Had the fantastic opportunity to get up to New York City for the 2011 NYC Barefoot Run this past weekend. Special thanks to Merrell Barefoot for getting me up there — you want to talk about a company that cares about an authentic supporter of the minimalist footwear and actually barefoot running/walking/whatever movement! They flew a slew of us bloggers, runners, and otherwise up to NYC and put us up in a hotel for the weekend simply to bend our ear for a few hours about where all this is going. Thank you, Merrell, and major props to Emily and Craig (And everyone else who made it happen).
Who was there? What happened? Who ran a sub-5 minute mile on Saturday for fun? Want to hear about what’s coming down the pipe from Chris McDougall regarding the upcoming Born to Run movie or his next book? Read on!
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
Friday — made it to NYC!
I got to spend my Friday night in NYC with my good buddy Tuck of Yelling Stop (And finally got to check out his custom Munson Last Russell Mocs in person), barefoot runner extraordinaire Barefoot Josh, and the good Peter Larson of RunBlogger.com — not to mention Emily and Craig of Merrell. Discussion quickly turned to running, shoes, science, biomechanics, and, well, kids.
After a few drinks Tuck, Pete, and I hopped over to Pop Pub where we hung out with Barefoot Ken Bob, Barefoot Ted, and running coach/guru Lee Saxby. Some riveting discussion about shoes and biomechanics ensued between Tuck and Lee (And Tuck ultimately got a coaching session with Lee on Saturday) — in Tuck’s own words:
I had the chance to speak to him prior to the session, and it was quite amusing, since the last time I’d spoken to him (at the VivoBarefoot store in NYC), I’d told him that I think coaches are unnecessary if the “Born to Run” hypothesis is true. He was curious why I wanted a coaching session with him.
We cabbed it back home and called it a night at the uber-hipster-esque Ace Hotel (Cool atmosphere with hipster service — what a combo!).
7 replies on “NYC Barefoot Run 2011 Recap”
Good to meet you last weekend bro! Happy to see you had a good time. Be glad you didn’t have as much “fun” as us. I’m still in recovery mode.
Since Sashen’s flowing locks aren’t an option, I wonder if I should go bald too. Maybe next year. Great meeting you!
Wow, great post, Justin.
For those who couldn’t make it: you missed a terrific weekend. Make sure you get there next year.
I’d shave my head to be part of the hip crowd, but my wife told me that if I did, she’d stop sleeping with me… so that’s not going to happen.
IT was awesome. Sorry I did not get to meet you Justin.
After meeting all the greats and making new friends I came back motivated to start up a Rhode Island Chapter.
MY previous PR was 13 miles, I came back and this week did a 16 then a glorious 26.2 miles in 4:14 all barefoot. Best part is no soreness, no issues other than the usual bit of tenderness on the soles.
Now 3 days later, I went out and did a nice 3 miler feeling great.
See you next year!
Barefootin’ the way we were meant to be…
Hey Justin,
I bummed we didn’t get a chance to chat or did we? I was pretty buzzed most of the time 🙂 Anyway here’s my recap of the event and my time in New York.
http://bourbonfeet.blogspot.com/2011/10/new-york-city-barefoot-run-2011.html
Ah, finally got a chance to write about this great weekend, you can find the story on my blog at http://ivanolarte.com/2011/10/12/nyc-barefoot-run-2011-a-life-changing-weekend/