I ran my second half marathon last weekend in New Orleans, with eleven miles of it barefoot. I was too cold at the beginning so wore my slip on VFFs for a couple of miles, then carried them the rest of the way. The course was fine for barefooting. Going out on St Charles street a little rough, so I hopped up onto the streetcar path and ran between the tracks on dirt for several miles. Saw a bit of glass on the home stretch through City Park but nothing bad. I wore my timing chip on a Velcro strap around my ankle and the starting mat didn't pick it up, but all the other mats did and I've never had a problem with that before. They will be correcting my time this week - to 2:37 I think. That's five minutes better than my first half which was five weeks ago. I didn't run much in between those two races and no long runs at all, due to lousy weather, so I was pleased with that time. And it did feel so much easier than the last race. I didn't see any other barefoot runners. And believe me, you get NO attention for barefoot running in NOLA. They've seen it all! It's a great destination for a winter race. Lots of snowbirds came for the race. And soooo much good food and drink. Plenty of activities to entertain singles, couples and families, too. Recommend!
