously watching the kids and letting her run today.

Once we hit Wellington, my bladder decided it need to empty, so I quickly found the first port-a-pottie I could find. Doing this I told Andy to keep going and I would try to catch up when I finished, of course I did not account for the guy in front of me taking 4 minutes to go, crap. Tick tock, tick tock, that had to be the most aggravating time period ever, seemed like everything was going in slow motion except the runners that I had passed that were now passing me. After what seemed like forever, I got in and out and back on the road to some more crazy comments about my feet, par for the course I guess. Feeling totally rejuvenated, I picked up the pace, and started regaining some lost ground. I caught up to Andy just before the 2nd relay transition station, and once again had a great time running through the crowds. Passed by my father-in-law and his wife for the second time, not really sure if they were cheering or embarrassed to admit they knew me (I don't think they would of admitted it to me anyway). I did hear quite a bit of 'Cheering for the Barefoot Guy', very interesting, I almost looked around to see who they were talking about, then I remembered that was probably me.

After passing through the relay transition location, I was feeling awesome and Andy just said 'don't let me hold you back, go!!'. I was so pumped, I just picked up the pace and took off into Assiniboine Park, passing more runners and just having a great time, my legs felt fresh it was hard to believe I had just passed 11 miles and was heading for the foot bridge over to Portage Ave.

Me passing a group of runners before I spot my wife and kids cheering me on just before the foot bridge.

Me heading back onto the course towards the foot bridge after a quick hug and kiss of the kids and wife. The lady in green just realized I was not wearing any shoes and started yelling.

Andy heading to the foot bridge to get to Portage Avenue

I spotted my wife and kids cheering me on just as I was coming up to the foot bridge waving signs and just appearing to have a good time. I took a couple of seconds to weave myself out of the pack and sprint over for a quick ruffling of the hair of the boys and a kiss for the wife, I was feeling so good. I don't think they were expecting that, but what the heck I was having fun, and there is no rule against it is there? I was so pleased with my time to this point I was right on track, I figured I would hit the foot bridge at about 1:50 and I was right on (just under 12 miles). Not to bad, and I still had loads of gas in the tank, I wasn't even fatigued in anyway. I felt like I could run at least another half marathon, good thing I was.

Over the foot bridge we went and east on Portage, still maintaining a pretty steady clip, I hit the half way point (13.1 miles) at around Polo Park with a time 2 hours and 6 minutes. This got me smiling even more as I realized my 2 hour half marathon goal time was in reach with this type of split. Just by increasing my marathon pace by about 30 seconds a mile, under 2 hours is definitely achievable.

I started running with another Vibram wearing marathoner, it was really interesting to see the amount of Vibrams out, it actually makes me think that this minimalistic (or natural) running thing might be catching on. Anyway she was telling me she was having a great time running behind me watching the reactions on people's faces as I run by and they notice that I wasn't wearing any shoes. It was like, 'cheer, cheer, ch-ee....., holy crap he doesn't have any shoes', it seems I was getting more of a reaction then I was expecting. Anyway she was quite content to run with or behind me, as supposely she was not being bothered for her choice of footwear.

As we turned into the Woseley area, I saw a guy holding a sign, and I automatically thought of Gail, as it was a sign that I figured she would be holding up. It read "Run Faster Than Your Mascara", it just started me laughing, and low and behold who do I see a little way up the road but G and the B-man cheering away. It was good to see them out and cheering on the runners with reckless abandon.

The Infamous Sign ' Run Faster Than Your Mascara' . Gail I know you had someting to do with this. (photo credit by G.O.)

This was part of the Elvis Themed Relay Running Team

(photo credit by G.O.)

As we headed up Wolseley Aveune towards the Relay Exchange Zone No. 3, we noticed a definite increase in spectators, it was a lot of fun running through this area with the tree canopy and the older homes, very surreal. I could hear all the cheering at the Exchange Zone, and of course this got the adreline going, which increased my speed. I hit the crowds almost in a sprint, there was a lot of cheering, some more gasps and comments and some hi-fives with relay participants I knew and didn't know. I say Daniel (who I used to work with) and Leo (who I currently work with), waiting for there respective relay partners to check in, with some words of encouragement. I steamed through this section fairly quickly, while taking a moment to grab a drink and a sponge to ensure I was maintaining my hydration as the humidity was starting to take its hold on the day.

It was a mostly uneventful run through downtown, hit the sprinklers, soaked myself with sponges, drank lots of water, popped a GU, you know the normal stuff. We did pass by an apartment with some really loud spectators, I don't believe they spoke a stick of english, but boy were they having fun, cheering on all the runners, screaming, hooting and hollering. It was good to see them have so much fun.

