On Sunday, August 15th, I ran the fourth half marathon in the New York Road Runner's 5-Borough Half Marathon Series, this time up in the Boogie Down Bronx. I have never really walked around in The Bronx, so I was looking forward to touring a bit of the borough. Wake-up call was at 5:20am, about 40 minutes later than most other of the past outer-borough races since it was just a short hop north on the 4/5/6 line. I munched on my bagel on the crowded train uptown, and felt ready for the 13.1 miles ahead of me.

I spotted a few fellow Vibram Five Fingers wearers as I walked to my corral, but didn't talk to anybody for the 20 minutes before the 7am start. However, there was a woman named Elizabeth who said a quick hello to the one and only Barefoot Benny right after we crossed the starting line, so that was pretty cool. Within the first mile, I was passed by a speedy barefoot runner who looked like he was moving slowly but was actually cruising at a 7 minute mile pace. My plan was to catch up with him and say hi, but he got way too far ahead too quickly.

The course started weaving through a bunch of side streets with parked cars on both sides, and then opened up in a 3-lane road for a bit. There was a turn around only a few miles in, so I got a glimpse of the leaders flying down the course. Those guys friggin' run so fast it's unreal! I don't even think I could sprint and keep up with them!

I felt great for the first few miles, but was worried about hitting a wall at mile 6, much like I did at last month's Queens Half Marathon. The weather today was only 70 degrees and cool, opposed to 90 degrees and humid for the Queens, so that was working to my advantage. Surprisingly, I felt great after mile 6, and before I knew it, I was nearly at mile 9! I like when 3 miles go by without even realizing it!

I decided to kick it up a bit after I passed mile ten, telling myself all I had to run was a 5k and I'd be done. At another turn around I passed a guy named Tait who I met at two previous half marathons, so I gave him a quick shout out as he flew by the other way. I bumped into him post-race on the way home, and he said the quick shout out gave him a boost of energy and an extra kick.

The last few miles I tried to keep pace with an older out of shape guy with a headband that said "JIM" on it, but he was just too fast for me, and all I could hope for was to keep him in my sights. I had to remind myself to run my race, and not get caught up in running faster than I wanted. The worst case would be to pace with someone 30 seconds faster per mile than me and run out of steam and end up walking.

I kicked it up a notch for the last mile, since I still felt great and nothing hurt or ached. I made sure to concentrate on my form since I felt my hips and core giving out a bit. It's very important to run with a straight back with the chest high, and I feared that I was bending forward at the waist. The barefoot runner who passed me in the first mile came into site, and I caught up with him after a couple of minutes. I asked him if he got his shoes at CitySports, and he laughed at my corny joke. He said the bottoms of his feet were fine, but that his legs were kind of sore. He then saw me wearing the Vibram Bikilas, and informed me about a barefoot runners group in NYC. I said I was aware, told him to keep it up, and proceeded to pass him for the last half mile. I straight up sprinted the last 200 meters or so, and crossed the finish line with a new personal record of 1:39:55 (7:38 minute pace)!

I was extremely happy with the whole run, and loved that I felt great and not really tired at all during the course. The weather was perfect, the course was well laid out and fun with some good hills mixed in, and I just had zero complaints (well, the train ride back too a ridiculously long time, but oh well.) The Staten Island Half Marathon is the last race in the series, and I should be rocking that in October. When I first set the goal to do all 5 half marathons this year, I didn't think my body would hold up, but with only one race left, I feel confident that I'll achieve it.

There's a short article on SocialWorkout.com asking whether you would let your baby go barefoot.  An obvious reason against this, particularly outside, is that they don't know the difference between a sharp piece of glass and a Barney Doll.  As long as your home is somewhat babyproof, it should be absolutely fine to let a baby walk around barefoot.  I mean, they crawl around the floor, right?  Why not let them walk the house au natural?

A great outdoor alternative would be to buy minimalist baby footwear (does that even exist?) or even let them mosey around in thick socks.  Vibram Five Fingers will be coming out with kids line, which you can check out here.  Vivo Barefoot also has a kids line that you can see here.

One advantage of letting babies and toddler go barefoot is that they receive feedback from the soles of their feet, allowing them to keep their heads up, which prevents falling down.  Who wouldn't want their baby to learn to walk earlier?  Also, most shoes are too tight on kids, thus deforming their feet.  It's not as bad as foot binding, but sneakers don't allow the toes to spread out and let the foot muscles fully develop.

What do you think?

My all-star boot camper Melanie posted this on her Twitter account, and it's definitely worth reposting.  The star of the HBO series "Hung", Thomas Jane, loves going barefoot, but when it's not appropriate, he rocks his Vibram Five Fingers (he's rocking the newish Bikila's in the interview.)

The actor loves the freedom VFF's give to his feet, letting them move naturally instead of being caged in a sneaker.  Not only is it more comfortable, but wearing VFF's is just more fun.

