Seattle to Portland on a Skateboard: STP 2008

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic, or STP, is an annual one and two day supported bicycle ride from Seattle, Washington to Portland, Oregon in the United States. The STP "is considered one of the 10 biggest recreational bicycle rides in the country, drawing riders from across the nation and from other nations", and has been operating for more than 25 years and is organized by the Cascade Bicycle Club. It is approximately 200 miles (322 km) in length. Most riders complete the distance in two days; however, about 15% complete the ride in one day. Only two have completed it on skateboards (see below).

James Peters of PavedWave.org (see excellent Seattle Times story here) and Barefoot Ted
Photo by Dave Nottingham around mile 165

A full report to come soon. James Peters and I did the entire STP course on skateboard. What a trip!!!

Photo by Dave Nottingham

Many folks took photos of us and we are looking forward to receiving photos to add to our blogs and record the history.

TOPICS (to be expanded on?):

IT'S THE JOURNEY DUDE: SPIRITUAL ENDURANCE

ALIEN TECHNOLOGY: THE BICYCLE

LONG DISTANCE PUMPING: NATURE'S ANALOGS

NUTRITION | HYDRATION | ELECTROLYTES | FRUIT

FOOT POWER

THE ROLE OF HUMOR IN TRAVEL

EXPANDING THE POSSIBLE: THE IMPORTANCE OF INSPIRATION

MEDITATION FOCUS AND THE EVER CHANGING ROAD

SYNERGY: THE MAGIC OF FRIENDS

Photo by Craig Howard somewhere near Spanaway, WA

JUNE 14th, 24-HOUR ULTRASKATE IV - World Record Set

Photo by Taylor Barrett, more of his photos here.

Beyond my expectations...I set a new world record for 24 hour distance skateboarding...242 miles at this years Ultraskate IV... Find more information at PavedWave.org...

from PavedWave.org forum...

Howdy Folks

Slept a lot yesterday, but feel fine today.

Went skateboarding over at Volunteer Park. Really enjoyed it...even feeling stronger.

A HUGE HUGE thank you to James Peters and all the crew in Seattle. It is hard to believe that I had never even heard of Long Distance Pumping before April 1st this year! What a blessing to have met James on that day at Green Lake.

Couple weeks later, James lets me borrow that magic board. My gawd what a beautiful, magical thing it is...Subsonic Pulse 40.

After James let me borrow the board, I rode like a maniac for days and days...crashed...took a couple weeks to recover...went to LA for some healing sun and great training rides...and then back to Seattle.

I am going to write down more about my experience during the ride, but just to let everyone know my secrets:

1. Be sure you have an excellent LDP (long distance pumping) board...I did (see Subsonic Pulse 40).

2. Train yourself to run an ultramarathon...i.e., learn how to pace youself for a full 24 hours

3. Study about 24 hour nutrition and hydration and electrolyte needs. Nutrition is key. In my case, I relied on my own special sports nutrition drink mix which includes maltodextrin, soy or hemp protein powder, Green Magma powder and Rehydration Salts. I also ate GU's and Hammer Gels and drank some coffee. I also took two Advil during the race and 1 Succeed! S-Cap every 2 hours.

4. Have strong healthy feet...and let them have the freedom to move around to get blood flowing everywhere...that's why I wore my Vibram FiveFinger shoes...allowed my foot to do what it does best.

I went into the event just trying to see what it would be like to go 100 miles..., but the weather was perfect and the energy strong. I just could feel Eric Lowell's energy and his energy got me inspired to keep going too. I was determined to go the full 24 hours and Eric helped me have someone to follow.

After some rest and some skating today, I have come to the conclusion that someday, someone in this sport is going to achieve 300 miles in 24 hours. Before yesterday, I would have said that 220 is impossible...

So all you out there, live strong and push the envelope of the possible...

Look forward to seeing you on the giant paved wave...

BFT

PS. A big thank you goes out to my cousin Robert Renfro and SCI, Technology Without Intrusion for sponsoring my travel to this event.

Photo by Taylor Barrett, more of his photos here.

FiveFingers as a Skateboard shoe

The biggest problem with using Vibram (pronounced vee-brum) FiveFinger barefoot shoes as skateboard shoes is if you have to do a lot of foot braking (foot braking involves using the shoe sole to slow down the skateboard). Foot braking can quickly wearout any skateboard shoe and it is especially true with the thin soles found on the FiveFingers.

The solution is simple.