After I hit mile 17, which was right around where we turned onto Main Street and the Norwood Bridge, I was noticing my legs starting to fatigue a little bit, I think the humidity and heat were starting (just starting) to take their toll. I was averaging just over a 10 min mile, still not to bad, but definitely a difference from earlier in the run. The funny thing was that my feet still felt fantastic. I had stepped on a couple of stones along the way that I honestly should of missed, but other than that no issues, my feet still felt very strong and no tenderness at all. Not that it would of mattered as I left my safety blanket (my VFF's) behind anyway, I would either finish barefoot or I would not be finishing at all.

As I crossed the Norwood Bridge, to the delight of many honking cars, and the tune of 'Go barefoot runner, Go!', I turned onto Lyndale Drive and got jumped by the paparazzi. This photographer was standing there casually and as I was approaching he noticed my lack of footwear and he took off like a shot to get ahead of me. I swear, he must of took at least 50 pictures of me coming towards him as his finger never lifted off the camera button. I just shook my head, waved and smiled as I cruised by him with a bit more of a jump in my step. I honestly felt like my feet were going to be in the paper the next morning with the amount of picture taking that was done throughout the course. After all that sillyness, it happened, just before the 18th mile marker in the shade of a big tree, my thirst quenching heroine called my name. It was HB with her beer stop all set up, just like it was meant to be. Oooohhh what luck, this was the extra boost that I needed. HB is a long time member of the WH3, of which I am a proud member. With a quick down down (I never thought Sleemans Honey Brown ever tasted so good), a good luck hug and some words of encouragement, I was off again with a bit more of a bounce in my step.

Around the corner I went and there was Colin and his family sitting there once again cheering everybody on (I also passed them somewhere in Wolseley), it was almost like they were following me. It was like this bicycle riding clown that I met up with numerous times through the course, everytime she saw me she made this shocked look, like I was stalking her, it was quite entertaining, but my perspective might be a little warped. Anyway carrying on Lyndale Drive and back towards St. Mary's, still mantaining a steady pace at around a 10:00 mile, I was quite optimistic that I would blow my goal time out of the water (note to self, never do this especially at Mile 19 of a marathon as the WALL has not reared it's ugly head as of yet). All I could think was my feet were not showing any effects of the distance, my legs still felt like they had good spring to them, and my breathing was steady and strong, I am going to finish this thing in dare I say it, just over 4 hours. Suddenly my goal had changed in my head, and I started to pick up the pace, big mistake made. I had trained for a certain pace in the latter stages of the run, and in all my brilliance, I decided I should push it up way too soon. Here I hadn't even hit 20 miles yet and I was looking too far ahead, instead of staying with my original game plan of between a 9:30 mile and a 10:15 mile until the last 2 or 3 miles (not including adreline boosts from the spectators), I pushed it up to a 8:00 mile. Of course this did not last too long, my breathing quickened, my legs got heavy and I had to do what I did not want to do, I slowed to a walk for a couple of minutes to catch my breath and give my legs a break. Crap, the mistake was made, I find that once I slow for that first walk, I will see myself doing that numerous times from that point forward.

As we hit Relay Exchange Zone 4, I had walked a couple of times, and I was not happy about it. With a quick sponge shower to cool me off, a drink and a GU, I was off again, and then a thought occured to me when I turned onto Dunkirk Drive (mile 22), I am running a marathon the way I believe I was intended too, and damn it I am having fun. Who cares if I have to walk a few times, my goal was to finish the entire 26.2 miles with the power of my own barefeet (not with a pair of over-priced foot coffins) and a grin on my face, and that was what I was going to do. This epifiney changed my thought process on how I was going to finish the race, now I was going to give it everything I got and run as hard as I could (with proper form of course) for as long as I could then I would walk a little bit, and then do it all over again.

With this in mind I started running with a biker who was volunteering this year for the first time (or maybe he rode with me) for about a mile. He told me he had ran every Marathon up until this year, but could not go this time but felt he still had to be a part of it, so he volunteered to be a course marshall. He also told me that he was proud of his son who took up the tradition and was running his first marathon this year, you could see the proud look in his face as he told me this. Its amazing the stories that you hear along the way, people seem to open up a little more when they run, barriers appear to come down. People talk to people that normally would not converse with, you seem to become part of a community that wants to see you succeed. I don't know if it just me, but running allows me to express myself in ways that I normally do not get too, typically I am a quiet guy, I do not go out of my way to talk to people. But take off the shoes and allow me to run for any given distance, and I turn into a totally different person, I seem to come out of my shell and just have fun. I will talk to anyone, I pretty much have no fear when it comes to talking about the way I run.