Check out  what he has to say, and try it out for yourself!

I recently received a copy of Jason Robillard's "The Barefoot Running Book" in the mail and was excited to see what this experienced barefooter had to say on the topic. I heard of Jason previously through both of site, Barefoot Chronicles. Jason is also an active poster on the Runner's World Barefoot Running forum.

The book is short but full of informative information. It's written clearly, and the author injects humor here and there, making it more than just a boring textbook. Barefooting is supposed to be fun anyways, right?

After introducing himself, Robillard discusses the very basics of running barefoot, including taking it slow, listening to your feet, and just having fun doing it. Coming from a Pose Method background, I do differ with the explanation of how to run, but he still does a good job of explaining the most important concepts, which are that of the leaning from the ankles and pulling the foot off the ground. Besides that technical area, I thought he does a great job of explaining different drills you can do and reminding you to relax when you run. While it's important to keep your core active and tight, people get nagging injuries due to shrugging their shoulders, plantar or dorsi-flexing their ankles, or just remaining too rigid in the knees throughout the whole stride.

The book's "Concepts" sections are well thought out, the drill "Activities" are all extremely useful, and the "Issues" sections address well-known problems that newbie, and experienced, barefoot runners face from time to time. Robillard provides sections for all skills levels, from beginners looking to run a few miles to racers eager to set new PR's, and to people who'd like to get into barefoot running on trails where there are more hazards than when running on pavement.

The book definitely accomplishes its goal of introducing barefoot running to the uninitiated, and it's length and humor keep it accessible to adults and children alike. I highly recommend it if you are interested in learning barefoot running, as it inspires you to just get out there and go!

This past Saturday morning I ran (suffered through) the New York Road Runners Queens Half Marathon, the third in the 5 Borough NYRR Half Marathon Series. I woke up at 4:40am and was out the door twenty minutes later for the commute out to Citi Field/Arthur Ashe stadium out in Queens. While waiting for the 7 train at Grand Central, my VFF Bikilas sparked the interest of two women who asked me if I ran on pavement in those things. We spoke for a bit, and one of the ladies actually owns a pair that she exclusively uses for trail running. I told her I like running on pavement better since you get more feedback and ground reaction, but was impressed she ran in them at all. I asked her why she wasn't using them for today's race, but she's still entrenched in using sneakers. I gave them my Barefoot Benny business cards and was happy to speak to people familiar with minimalist running.

By the time I arrived at the start in Queens by 6:15am or so, it was already in the 80's and quite humid. Uh oh. I hoped my huge pasta dinner and bagel and banana would be enough to get through the race, but the repetitive warnings over the speakers about taking it easy got me worried. While waiting the corral for the race to start at 7am, I chatted it up with another VFF runner. He was like, "Are you Barefoot Benny?" After I confirmed his suspicion (I was wearing my Barefoot Benny Personal Fitness shirt) he told me that I always pass him at these NYRR races. Then I remembered somebody screaming out "Barefoot Benny" at the Wall St. Run the other month and started laughing. Must've been this guy, my new friend Yeung.

The race wasn't nearly as crowded as the other ones I've done (only under 3,700), so I got off to a fast start without all the congestion. The first few miles were hot, but I had fresh legs and kept a 7:30 minute mile pace. I think I hit a wall around mile 6 or 7, where my legs felt tired but my face and head felt really hot. Not good. I made sure to stop more often at the water stations and to enjoy the heat's brief reprieve at the water spray misters. My running form deteriorated big time around mile 8, and I felt the bottoms of my feet getting a bit warm. I like to think of them as raw ground beef, getting molded into the pavement's grooves with each step.

Once mile 9 finally came, I was able to compartmentalize the race into a mini run of only 4 miles. With each passing mile I got happier and happier that I was only running a 5k, then a 2 miler, and so on. My speed declined to over 8 minute miles (I'm assuming) which negatively affected my form no matter how often I actively forced my body to thrust my hips forward and concentrate of the pull and the lean. At no point (save for a hill or two) did my breathing ever get labored and force me to mouth breathe, but by the end of the race I was so overheated and my body so tired that I had no kick left to the finish, beyond the last 110 meters or so. Usually I can pick it up for the last half mile, but not on this hot day.

I crossed the finish in 1:44:46, which is just under my goal of 1:45. The temperature was probably around 90 degrees by then with very high humidity, and all I wanted to do was sit in the shade and rehydrate. I know that if I had breathed through my mouth at all during the race I would've dried up like a raisin and gotten dehydrated very rapidly. As I was milling around in a daze, Gatorade in one hand, bagel in another, and a banana in yet another, I was approached by yet another "Hey, are you Barefoot Benny?" I ended up speaking with Tate, whom I had met during the Brooklyn Half Marathon over a month ago. After a few minutes of catching up, I dragged my sore calves and hot body (not the sexy hot, the oven hot) toward the subway and headed home.