I have been using Sure Foot stick on sole patches. They fit perfectly on the ball of the FFs and help slow down wear and tear.

I have been doing a lot of skateboarding (long distance pumping) with and without FiveFingers. If I am on a course the will require no foot braking, I go barefoot. It is the purest way to skate.

BFT

Long Distance Pumping in San Pedro, California
see map below

View Larger Map

Skateboarding and FiveFingers...duh!!!

Thanks to James Peter's of PavedWave.org for inspiring me to reignite my skateboarding passion. Visit his website to read about his amazing feats of long distance skateboarding (known as long-distance-pumping or LDP), including world record 24 hour distance rides. He currently has given me a loaner to use. I am burning it up!!!

The board is a Subsonic Pulse 40, essentially a handmade longboard. It is a magical thing...being able to tranfer pumping motion into forward momentum.

Volunteer Park, Seattle...Pushing

Yes, muscle memory is real. Yes, barefoot is best for balance sports. Yes, Vibram FiveFingers make a lot of sense for skateboarding.

from the www.northwestlongboarding.com forum:

Thanks to Shane and volunteers and sponsors for putting on this event (the Seattle Push Race, May 10th, 2008)

I think I found out about it yesterday (or the day before) from James.

Very inspired by James' pursuit of long distance and 24 hour riding. I enjoy trying to push the envelope. This race and ride was like the 3rd time I had been on a board for any time in over 25 years!!! But I loved it.

I had to take the downhills VERY conservatively because the shoes I had on (Vibram FiveFingers) are paper thin and not great for foot braking. It also turns out I rode the board James let me borrow...backwards!!! Felt a little odd. Oh well. Still made 8th place. Not bad for an old fart like me.

My quads were burning during that race. I definitely need to learn to push with either leg.

Look forward to seeing any photos, especially showing my FiveFinger shoes. I want to send them to the company and suggest they do something about making a skate shoe. I really do think that a lot of flexibility in the foot is good for balance and helps make the foot strong...do what it does best. I really am not a fan of these huge, heavy shoe-boats that are the rage for most skaters these days...at least for pushing on flat surfaces and pumping.

I have a lot to learn about skating these days. I have never seen so many DIFFERENT kinds of boards and wheels and trucks!!! Too much for my old-man head to take in all at once. Some sort of skateboard renaissance seems to be happening.

The downhill and slalom era came and went pretty quickly in my day (mid to late 70s). We got a taste for pools and the world changed and I've got scars and brain damage to prove it...we didn't wear helmets much...

So, thanks again. Hope to be out there riding for 24 hours next month and see if I can break 100 miles or more.

Barefoot Ted

PS. Make sure you ride with a HELMET (I have one now) and other protective gear. It is well worth it. The only downside to skateboarding for older riders is the unfriendly feel of pavement on the falling body!

PSS. The idea of barefooting and skateboarding and FiveFingers is cropping up here and there. Check out this post on the Paved Wave Forum, click here.

Caballo Blanco Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon

Passing through the middle of Urique

Race report by Race Director Caballo Blanco
Photos from Josue Stephens and Chris Labbe
Click here for all photos

Primary result: Beauty

The seventh running of the Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon, and the fourth annual running of the CCUM in the Urique canyon had about 100 starters and 37 finishers. There is nothing quite like it, anywhere. I am just the RD horse. What do I know?

Leading a group to Los Alisos two days before the race

There was almost $6,000 in prize money spread among the top 10 finishers, $1,000 of that for the top three women, and all finishers split 30,000 pounds of maiz accordingly. ALL participants will also be awarded maize.

A big thanks to all who care enough to read about it, and especially to those who have participated over the last few years and have become Mas Loco!

Caballo Blanco


1--JOE GRANT--EL TORTUGA--OREGON--6:24*
2--JOSH BRIMHALL--EL ANTILOPE--NEVADA--6:42
3--Isidro Lechuga--Piedras Verdes, Urique--6:49
4--Florencio Quimare--Ocorare, Batopilas--6:58
5--Arnulfo Quimare--Chepatare, Batopilas--7:11

6--Cervando Gutierez--Huisuchi, Batopilas--7:14
7--Antonio Luna--Munerachi, Batopilas--7:19
8--Silvino Cubezare--Huisuchi, Batopilas--7:32
9--Dolores Estrada--Huicorachi, Urique--7:35
10--Corpus Estrada--Huicorachi, Urique--7:36

11--Arnulfocito Mendoza--Santa Rita, Batopilas--7:42
12--Silverio Ramirez--Tatoguichi, Guachochi--7:51
13--Ignacio Nacho Palma--Chawaloco, Batopilas--8:04
14--JOSHUE STEPHENS--EL LOBEZNO--TEXAS--8:08
15--AMANDA MACINTOSH--LA YEGUA NEGRA PELIGROSA--TEXAS/COLORADO--8:23
First woman!

