Featured MeetupMerrell's Naked Foot 5K, Michigan ChapterWe are not alone!By John Yohe
I would not have driven anhour and a half and stayed inthe $120/night Radisson Hotel for just a regular 5K, but for this, I felt obligated to come. And not just obligated; I wanted to help celebrate barefoot running, and the fact that there are now enough barefooters and minimalists to actually do an event like this. I think having this be ‘just’ a 5K is a good call, since we can have runners from all levels, and no one feels too intimidated.
There are a few booths set up in a vague circle on the grass. The registration booth of course, but then the sponsors and some
What’s really nice is to bump into people I know, either from other races and/or online
Also Ken, from Sterling Heights, who ran the Detroit Half-Marathon last year . Although we never actually saw each other there, we’ve communicated a little online, and both of us plan to do the Detroit Marathon barefoot at around the same time, so maybe we’ll even get to run together and freak everyone out.
And then there’s El Presidente of the Michigan Chapter, Troy/Smelph from Kalamazoo, also with kids in tow, or should I say in front, in a double stroller, both konked out, since they got up early this morning to be here. Troy and I ran the Kalamazoo Marathon this Spring, though again, we didn’t actually run into each other though we’ve communicated online. He’s the one that shares all the secret places on the website that I haven’t explored yet.
First up is the kids’ 1K. There are about 20 who take part, which is awesome. I just never had that kind of exposure to stuff like this
Next up is the Naked Mile, which actually only has about 10-12 folks. Everyone else is saving themselves for the 5K. It’d actually be nice to run this just as a warm-up. Jason actually runs this one, coming in second I believe. The best, most kick-ass, part is the woman who’s a little overweight, who yes, comes in last, but dammit, she finished. It was obviously a goal for her, and she pushed it at the end. Good for her.
Then the main event! I’ve never run a 5K before, and I don’t really know what my strategy is, or should be, besides the fact that I guess I should just go all out sprint or as close to that as possible for the whole way, since there ain’t gonna be much time. And yet, I’m not a big sprinter. I’m still not sure if barefooting is even conducive to sprinting. The good news is that most of the course seems to be on grass instead of the bike paths. Or...I think that’s good news. I’ve never run that long on grass either! A bunch of new stuff to try today!
I line up towards the beginning. I’m actually not sure if that’s where I should be, since there seems to be a bunch of youths (pronounced ‘yoots&rsquo
here fresh from cross-country running teams. So, I’m notgonna win. This is all about just pushing myself, maybe getting some practice at speed runs (after my sloooow half-marathon last week) and to have fun! To actually run with other barefooters!
We zip out on to a bike path and my stride immediately changes, back to lifting the feet, though lifting them as fast as I can. I still feel like I’m maybe striking a little hard. Probably not a good thing, but for a short race, doable. Interestingly, a fast cadence seems to make leaning forward a little harder. I wonder if I just leaned forward more if I wouldn’t have to have such a high cadence. Not sure. No time to think! Just run!
The route goes between grass and bike path. We cross a wood bridge. Everyone around me seems to have fallen into a regular pace, just under a sprint. Not a lot of jockying for position. Again, I’m just happy to be seeing barefooters ahead of me, and minimalists. Lots of VFFsand Merrells. I gotta admit, also nice to see barefooters ahead of shod-heads. We’ve got to be making some converts today. There’s no way that the people wearing regular running shoes can say that barefoot running isn’t doable or isn’t even competitive.
We get to the mid-way point, where we’ll take a long turn around back to the north (I think). There’s a water station, but no one up front
I’m slowing down a little, just unsure of what a proper pace should be. But, other people are slowing down too, though others are staying strong. We’re back on grass, and it’s looking like grass the rest of the way, which is fine, and which again makes me go into longer-stride-mode. As we work our way back, I can see the finish line flags and think, "Hm, that was quicker than I thought." But no, we run past the start area, around some baseball fields. There’s a 1 Mile sign, but I’m still a dumb American and can’t figure out how many miles are in 5K. And then there’s a second 1 Mile sign, so who knows? But, do I pace myself? Or should I be stepping things up for a strong finish?
Whew! I shake the guys’ hand, and we give each other ‘good jobs.’ Um, maybe I should reword that....Anyways, there’s a steady stream o’ runners coming in behind us, with other little mini-races to the finish line, everyone trying to finish hard. My time: 21:35. Ok, I’ll take that.
I watch the variety of people coming in. Again, barefooters and lots o’ minimalists. One girl comes in, and when I say girl, I mean girl: She’s like 9, and I’m right next to her parents, who glowingly say that she PRed, ten seconds faster than her last 5K. So, wow. Amazing.
The most amazing run of the day has to go to Troy. He ran pushing his two children in the stroller, which has got to be a hundred pounds! And over grass! And he’s not even last!
Popsicles for everyone! And then there’s awards for the winners, and a raffle. The overall winner happens to be right next to me. And he ran it barefoot! His first time ever running barefoot! And he actually cut one of his feet somewhere along the line! His time was 19 minutes and some change. I ask him if he’s converted, and he kind of smiles. He’s a young guy, one of those cross country monsters, and he says maybe, that he might buy some Merrells. And, then he wins a Merrell gift certificate in the raffle. I think it’s destiny.
There are supposed to be some more events after the race, like a ‘bare ball’ contest, though no one I ask seems to know what it entails, and no one seems to be signing up for it. Jason gives a short seminar, though I miss most of it, since I want to take advantage of the free massage!
But, fun! Feels so good knowing I’m not alone. We discuss maybe doing another MI meetup, maybe in Lansing, which seem to be the most convenient, and, I’ll be seeing folks at upcoming races. I encourage anybody going to a race to check the BRS website about meeting people; it’s really a good boost to meet other barefooters. One of the Merrell organizers mentioned that this may have been the biggest gathering of runners out of the six races they organized. I was amazed to hear (from Troy) that Michigan has one of the bigger BRS memberships. Anyways, sorry SayPay, but I think we beat you and the Minnesota folks!
TV Footage of the race: http://www.fox17online.com/news/fox17-runners-ditch-shoes-for-barefoot-race-in-grand-rapids-20110828,0,6039334.story
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Troy Root (Smelph), Scott Hadley, Ken Jones (Jones),John Yohe (stjohnthegambler), Jason Robillard (Last Place Jason, and Johnny Jeffery (7Ships)
Johnny Jeffery (7Ships), Barefoot Ken Bob Saxton, Ken Jones (Jones), John Yohe (stjohnthegambler), and Troy Root (Smelph)
