NYC Barefoot Run 2011 Recap

You can jump around on this post (as it’s a bit long) via these links or the pagination/navigation below:

• Friday night
• Saturday discussion on the barefoot running movement
• Saturday night — video of Chris McDougall’s Q&A, Lee Saxby, and Jason Robillard
• The barefoot race!
• Post race wrap-up and more info

Barefoot Race Day Sunday

The “main event” — the actual NYC Barefoot Run — was early Sunday morning at around 8:45 on Governor’s Island, which is that other island off Manhattan. If you’ve not been to Governor’s Island, it’s worth checking out as it’s only a short ferry ride, provides some fantastic views of NYC, and also has a “ghost town” sorta vibe. In fact, I joked that the barefoot zombie apocalypse might break out at any given moment (likely spurred by someone stepping on some toxic hyperdermic needle!).

Anyway, apparently over 400 people managed to shake off the free booze hangover from Saturday night, wake up, scoot over to catch the 8:10 ferry, and make it to the starting line. Well at least 400 people likely made it to the island eventually!

Here’s John Durant’s figures (and you can read his NYC Barefoot Run recap here):

We had 405 people register for the run, up from 265 last year. And we had more people come just for the clinics and talks on Saturday. People traveled from 11 different countries around the world: US, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, Mexico, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Iceland, India, and Belgium. It was the single largest collection of top barefoot runners in the world — aside from recess at a Kenyan elementary school.

Suffice to say that between the many people unshod and the others wearing these weird looking “toe shoes,” I felt right at home — even as someone who doesn’t consider himself a runner (I sprint!).

The race itself is “run your own distance,” and though there were certainly some long-distance runners in attendance, I think the majority of us stopped after one or two loops.

A mid-race collage. Some of the folks pictured above include (from top left to right) Mark Cucuzzella, Patrick Sweeney in the kilt, running coach Lee Saxby (grey shirt), Christopher McDougall (giant bald guy), John Durant the race organizer and blogger at Hunter-Gatherer (bearded with the big smile) and Jesse Scott of In Search of Solid Ground running alongside Jason Robillard (orange cap).

For my part, I ran one loop (a bit over 2 miles) barefoot, and I was pleased as punch to find that the good Pete Larson of RunBlogger managed to catch me running by with his 300 frames per minute film footage. Check this out, I’m the first guy to enter the scene in black shorts, white shirt (in the middle). I’m sure my form isn’t perfect, but it is a forefoot strike:

“Of course it’s a forefoot strike, you say! You’re running barefoot!” Well, maybe. See that’s what’s so fascinating about Pete Larson’s research (and why he took so much footage of runner’s at the NYCBR — just look at the last fellow running by barefoot in the above video. Looks like he’s heel striking, no? And it seems that many minimalist shoes runners (including FiveFingers runners) and barefoot runners were still heel striking! You’ll want to follow along over with Pete about how all this falls out, and to date, he’s got a couple posts up on his ongoing findings:

• Foot Strike Photos from the NYC Barefoot Run
• Slow Motion Video: Barefoot and Shod Running Form from the NYC Barefoot Run

Incidentally, Dr. Daniel Lieberman’s current research may be getting at this very point. Again, via John’s recap at Hunter-Gatherer, we get this teaser about what may be coming next from Lieberman:

Dan Lieberman, as usual, gave the best talk [speaking] about the cause of running injuries. We got a preview of some cool results based on the Harvard Track Team — expect them to be published soon. Heel-strikers don’t fare well. Lieberman’s hypothesis: your footwear matters less than your foot-strike. In some cases, minimalist footwear might be even more damaging than running barefoot, because footwear still muffles the pain signal and proprioception that encourages good form (forefoot strike), but doesn’t provide any cushioning. Heel-striking in a pair of VFFs ain’t a pretty [sight].

As McDougall pointed out so long ago, the bottom line isn’t shod or unshod — it’s running lightly. Learning proper, light/low-impact running is a process that for most of us probably means unlearning years of shod biomechanics. And while this is a post in and of itself, in order to reprogram yourself to run lightly, you’re going to have to literally rewire your brain. That takes two things: practice and patience. And in the practice bucket, you’re going to want to get as much feedback as possible — hire Lee Saxby if you’re lucky. Take off your shoes to in order to get maximal proprioceptive and sensory feedback (Your bare feet + the ground = free coaching).

My own hypothesis is pretty simple: rewiring our brains (neuroplasticity) takes time and requires nerves to be triggered. Shoes of all sorts muffle sensation and slow this process down. So while clearly some folks at the NYCBR were running barefoot or in minmalist footwear and heel-striking (gasp!), what’s unclear is how long those individuals have been running barefoot or minimalist. Err on the safe side and follow the simple advice of barefoot runner Michael Sandler (he was there, too!) and let your skin be your guide.