Second River Crossing

16--Leanardo Cleto--Piedras Verdes, Urique--8:38
17--PETER MARSTON--EL PUMA--ARKANSAS--8:40
18--FRANCO MARCHETTI--El AGUILA ALPES--ITALY--8:42
19--Epitanio Quimare--Chinivo, Batopilas--8:52
20--Santos Reyes--Basiguare, Guachochi--8:56
21--Sebastiano Gutierez--San Jose, Batopilas--8:57
22--Sergio Mancinas--Urique--9:01
23--ABI STEPHENS--LA LINCE--OREGON--9:07---Second woman!
24--Enrique Moreno--San Rafael, Urique--9:09
25--THERESA DO--LA PALOMA--COLORADO--9:15---third woman!
26--CHRISS LABBE--EL CABRO COLORADO--9:25
27--TED MCDONALD--EL MONO--CALIFORNIA--9:29
28--Luis Cleto--Piedras Verdes, Urique--9:32
29--Jose Cruz--Piedras Verdes, Urique--9:32
30--Arnulfo Gonzales--GUadalupe Coranado, Urique--10:00
31--LEAH JUREK--LA ALMA HERMOSA--WASHINGTON--10:23--fourth woman!
32--PAUL CHARTERIS--EL KIWI SALVAJE--NEW ZEALAND/CALIFORNIA--10:23
33--Lorenzo Catsro--Guadalupe Coranado, Urique--10:31
34--Margarita Lerna--Panalachi, Bocoyna--10:38---FIRST TARAHUMARA WOMAN, fifth woman overall!
35--Jesus Perez--Munerachi, Batopilas--10:38
36--Carlos Concheno--Urique--11.00
37--GABI STEPHENS--LA LAGARTA--PENNSYLVANIA--11:30--sixth woman!
38--GORDON MONTGOMERY--EL CHANGO--IRELAND/TEXAS--11:45

Race Brochure in Spanish

Sunday, March 2, 2008 was just another beautiful day in the deep canyon country of La Sierra Madre.

On the previous Wednesday they came, 4 gringo runners and El Caballo Blanco walking over from the deep canyon town of Batopilas, encountering 14 Batopilas canyon Raramuri en route, and walking together over la Sierra then down into the 6,200 foot deep canyon town of Urique, where we encountered more Raramuri and the rest of the gringo runners, men and women.

There were 136 running participants, of which about 100 started the
47 mile ultra. 36 local townspeople and a few international runners
participated by running one of the two 18 mile loops with us, either
the first loop upriver, or the second downriver loop. Many excited
children ran short distances with us when we were entering and
leaving the deep canyon small town of Urique beginning and ending
each loop. EVERYBODY participated!

The ultra run finishes with an 11 mile out and back after the two
longer loops.


Out of the 100 or so ultra starters and 38 finishers, 15 were from
the United States, France and Italy, 6 Mexican runners from
Chihuahua, and one local Urique Mexican man, whom finished near to
last, and was awarded $100 for being the only towns-person runner to
do so.

First place went to a humble and relatively unknown young Oregon Man named Joe Grant-
-El Tortuga Lluvia--Rain Turtle. The 24 year old turtle does not run, nor looks
much like his animal helper. In Fact, the Turtle broke Scott Jurek's-
-El Venado, the Stag Deer, course record of 6:32, lowering the
record to 6:24!

Nevada speedster Josh Brimhall--El Antilope Desierto, Desert
Antelope, was second, followed by 8 Raramuri--Tarahumara runners
rounding out the top 10. ALL United States, and our new Italion friend, Franco--
El Aguila del Alpes, Eagle of the Alps, finished.

The first place woman was Amanda McIntosh--La Yegua Negra
Peligrosa, Dangerous Black Mare, from Texas and Leadville, Colorado. Amanda
generously gave her $500 winnings to the 3 Tarahumara women
participants. Yes, Raramuri women came, And the bridge between
running cultures has now been constructed and crossed by our lovely
Mas Loca women runners, acting as the messengers--Andale!

