Running Barefoot

Kelly’s first barefoot triathlon

Devil’s Lake State Park, Baraboo, Wisconsin

Just a short sprint triathlon, not one of the big ones! But other than the little race last spring on a x-country course, this is my first real race that I’ve run barefoot.

It was COLD today, and I wasn’t well prepared for it. I wore biking sandals, and just wore a pair of white athletic socks under the sandals to try to keep my feet warm. It didn’t work. The socks got wet, and during the very hill 15 m. bike ride, my feet went numb.

Numb feet–can’t feel the rough pavement! I could tell at the beginning of the run that my form was fairly good, but I also couldn’t tell if I was turning my feet to hamburger. The pavement was really rough, the sort that I can barely run on normally.

But I did just fine. I got a LOT of comments on my sanity as I ran by the onlookers, but the racers didn’t care at all. I did 10 minutes for the 1st mile, and 28:09 for the entire 3 miles. I think my third mile was nearly 8 flat, I felt very good and was able to stretch out and relax a lot.

I encouraged several other runners as I ran by them, and pushed a runner for the last 100 yards, and let him finish ahead of me. He really appreciated that, he told me afterwards. And one of the other runners I was “coaching” thanked me afterwards.

The only bad part was when another guy in the Clydesdale class had a heart attack at the end of the swim, and me and another Clydesdale had to lift him out of the water and up onto the top of the steps at the exit. I stripped off the top of his wetsuit, which he was asking for. He was breathing, but obviously in trouble.

The ambulance was heading in as we headed out on our bikes…

Devil’s Challenge Tri website