Hey Sasquatch, what are those shoes you are running in? What is a Sasquatch you might ask, well that was my question as well. I was very intrigued by this question and I thought I would entertain this chat while I was running the 34th Annual Grandma's Marathon on June 19th in Duluth, MN, with the 3:40 pace group, a girl in a green neon tank and neon pink shorts says, "You look like a Sasquatch in those shoes and by the way how do you like them?" What shoes you ask, well another great question. I was running in the Viabram 5 Finger Barefoot Shoes in the Classic Model. http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/
I was hoping and pushing hard to qualify for the Boston Marathon in my age group, however didn't meet my goal. I still finished in 4:07.25 and that's been my fastest time at the Grandma's Marathon, and this was my fourth time running this fabulous run, which isn't an easy course. A month before I ran the Fargo Marathon on May 22nd, 2010 and I crossed the line at 3:48.48 and shaved 40 minutes from my marathon time since the NYC marathon on November 1, 2009. Why the big difference? I will tell you, it's from running in the 5 Finger shoes and also re-training myself to run naturally and how we're supposed to run BAREFOOT.
I know that some of you probably think this is a crazy concept, but until you try it; I think running in the heavy soles of traditional stilts is a crazy concept. I am very new to this barefoot running, as I bought the shoes this past December and do not plan on returning to traditional running shoes. On my first pair I have approximately 530 miles, 2 marathons, and no injuries or blisters. They could probably go for another year before I had to replace them. It took me a long time to get to this point, but I'll save that for another time. So, I challenge you my friends to go out and find your inner Sasquatch and give it a go and run naturally and free.