Josh and Joe also gave their combined $2,500 winnings back to the
Raramuri people in the form of sharing some of their winnings with
the 8 Raramuri rounding out the top 10, and putting the rest into
the CCUM Seed Farm--sustainable agriculture project we have begun in
cooperation with Native Seeds Search. Nobody had to do that; and
they Did!....Korima.

Theresa Do--La Paloma--Dove, won cash and corn by finishing 3rd woman.
Abigail Stephens--La Lince--Lynx, finished second and
won $300. Yes, we have prize money for the top 3 women. There was a
grand total of about 9 women ultra runners....not bad odds -:

As well as the cash prizes of about $5,000 for the top ten overall
and another $1,000 for the top 3 women--who have a chance to
double their winnings when taking a top 10 overall spot, a ton of corn is
awarded to each of the top 5 finishers, and a half ton to the 6-10th
place finishers. ALL finishers after that are awarded 500 pounds of
corn.
All gringos gave the corn back to the people however they wanted to do
so, and we now have to deliver, I can only guess at this early point,
about 30,000 pounds of corn....A horse`s work is never done -:

Thanks for mucho help and support in many ways from Chris Labbe-
-El Cabro Colorado--Mountain Goat, whom also printed up beautiful
calenders from last year`s race event and gave them to the Urique towns-people.

The CCUM is sponsored by this kind of generosity, called Korima in
the Raramuri language--sharing, a gift, unconditional and beautiful,
the reward for giving being whatever may come back around in the
circle. And what does, along with whatever else, is always beauty.

Andale...

May the Raramuri and all of us contunue to run free.

Caballo Blanco de La Sierra Madre

Rose Bowl 45 Miler - OC100K Training - KSO's

Spent the last two Sunday's running around the famous Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Last week did 30 miles, this week 45. Why? I am training for the OC 100K on February 16th.

Vibram's latest FiveFingers called KSO's are my favorite so far

I am very impressed with Vibram's latest creation, the FiveFinger KSO (Keep Stuff Out). I have been testing prototypes since the summer 2007. I have been testing the production model for nearly a month, and I love it. It will be available starting March this year. Go to www.VibramFiveFingers.com for more details.

For long runs, longer than 10 miles, I wear my Injinji socks, otherwise I start having chaffing problems in the arch of my foot, perhaps from too much flexing. The Injinjis prevent that by covering over the rough area at the seam within the FF.

I ran the 45 miles in 7 hours and 42 minutes, about the pace I need to achieve for the 100k (62 miles) in order to qualify for the Greek Spartathlon in 2009. Running so far in the middle of the day requires careful preparation. Every 3 miles I stopped and refilled my water bottle with electrolytes or my own sports nutrition drink (maltodextrin, soy protein and Green Magma) along with a few gels. Winter in California is nice, but can be quite warm in the direct sunlight. But I ain't complaining!

The electrolytes that I am using are a little secret I learned from Jorge & Mari Pacheco. It is a rehydration powder that NGO's give to refugee camps to prevent dehydration from illness. I did some research and found the powder and had to order a huge amount, but I love it and the price ends up being lower than many of the other popular electrolyte supplements offered to ultrarunners. Click here to order online.

Rehydration ingredients per liter (which are regulated by UNICEF):
Sodium Chloride: 3.5 grams
Potassium Chloride: 1.5 grams
Trisodium Citrate, dihydrate: 2.9 grams
Glucose Anhydrous: 20.0 grams

Notice my igloo in the background. Had my cold electrolyte drink ready every 3 miles.

This feels SO good after running SO far.

PS. I started taking Iyengar Yoga classes last week and look forward to reporting my findings in upcoming blogs.

PSS. Missed a yoga retreat today and am sorry that I did. Thought I would finish sooner (by starting sooner), but it wasn't to be.

SANTA BARBARA NINE TRAILS 35 MILE ENDURANCE RUN

SANTA BARBARA NINE TRAILS 35 MILE ENDURANCE RUN

Thanks to Luis Escobar and Friends for putting on a great race this year.

Have you ever wondered if it is possible to put 50+ miles of toughness into a 35 mile slice? Nine Trails does it.


You can read all you want about how much climbing and descending you will encounter on this mighty course, but you can never understand until you taste it, taste the 10,500 feet of elevation gain and loss in 35 miles.

I tasted it. Me like.

What you can only appreciate by being up in those rugged mountains is the view, looking down into the Santa Barbara bay, looking out over a wide ocean with distant Channel Islands siloutted against the horzion.

