Barefoot run NYC: The Christopher McDougall experience

1. McDougall is magnetic. We're normally happy when 60-70 people show up at our birthday party given months of advance notice, but that's nothing compared to getting 70-plus people assembled in just a few days' time for a barefoot run through New York on a 90-plus degree day. But such is the magnetism (and persuasiveness) of McDougall. When we mentioned during our interview earlier this week that we were thinking about coming, he immediately said, "You gotta come, man. Think about it - when's the Plan B for doing an eight-mile barefoot run with [70] people through New York? It may never happen again." How could we say no to that?

No small amount of credit here also goes to McDougall's partner in barefoot running crime, John Durant, whose organizational skills prompted McDougall to say: "If I ever try to overthrow a government, the first phone call's gonna be to John Durant."

2. Know the mantra. Prior to beginning the run, McDougall had all of the runners repeat an oath: "If I get hurt, lost or die," he said, followed by a chorus of echoes, "it's my own damn fault. Amen." And with that, we were off.

3. Running barefoot through the streets of New York can be perplexing to observers. As we began our run uptown and made our way into Central Park, we heard a number of notable responses. Among the most friendly were exclamations of "They're running without shoes on their feet!", and the most abrasive random thing thrown our way was a cry of "Terrorists!" (We think this extreme reaction may have had something to do with the fact that our group was monopolizing the entire sidewalk at that point.)

Later, while we were running through the park, a woman yelled out, "Y'all going to Brooklyn?" When we responded in the affirmative, she informed us that she wouldn't be making it this time, which we had already gathered based on the fact that A) she wasn't running and B) she was drinking a cup of beer. However, she expressed her support and said that we could count her in for the next run. At that point, we didn't have the heart to tell her that we probably weren't going to make it all the way to Brooklyn.

Which brings us to our next point...

4. Running barefoot is devastating on the calves. Quick disclaimer here: Much like at least half of the people on the run, we were wearing Five Fingers on our feet, which are essentially minimalist shoes that provide some protection while simulating being barefoot (and looking kind of silly).

And here's the thing about running barefoot or in Five Fingers: Since you're on the balls of your feet more, it isolates the calf muscles to a far greater extent than normal shoes. Though this is widely believed to be good for the feet in the long run, it does lead to discomfort as you adjust. For instance, the day before the NYC run, we went for a one-mile test drive in the Five Fingers and immediately felt like our calves had been peppered with buckshot. And that was before the eight-mile run even began.

5. Don't try to be a hero. Before we set out, Durant told the assembled running shoes-scorning participants that if this was your first time doing a barefoot run, you should not try to make this the big one because you might get hurt. We had every intention of being an iron man (or iron foot, as the case may be), but by the time we had gone through three miles the calf pain was simply too much to bear. Not wanting to waddle around like the Tin Man for the rest of our days, we quietly tapped out at that point, leaving the park long before to the end of the run, but not before a few days and one afternoon had changed our perspective on running altogether.