As we pulled onto St. Vital Drive, I was still maintaining my pace and walking when I needed to, as I started up running again, I come up on this small cheering section with the cutest little girl I had ever seen. She was probably 4 at most, and cheering the loudest at all the runners as they went by her. When she saw me, she stopped cheering, her eyes went wide and started pointing at me with her finger and said something that I will remember for a long time,

"Mommy, Mommy, He's running with no feet! Can I run like him one day"

I don't know why this touched me the way that it did, but from that point on I could not keep the grin off of my face. I must also say her mother was turned and facing the other way when she said this, so she whipped around with a big "What?" Then she realized I was just running with no shoes, and the relieve that showed on her face was priceless. This area was full of families cheering on the runners, it was good to see the parents showing their kids that it is good to support something like this. I next came across another family that was handing out freezies to the runners, I spotted the youngest one, a little boy and headed right to him. The look of delight on his face as he passed me the freezie was worth it, especially when he looked at my barefeet when I stopped in front of him to thank him. All I heard as I headed out was, "The runner with no shoes took the freezie from me, did you see that, he came to me." I don't know if I made his day, but along with the other girl, he made mine. The innocense of children never ceases to amaze me, I wish it never went away.

As I got to mile 23, River Road and the aid station where a bunch of my running friends were helping out, I still felt pretty good, with a quick bit of water (I think I surprised Ken who I don't think recongnized me), some hello's to Fast, Agent and Tram I was off again. Once we pulled onto Bishop Grandin, I decided to walk the bridge across the Red River, I figured it would be good timing to rest up for the final push to the finish line. This was really interesting to walk over, with the non-freeze textured surface on the bridge there was some really hot spots where the metal was located. Further to this, there was some pretty crazy sharp rocks lodged in the cracks. I ended up running most of the bridge as it was a little warmer than I had originally expected. With this I ended up walking some of the off ramp up to Pembina Hwy, which was not as originally planned, I usually do not like to walk up inclines. Here we turned onto University Drive for the home stretch to the finish line.

As I passed mile 25, I saw this young relay runner who was really struggling to push forward. So I pulled up beside him and tried to encourage him on. Maybe it was my words of inspiration or maybe he just didn't want to beaten by a barefoot runner, but he picked up his pace and we ran in most of the way to the end. Just before we turned into the stadium for the final distance to the finish line, I pulled up and let him go ahead, that was when he turned his head and mouthed. "Thanks" and off he went. Stopping for a second, I thought to myself I did it, I am going to finish this thing and I pushed off for the final kick.

As I entered the stadium, I felt like I had just conquoured the world, me and my barefeet. I looked at the crowd, saw a lot of people cheering and waving and I poured it on for the final push, my legs felt light and my feet seemed like they were floating as made the corner to the finish line. I looked up at the time, and to my surprise I was still under 4:30:00, now knowing that I did not get across the start line as the race started, I had a minute of grace time but I was not leaving it to chance. I kicked it up another notch and passed 2 runners prior to the finish, as I raised my arms and crossed the timing belt with a posted time of 4:27:46. This translated to a chip or official time of 4:26:58. I was elated that I did it, and finished as strong as I did.

I did it, I finished my first marathon barefoot.

Me coming into the finishline, I passed the guy in the orange just before the line.

Me with the big silly grin on my face after I picked up my finishing medal.

My boys with me after the run, my feet are in perfect shape, looked like they did before I started today. Notice the only thing my boys are concerned about are the spoils that I received from the Recovery Area.

The winner of the 2011 Manitoba Marathon, Philip Samoei of Calgary in a time of 2:35:45.

With the Manitoba Marathon over with I have gotten into a real funk, that I am currently trying to get out of, it took me a long time to get this blog post finished and out, so I have decided to finish it off with just the mileage from the days I have ran with no explaination. Honestly they are few and far between but they will all count towards my end goal. I have a half marathon scheduled for the end of the month and a 50km scheduled for mid August so I have to get back to my running post haste. Next week I will start posting as per before, but this one other than the Marathon report will be down and dirty. I hope you enjoyed a look inside my head during a marathon, it was quite the experience and I will never forget it.

Anyway here are the rest of the runs that I have finished over the last few weeks:

June 13th, 2011

Barefoot: 3.59 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 3.59 miles

June 16th, 2011

Barefoot: 6.20 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 6.20 miles

June 20th, 2011

Barefoot: 2.12 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 2.12 miles

June 23rd, 2011

Barefoot: 5.12 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 5.12 miles

June 28th, 2011

Barefoot:7.19 miles

Vibrams: 0.00 miles

Total: 7.19 miles

Totals Year to Date:

Barefoot: 300.89 miles

Vibrams: 71.26 miles

Total: 372.15 miles

May your soles caress mother earth at every opportunity

On, On.