California at its best. High beauty.

The trails were often very steep and slippery.

There were SO many different textures and footings.

And I felt them, all of those textures, and for me, mostly, they felt wonderful.

I wore an upcoming Vibram FiveFinger shoe nicknamed KSO (Keep Stuff Out). It is similar to the FF Sprint, but it has a top foot cover.

Photo by Scott Dunlap of A Trail Runner's Blog

My KSOs along with a pair of black Injinji toe socks made the running of this race very comfortable for me.

However, when you run with FiveFingers on rugged trails, you must think:

Every step (every single step) must be made consciously.

You will perfect this skill more and more, because your foot will get tired of feeling the pain of kicking things.

My feet felt as if I were running on the hard-packed low tide sand at the beach...with a lot of obstacles.

My feet and legs feel fine today. But keep in mind, I stayed in control the whole race and ran very conservatively since I had never been on the course before.

Time 9.21. 40th out of 80 finishers, 108 starters.

Highly recommended, and do attend the pre-race dinner at the Savoy Cafe the night before the race. I have never enjoyed such wonderful pre- and after- race food. Quality healthful delicious food.

BFT

PS. Big thanks to Luis Escobar, el Coyote. Thanks to Deb getting me to SB, getting me a place to stay and getting home. Greatly appreciated. And thanks to Marina for hosting us, and Andy, thanks for that beer!

PSS. It was great to see Gary Hilliard up and about. Keep moving forward!!!

Thanks Deb, and thanks Marina

Trail friends

Angeles Crest 100 - 27 Hours

Running down the El Prieto Trail, less than 4 miles from finish

A BIG thank you to Vibram for letting me run in some prototype FiveFingers and Green Foods for Magma Plus which I know had something to do with a 5 hours+ improvement on my time compared with last year!

At the award ceremony

Coming into Islip photo by Christina Hennessey

Thanks to Wild Mountain Runner founder Freddie Perez for giving me a ride to Wrightwood and support during the race. Big thank yous to Arturo Valdez and Jose Hernandez who paced me from Chilao. Thanks to Chris Rios, Deb Clem and Sunny Blende for aid station support...it helped a lot.


Coming into Buckhorn photo by Christina Hennessey

More to come...

Video of me entering 52 mile checkpoint

My report to the Ultra group:

Howdy Folks

I surprised myself big time this weekend.

My goal was to finish better than last year.

Last year's goal was simple: to finish...alive.

Last year's time: 32:16 This year: 27:00

How?

Prerace: pizza and beer with Freddie Perez in Wrightwood. Two
Newcastles and 7 pieces. Also, spaghetti dinner.

Sleep: not so good at the Methodist Camp in same building as the
visiting Tarahumara along with Chris Rios and John Radich. Only slept
a little, but Jenn Shelton visited me in my dreams, so can't complain.

This year I ran in two different prototype FiveFingers that cover the
entire foot preventing crap from getting in the shoe. I had NO chance
to test the shoes before the race. I also wore Injinji socks borrowed
from Robert Andrulis as I left mine at home. These helped me
tremendously.

Finally had a chance to wear my Dirty Girl gators, and my Moeben
sleeves that Gary Hilliard threw at me as a prize as I was leaving the
Mt. Disappointment post-race party. Both were extremely effective
although Ken Hamada said I looked unusual, i.e., like a freak.

Nutrition. This year I used drop boxes. I prepared my own powder
using a mixture of malto dextrin, soy protein, Green Foods Green
Magma, E-Caps powder and Chia seeds.

GU: 2 an hour

Watermelon at many aid stations.

Progresso Chicken soup, drank cold out of the can 2 times, trick
learned from Flaco Mendoza.

Idlehour aid station: solid food and Miso soup. Thanks Joe. This is
the place to stop and eat at mile 82.

Pacers from Chilao to Chantry and Chantry to finish, Wild Mountain

Runners Arturo and Jose.

BFT, Freddie and Arturo at the finish

A lot of help from my friends.

BFT

PS. I leave for Greece on Saturday, filming and crewing for Scott.

Mt. Whitney Summitted Barefoot #3

Photo by Patrick Fitz




Last month while climbing Gorgonio, highest peak in SoCal, I suggested to Larry that he should try climbing Mt. Whitney barefoot. He had read of my previous successes, and as a 10 year barefooting veteran, I knew he was up to it.

Well, that's exactly what we did.

