2nd Annual Barefoot Fun Run 5K

Barefoot Fun Run Background

The first race Eric and I ever ran together was the Barefoot Fun Run in November of 2010 [blog post here]. At the time of the 2010 race, Eric had been running for about 6 months and I had been running less than 3 months. We continued to race and train regularly through March of 2011, but I broke my toe during a 5K trail race in April and I’ve been in and out (mostly out) of running since then. It was a good 4 months before I even tried running again, but I overcompensated for the continuous throbbing of the healing broken toe and sprained my foot. I finally began running regularly again about a month ago.

We were excited when we heard news of a 2nd annual Barefoot Fun Run. We were hesitant to sign up because of my injuries, but we wanted this race to be our “anniversary” race, so we were determined to participate, even if we had to walk. While it does frustrate me a bit to participate in a race I don’t feel I’ve appropriately prepared for, we had a blast and we hope to make this a regular event for years to come.

2nd Annual Barefoot Fun Run

In 2010, the course was at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, FL. This year, the course was at Seminole State Forest Trail Head in Sorrento, FL. Both races were organized by TravelCountry and proceeds went to the MD Anderson Cancer Center, Orlando. Since Michael Sandler held a barefoot running clinic before the race, we each scored ourselves a signed Barefoot Running book.

The start line was a bit more official this year, but there were no chip times and the distance was not a true 5K (last year it was short of a 5K, this year it was a little longer). No worries – I still prefer trail races to road races, but the terrain this year was brutal. We began on packed shell sand, which I usually like, but there were grooves in the sand which made for an annoyingly uneven landing. We turned onto soft sand and spent most of the race sinking into the sand before returning to the packed shells. Navigating through the soft sand was exhausting and sandspurs plagued those who ran completely barefoot. For this race, Eric ran in Vibram Bikilas and I ran in Merrell Pace Gloves (I’m trying to avoid future broken toes while maintaining the minimalist qualities). I haven’t written much about the Merrell’s, but I’ve been running in them throughout the past month and I highly recommend them. Once I’m confident that my toe has appropriately healed, I will probably switch back to Vibrams on the road and continue running trail races in the Merrells.

The Finish

Since neither Eric nor I have been training to run lately, I had a view of Eric during the entire race (he usually takes off within the first few minutes). Sometime during the final 1K stretch, he saw me behind him and slowed so I could catch up. We crossed the finish line together (we were still running when we actually crossed it). 🙂

My timed results were 30:54 (for a course a bit longer than a 5K), but my Nike+ iPod sensor clocked my 5K finish at 29:11. Not a PR, but not too shabby for little training and brutal sand. There were 89 participants. Eric and I came in 43rd and 44th overall [eh], and I finished 14th out of 43 females.

Next week, we begin training for our first half marathon.