Or so I thought. In my daze I hoped on the first train at the station, which just happened to be going in the wrong direction. I realized this just as the doors were closing but didn't care because I was sitting in the cool AC. Ahhh. And right next to me, some guy named Dan (I think) started talking to me about my VFF's. He complained that he was always in pain when he ran, and that he always wanted to speak with someone with VFF running experience. Boy did he sit next to the right guy. I spoke with him for the minute long ride to the next and final stop, and handed out yet another business card. Man those come in handy!

The rest of the ride back was uneventful, except for the few common stares at my feet. The next day my legs felt like dead weight, and I had pain in both of my knees. This was the first half marathon I ran with pose-race knee pain, and I can attribute that to the breakdown of my running form, which I blame solely on the heat. I hope they start feeling better soon, because I'm running the Bronx Half next month on August 15th.

I saw about 5 other VFF shod runners during the race, one who flew by me right at the end. I need to coordinate a VFF/minimalist/barefoot running NYRR group so we can chat a bit pre and post race. I need to get on that.

I enjoyed the course in Queens, and really like passing Citi Field where the Mets play, and running by the old World's Fair sculptures. The park outside Arthur Ashe stadium was gorgeous, and overall it was a very peaceful and clean environment. Two thumbs up to Queens, zero thumbs up for the bazillion degree weather.

Last week the "Today Show" filmed a piece for a story that aired Thursday morning talking about the booming shoe industry.  Part of their story had to do with the barefoot and minimalist running movement, so they filmed the Barefoot Runners NYC club in action.  The creator of the club, John Durant, had invited me to participate in the run last week, but I unfortunately had to teach a kicktush Barefoot Benny Boot Camp at the same time.  Knowing the segment was being filmed on the other side of Central Park kinda tore me up inside, but my clients needed me!  Duty called!

Check out the segment and try to imagine me somewhere in the background between the shoeless guy and the other shoeless guy!

Apparently, "Barefoot Bev" Ratcliff is a trainer to the stars, or at least a pretty good trainer.  She made an appearance on "CBS This Morning" recently and demonstrated a few exercises including a plank (though I prefer arms like railroad tracks), squats, and bridges, aka hip raises.  She has great form, but my only beef is that she's wearing Nike Frees instead of being barefoot, or at least rocking some VFF's.  It's ok Bev, I ain't mad at ya!  Bev states that "going shoeless forces you to focus on balance and form while targeting muscles."  Amen to that!

Wednesday night I attended a barefoot running clinic led by "Barefoot Running" author Michael Sandler. The event, hosted by the Barefoot Runners NYC Meetup.com group, attracted over 70 barefoot runners, which is pretty awesome! I arrived in Central Park and laughed to myself as a huge group of people, mostly shod in Vibram Five Fingers or just their bare skin, mulled around talking to each other. I've seen other VFF runners in Central Park and during NYRR races, but never have I seen such a large gathering of us.

Once things got underway, Michael Sandler told us about his personal discovery of barefoot running. He used to be a professional athlete who could bike, run, rollerblade, and basically do everything else that could be considered active. After a horrifying blading accident that left his leg mangled, he underwent many surgeries to repair what was left. The doctors place a titanium rod in his leg, among other things, which was a lot better than amputation, but he found it difficult to run again. After becoming frustrated with his sneakers, he took off his shoes and started going barefoot, which enabled him to feel the ground, which in turn enabled his body find a correct form which didn't cause pain. Pretty impressive stuff!

The clinic was a bit different than Erwan LeCorre's or a Pose Running session in that he focused more on how your upper body should be positioned, as opposed to what should be done with your legs. Sandler stressed these few essentials:

• Your hips must be in a neutral position, instead of tilted down with your bum sticking out
• Suck your belly in
• Chest is up and out
  
• Bring your arms into a "W" and then roll your shoulders down your back, leaving your arms in a 90 degree angle, with your hands near your ribs and elbows back
• Straighten yourself up, like somebody is pulling a string from your head
• Fall forward and take tiny steps and begin running

We practiced this starting position many times, as well as a foot strengthening exercise in which we grabbed the grass with our toes as we walked.

While there was the obvious motive to sell books, Sandler also felt very passionate about spreading the word on barefoot running. He was very genuine and engaging, and was able to cite studies and statistics about how running barefoot can improve your form, make you more efficient, and greatly reduce the risk of injury. While I've never read the book, I heard there are a plenty of drills in it to further educate yourself on how to run. I personally will not be buying the book, but for the beginner it is probably a great read.

If you're interested in learning more about barefoot and minimalist running, sign up for one of my barefoot running lessons in Central Park and find out what all the excitement is about!

Along the routes of most NYRR races are photographers hired to take photos of sweaty runners in action.  While they're usually not the most glamorous shots, they definitely capture the intensity of athletic struggle.  Check out these three from last Saturday's half marathon in Brooklyn.