Larry and his family got a camp space in Lone Pine Campground (camp 38, same one as on July 4, 2005), got some permits and gave me a call. I was still a little sore after Friday night's all-night run, but could not think of turning down a chance to climb Whitney again.

I drove up from LA on Monday evening, had a bite to eat, went to bed, got up at 4am, started hiking by around 5:20am, got down by 2pm and was back on the road to LA by around 4pm and home by around 7pm. That is a LONG day.

I went up barefoot and came down wearing my Vibram FiveFinger Sprints. Larry came down wearing his BFT Huaraches. I got up and down in about 9 hours. It was a fantastic day.

Looking forward to climbing again. I am even thinking about attempting a dual summit climb, i.e., climbing to the summit twice in one day. Dreaming.

BFT

PS.
First Summit Report here
Second Report here
Great map here
Great Video of the Trail here
Whitney Portal Forum Link here

AC 100 Training Run - Shortcut to Windsor 40+ Miles

Jay Anderson, Robert Schipsi, Chris Jensen, BFT

Did this same training run last year (see blog entry here). This year seemed to be better. I did not get as tired. We added a little mileage by going down to Henninger Flats for water. The water at Millard was flowing much better than in June.

I ran several of the uphill sections barefoot. The toughest section for me is after Sam Merrill aid station all the way to the switchbacks leading into Millard.

Jay lead us through the last section at speed. It was nice to see that we could still move after 10+ hours.

BFT

60" Highwheel Bicycle: Circus Prep

Video of me riding the highwheel

Borrowing Dave Moore's 60 inch highwheel bicycle

FiveFingers Sprints make good bicycle shoes
Need something to protect my feet when I jump off!

Yesterday I went out to Apple Valley to meet up with Dave Moore. He is the my guru for all things turn of the 19th century. Among many other things, Dave is famous for building bicycles, old style highwheel pennyfarthing bicycles, styled after the originals.

I own one of Dave's 56" highwheelers that he built for an Australian race. It has an very thin and lightweight 56" wheel and is amazing to ride. However, it is currently out-of-commission, so Dave is loaning me this massive 60" highwheel bicycle.

Two reasons why I am riding again:

1. I still want to complete an IronMan race as-if it were 1890, using technology and techniques that would have been available in that era, the era just before pneumatic tires and the modern bicycle.

2. My daughter and I hope to perform in an upcoming performance of Seussical a Broadway musical inspired by Dr. Seuss being performed by Showcamp.

BFT

My Neighbors Entertained.

New Google Group: Huaraches - Indigenous Running Sandals

Photo Copyrighted Luis Escobar

I have started a new Google Group (forum) titled:

Huaraches - Indigenous Running Sandals

Join with link below:

http://groups.google.com/group/huaraches

The mission of the group is to:

Share experiences running in and making huarache running sandals and other indigenous and minimal running sandals and shoes.

Dispelling the myth that you need an overly supportive, cushioned, orthopedic boot in order to push the limits of human potential in running and exploring the world.

Please feel free to join and share YOUR experiences with using minimal and time-tested sandals and shoes on YOUR adventures, big or small.

BFT

Tough Feet - preserved?

My Feet After 2007 Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon

My feet continue to get tougher even though I have been doing a fair amount of training and racing in my thin-soled huaraches and my Vibram FiveFingers.

Foot toughness is not built simply by exposing the bare foot to the ground.

As many of us barefooters have said regularly, you don't want your feet to become hard and desensitized. You want them to feel. Some things will always feel bad on a barefoot. Those things hurt because your foot is telling you that you are not ready for that, bare. Your feet are training YOU.

Foot toughness comes as the WHOLE FOOT develops and learns. So, minimally protecting the sole, as long as the rest of the foot can do what it is supposed to do, should not stop the overall development of the foot.

My feet are as strong as ever, even stronger than ever before. I expect that they will continue to develop the more I nurture and train them, the more they nurture and train me.

We shall see. So far, so good.

BFT

Can your running shoes do this? Part 2

Can your running shoes do this? Mine can!


Having fun learning how to balance. Taking full advantage of my environment. The horse trail rails are perfect for balancing. The FiveFingers help me feel a little better about falling off into rocks and cactus.

BFT

Verdugo Mountains Training Run - A Little Bit of Everything

Today's run had a little bit of everything:

Got in about 12 miles wearing huaraches, 8 miles barefoot and 5 with FiveFingers. The weather was perfect, hot but not too hot with winds blowing storm clouds in at the horizon.

