Barefoot Notes from the Road

Since we’ve been on the road, it’s been a little difficult to find time to write about our adventures.  Here are some of the highlights from the last few weeks:

• We crewed and paced for our friend Jeremiah Cataldo at the Burning River 100 miler.  He finished in a blistering  few minutes over 20 hours.
• Vertical Runner, Ohio’s premiere running store and the place that hosted our local clinic, is offering 20% off all Merrell shoes until August 31st.  Stop in to pick up a pair of the awesome Merrell Barefoot shoes, the same shoes I used to run this year’s Western States 100 miler.
• Shelly and I ran the Mt. Sneffels Marathon from Ridgway to Ouray (you-RAY) Colorado.  It’s run on gravel roads, but you’re surrounded by the San Juan mountains.  There’s also a half-marathon.  I HIGHLY recommend the race to anyone!
• I did a clinic in the Apache Mall in Rochester, MN.  Thanks to Jamey Koenck, the store manage of the Tradehome Shoes in the mall.  Jamey has single-handedly turned this Tradehome into one of the best minimalist shoe stores I’ve found.  His staff was absolutely fabulous!  If you need a pair of minimalist shoes and live in Minnesota, Wisconsin, or Iowa, it’s worth the road trip to Jamey’s store.  Tell them Jason sent you!
• Shelly and I got to meet our Interweb friends Katie Button-Swenson (barefoot.zumba.runner) and Christian Peterson (you may know him as The Maple Grove Barefoot Guy or SayPay45) and his wife Amy.  We did a group run led by Katie (she’s FAST), then hung out with them on several occasions.  Needless to say, we were sad to leave the area.
• Shelly and I also ran the Minneapolis Naked Foot 5k.  The race series is organized by Scott and Lauren Jones.  We attended the Boulder, Colorado race and had a blast!  The Minneapolis race was even better!  The kid-friendly event welcomes barefoot, minimalist, and even traditionally-shod runners.  The goal is to educate people about barefoot wellness.  Their next event is in Grand Rapids, MI on August 28th.  Shelly and I will be there, we hope to see a lot of our friends!
• Unrelated to our travels but worth mentioning- our friend and BRU contributor Jesse Scott placed 16th overall and 2nd in his age group in this weekend’s Pike’s Peak marathon!  The race is generally considered to be the world’s most difficult marathon.  It starts at the base of the mountain, runs 13.1 miles to the summit, then 13.1 miles back to the base.

The best part of these events- meeting TONS of super-cool people!  This has been the most satisfying part of our journey so far.  We’ve had the opportunity to teach and learn from a wide variety of runners, from complete novices to seasoned veterans.

Well, that’s what we’ve been doing for the last month or so.  Through September, we’ll be:

• Visiting friends at the North Country Trail races in Manistee, MI,
• Running in the Merrell Grand Rapids Naked Foot and holding a barefoot clinic afterward,
• Attending the Woodstock Trail Running Festival in Pincney, MI (Shelly is running the 50 miler, I’m crewing and pacing for Jesse in the 100 miler),
• Flying to Seattle for the OutdoorFest event,
• Traveling to New York City for a series of clinics, the Merrell Barefoot Jam (details will be available soon), and the 2nd Annual NYC Barefoot Run.

Are you planning on attending any of these events?  Leave a comment!

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• 2011 Schedule of Events… Where We’re Going
• Trip to Chile: Quick Recap of an Amazing Experience
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• Fourteen Things I’ve Learned About Barefoot Running Since Hitting the Road