Today is the eve of the Barefoot Runners Society "Largest Barefoot Race" where we will set the Guinness World Record. I have been fretting over the details of the event for weeks and am finally getting excited! The world record aspect of the event seems relatively minor. I'm excited about having the opportunity to meet many of my Runners World Barefoot Running Forum friends AND many local runners.
This event has and should continue to generate positive local publicity for barefoot running. My goal of making Grand Rapids a epicenter of barefoot running in the Midwest is coming along. Luckily, I have a tremendous amount of help from some great people. My wife Shelly has done a wonderful job of organizing things behind the scenes and accommodating my busy schedule. Andy Grosvenor has been a lifesaver as far as helping with many race details. Dr. Scott Hadley has also removed a significant burden by helping to plan and organize various elements of this weekend's festivities.
If any readers happen to be in the Grand Rapids area this weekend, please join us!
Once the Fifth Third race is completed and our barefoot after-party is done, I will finally get to focus on my first significant challenge- Mind the Ducks 12 Hour Run the following weekend (May 15th) in Rochester, NY. This is the longest race I have ever scheduled before summer. It is also the longest road race I've ever attempted.
When presented with challenges, many people plan and train diligently. For Mind the Ducks, I should have been running every single day. Instead, I've taken the "train periodically" approach. I've been doing longish runs on the weekends, but haven't done any speedwork and very little crosstraining. Mind the Ducks may be a bit difficult. We'll see...
On the "General Barefoot Running" front, the barefoot movement continues to pick up steam. Interest in barefoot running continues to grow at an exponential rate. I will share my thoughts on the growth in the near future. For now, it's back to the last-minute planning for the World Record Run! Before I go- here are a few things that may be of interest:
- Pineland Farms 5k Barefoot Race- check it out!
- The Barefoot Running Book is now on Amazon and Facebook
- Chris McDougall will be speaking in Shepherdstown, WV on Friday (May 7th) at 6:30 at Mellow Moods Coffee Shop. They will also be holding a Family Fun Run at 5:00 at the C&O parking lot where Chris will demo barefoot running. or further information contact Mark Cucuzzella afrundoc@gmail.com.
i'm running the Pineland farms barefoot 5k!!!! it will be my first barefoot race, there is a vibram division but i'm going completely barefoot, then i'm running the 50k the next day. i've only run barefoot a whopping total of 4 times in my life and my longest barefoot run is 2 miles on roads. hope thats enough. :-)
ReplyDeletewhoppee! hope it's a great weekend. sore i had to miss it :-(
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the record. I wish I could be there. I'll run with you in spirit tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck at both events.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking about stopping by to cheer you all on tomorrow! I bought a pair of Vibrams about 2 years ago because I thought they were so fun looking, I wanted a pair of my own. Then I found out you could run in them and I gave it a try yesterday. I think you are onto something here man!
ReplyDeleteaaah, so wish I could be there for the big event. Best of luck and I will be running with you all in spirit and sole :)
ReplyDeleteEnjoy becoming part of history tomorrow! I wish I was not so far away but I'll be looking for updates.
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