Barefoot Freedom (at Experimental Forest)

Barefoot Freedom 2

Huaraches, Rock and Agave

FiveFingers Rail Walking (video below)

There are SO MANY great trails around here. I am looking forward to introducing more (but not TOO MANY) to this wonderful mountain playground we have in our backyards, with full-size cats to boot. These mountains deserve an ultramarathon. Winter 2008, let's make the first Verdugo Mountains 50 Miler.

Proposed Course: Start at Village Christian School go to Brand Library and on the way go down and up all the side trails.

BFT




Although it does not look like a big deal, that rail is razor thin at the top.
I just could not resist that background and my new joy of balancing.
Music by Deep Purple

FiveFingers Log Board Workout - video

I use the environs of Hansen Dam and the Verdugo Mountains (both are one mile away from my front door, one North the other South) as my testing grounds. I have learned to run barefoot on all the surfaces that nature provides in this area, and that ends up being a lot of different surfaces.

The log board workout is one of my favorites. It can be done barefoot, but it is not nearly as much fun when you have to worry about splinters. With my FiveFingers on, I can surf the logs, i.e., log-boarding!

Enjoy.

BFT

PS. I hope to soon get some video footage of another throwback to early skateboarding. Remember skateboarding in washes? Stay tuned.

FiveFingers Do Rocks and Horse Trail Videos

A couple more mini-videos of me running in the FiveFingers Sprints yesterday at Hansen Dam. I really like the new Sprints. The ability to micro-adjust them helps a lot in making the shoe fit snug, but not tight. Perfect for balance sports and for helping you FEEL the trail, but not FEEL the pokes.

BFT



FiveFingers Do Rocks




Vibram FiveFingers Horse Trail Trotting

FiveFingers Tight-Rope

You ask, "what can I do in those FiveFingers that I can't do in my regular running shoes?"

My answer: "This!"

The FiveFingers let your feet do what feet do, i.e., really flex, really feel, and still get the bonus of a little protection which goes a long way in some environments...like jumping down onto rocks, or if you go the wrong way, onto yucca and cactus!

BFT

New Red FiveFingers Sprints - BITCHEN

Getting ready for another huarache run today. Off to the Angeles Crest.

Notice my new RED Sprints? Those are coming with me. I got them this week and have already put some great test miles on them. I hope to get some video soon, but these new barefoot shoes allow me to do some really cool things over at Hansen Dam, including some great balancing/tight-rope walking, incredible rock, steep-ledge and log scrambling. These suckers grip like mad.

BFT

PS. Today's music on iPod Shuffle: Solid State Deluxe Podcast from www.podomatic.com

Goodbye 2006 Rickshaw Ride

I pulled the ladies over 5 miles today. We ran over the top of Hansen Dam. The ladies were getting cold. I was hot. Damn, that's a good workout, especially after doing 26 mountain miles yesterday.

I look forward to more of this cart training. Wore my Vibram FiveFingers, my favorite barefoot shoes. We got a lot of attention. Perhaps we'll start a new fad. It sure would do a lot of folks a lot of good to get outdoors together. 2007, the New Year for family exercise.

BFT

Barefoot Ted's Adventures

FiveFingers Go Tribal

I recently acquired some rubber sole material from the VP of Design and Development for Vibram USA. I took that material and quickly made some huarache sandals similar to the Tarahumara sandals that I have been training in. The result? A very interesting shoe/sandal that combines my favorite shoe, the FiveFinger, with my favorite sandal, Tarahumara huarache.

I took'em out for a run. I took them to some of the toughest, rockiest areas I could find. They performed well. The dual layer of flexible protection allowed me to feel the ground without pain. The sandal sole is very flexible. It kept me very aware of the contour of the trail.

I have been dreaming of a modular shoe/sandal that could be added to or subtracted from in order to meet the demands of the terrain. This shoe is something like I imagined.

Disadvantages include difficulty putting on and taking off and no toe protection. Advantages are lightweight, breathable (holy FF) and low profile cushioning.

More testing required.

BFT


photo by Luis Escobar

Mother Road 100 Completed 27:38:47

78 Miles Barefoot, 22 Miles Vibram FiveFingers


At the Start (Thanks Robin)

Running Route 66

The Mother Road

The Finish Line

Much more to come as I have time.

Looking forward to adding photos as friends that I met on the course send them.

