I had the pleasure yesterday of attending a group trail run at a local, in town natural park here in Atlanta — the Lullwater Park Trail, which is adjacent to (or part of) Emory University. The run was organized by the newly founded Barefoot Runners Society (Georgia Chapter) and in attendance was RunnersWorld barefoot running forum founder, President of the BRS, the fantastic T.J. (Tamara)!
Out of the eight of us in our group, three ran full-out barefoot on the trail, which included a bit of gnarly gravel, but was mostly composed of wonderful sandy spots by a rolling creek as well as a run across a suspension bridge (got a bit wavy)! I think the total run was only a bit over two miles though I know the experts in the group could have gone a lot longer. For my newbie running experience, it was a perfect run for a Sunday morning.
I sported the KSO Treks as did one of our groups leaders Jim. Jim has a great post on his Vibram experience at his blog Wisdom of the West titled “Fringe” — it’s worth the read! We also had a couple Vibram KSO wearers and there were a couple Sprints in the group, too.
All in all, it was a beautiful day for a trail run here in Atlanta and it was great to meet local barefooting and minimalist running enthusiasts. If you’re not already plugged into a local group, I highly recommend finding one — even if you’re more of a lone runner you might make some new friends. I find VFFs are typically only the tip of the iceberg as far as having stuff in common with other fans.
Thanks to Scott Lenhart for taking the group photos (as well as to random guy walking the park!). Enjoyed meeting everyone in attendance!
8 replies on “Barefoot Runners Society Atlanta Trail Run — Lots of Vibram Five Fingers (and a few bare feet!)”
Great story, Justin. It was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed finally meeting you and the others. We’ll definitely do it again soon.
BTW, Terry, Kevin, and I ran a total of 7.5 miles then went to a nice Greek restaurant for a late lunch afterwards. It was a nice way to finish off a nice time.
This is awesome. It is as though the Universe is looking out for me. I live in ATL and also live about 5 min from Lullwater. I have been looking for a barefoot running club and was thinking of starting one but now there is no need! Can someone shoot me some information on how to get in contact with them?
Stephen,
Check this out:
http://www.barefootrunners.org/ga/
That should give you the relevant info on upcoming meetups for the BRS! Maybe I’ll see ya at the next one.
Justin — Thanks for the write-up. It looks like an ideal run, with a great group.
Local groups are forming all over the place. In addition to the BRS, there are lots of Facebook and Meetup groups forming.
Good meeting you Justin…nice report and pictures!
This is totally cool, had I known this event was happening I would have gone for sure, I live 20 min away from Emory.. dang. I had no idea birthday shoes was based in Atlanta, I think I’m gonna sign up for the Barefoot Ken Bob workshop. This is awesome, hope you guys do more beginner trail runs like this.
Just now found this post.
Maybe we can get the Birthday Shoes readers who live nearby together at Lullwater too.
Thanks for the link!
Best,
Jim H.
Damn, I wish I would have known. I would have made the trek (pun intended).