Send to: ted@barefootted.com

BFT

My goal for this race was very simple: to finish. I had no pre-set time or strategy. I wanted to feel 100 miles of road. This year I have successfully accomplished my goal of tasting both a tough trail 100 mile run and a 100 mile road race. I know what to expect in the future.

Highlights:

1. Hillbillies Bed & Breakfast in Arcadia, OK

2. Drinking my complimentary Choc Beer at 6 am thinking that it was non-alcoholic.

3. Running 78 miles on Route 66 barefoot, the last 22 with my barefoot shoes called FiveFingers.

4. Getting lost...nearly impossible, but possible, with Jon Hulsey. He had a map!

5. Seeing the Carl's Jr. sign at the race finish.

6. The smiling faces and friendly folks found all along the Route.

7. It being so cold at night the water in my Camelbak tube was slushing up.

8. Lots of animals die along Route 66: skunks, armadillos, birds, raccoons, possums, snakes...

9. Meeting up with Louise Mason. Her MOJO helped me tremendously.

10. Running with Tom Christell and having his wife tell me to put on my shoes.

11. Getting a ride back to the airport by the Canadians John, John and Vincent, whom I met briefly at the Round Barn the morning of the race. Thanks.

12. Crossing the finish line with Fred Davis.

13. One can live off Hammer Gels and HEED if one chooses to do so.

14. Big thank you to Cynthia for making some KILLER pecan bars and date bars from scratch for the pre-race POWER. I fed on them all day Friday as I made my way to Arcadia. Thems were GOOD.


My email to the race director:

Howdy Thomas

Thank you for your crazy vision of putting on the Mother Road 100.

That was one unforgettable 24+ hour dose of Oklahoma that I will never forget.

I want to say thank you to all who made this possible. It is truly hard to believe how well everything went for a first time mega-event. Congratulations.

I have some incredible stories. As you know, I ran barefoot. I ran 78 miles barefoot and was feeling great out of the Bristow check-point.

Then we started going along those old sections of Route 66. I must admit, they were by far the biggest challenge for a barefoot runner, but still doable.

Just as I was coming up to the turn where Red and Sharon's BBQ is located I ran into Jon Hulsey who was looking at course maps. I figured this guy knows the way. By the way, out of Bristow, I passed at least 20 runners. I was feeling REAL good and running kept me warm.

Well Jon and I made a terrible mistake. Instead of going up 181st, Jon thought that we had yet another parallel section of old road, so we went left. There were no arrows pointing one way or the other, so I accepted his logic.

Remember I told you how I hated the old road, well this road made the old road sections that we ran on seem like butter. I was in agony, but figured it wouldn't last long as I cursed the texture of what I thought was the old route. On and on and on we went, up and down hills (20/20 tells me that would have been unusual for the Route). Each step draining me. Well, what seemed like miles later, the road finally became a field! We had gone terribly wrong. It was very depressing. My goal of running 100 miles totally barefoot was crushed. Now we had other problems. We were lost, we were cold and we had to go back on the same road. I had to put my back-up shoes on and accept my fate.

Finally, we got back to the intersection of 48 and 181. The police car with the Doc had been looking for us, but Jon was not able to explain where we had gone wrong. We were messed up. I was shivering uncontrollably and luckily got into an official's car and blasted the heater.

From that intersection, we were driven to Taturs by a race official. At Taturs, the Doc took care of my foot and Jon and I regained our composure. It took some persuading, but I was convinced that it was still doable. After sucking down a couple Hammer Gels, we were off again. Much worse for the wear, but not defeated, and I wanted my name on that shirt!!!

Thankfully, the motor started running again, and I was able to make it home. A Carl's Jr. sign never looked so good.

BFT

PS. I just finished doing some Google Earth measuring. It turns out that the road Jon and I took dead ended after 1.8 miles (so 3.6 miles out and back), plus, we tried to take another road out and had to turn back, so that added yet another 0.2+ miles. Finally, the road we were on was MUCH more difficult than the highway. At times it was turning into a sandy, rocky, hilly nightmare. My wife said that my favorite dog, Hercules, was whimpering for no reason around the same time I was suffering. I do not exaggerate when I say that that was the toughest stretch of running I have EVER done as far as pain goes.

Photo by Melissa (Warwick Aid Station- Mile 30)

NOTE: A huge thank you to SOLAR COMMUNICATIONS INTERNATIONAL, INC. for helping make this adventure possible.

Angeles Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run - Completed

Above two photos by Andy Kumeda