Honolulu Marathon, On a Whim

At the finish line with a time of 5hrs 17mins

Last week I ran and finished the Honolulu Marathon, something that I decided to do pretty much making up my mind a week before the race. It was my first marathon and also it would be the longest time I have ran barefoot, but seeing as how this would be my only time to run this marathon, I decided what the heck.

I was thinking about running in the marathon on and off for about 3 months with no real effort put forth to attend it. The furthest I have ever run before was just over 9 miles and that was in shoes. The longest I have ever ran barefoot was for maybe 50 minutes. Like I said earlier, it was going to be the only time I could run this marathon, and I thought to myself, I am going to do it and why not do it the right way, barefoot.

Once I finally decided I was going to run the marathon, I had one week to prep. There was no way I was going to be able to train in any manner that would help me. The only thing I could think of to do was go for a couple barefoot runs around 3 miles to help keep my feet in shape as best I could. For the last 3 days before the race, I did no running for fear of hurting myself and not being able to run.

I showed up nice and early, around 2am, to get a parking spot right next to the finish. I sit around and watch as the field of just under 21,000 slowly fill the street in front of the Ala Moana Mall over the next 3 hours.

Around 20 minutes before the start I spot an unusually tall man walking through the crowd of people with an average height of around 5'7" around in a purple shirt and purple kilt. It was a fellow barefoot runner I had found and contacted through his blog named Christian Peterson. He flew out from Minnesota to run the Honolulu Marathon and raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through their Team In Training program in honor of his father.

We talk and start the race together. The start line is packed with people from serious runners to people, mostly Japanese, in an assortment of strange get ups from random Japanese cartoon characters, to wedding dresses, to a group of 40 people running with 80's theme attire.

A barefoot Santa throwing up the Shaka, my kind of guy

The race stays fairly crowded making for a hard time for us to navigate through the crowd and get around the slower runners, little did I know that this would be a downfall later on in the race for me. We run down to the Aloha Tower and start the loop back towards the start line running by the Honolulu City Lights.

We hit our first aid station. Christian stops to fill up his water bottles and I grab a cup and try and find a dry spot to stand so my feet dont get soaked. It didnt make a difference. There was no dry place to stand and it would be the same for every aid station. Crowded, hectic, extremely wet and not very good for my bare feet.

We make the loop passing the start line and head towards Diamond Head running through the Waikiki Strip. It was weird being able to run down the roads that I normally would be sitting in traffic on. After we run down the strip we see the finish line straight ahead but we take a slight left around the finish line for the marathon. Just after we made the left by the zoo and the finish line, we hit the finish for the 10K walk.

Just after we passed the 10K mark I see some porta-potties and I make the decision to stop. Christian asks if I wanted him to wait, I tell him to keep going and I would catch up to him.

 Getting through the crowd up Diamond Head

I start running again and head up Diamond Head. The road is jam packed with runners slowly drudging themselves up the hill. I feel great, and am passing runners left and right, trying to find my way around people. I get stuck in the crowd and am forced to slow down several times where people talk to me about running barefoot. I get the usually "look he is running barefoot" continually throughout the race. A few people actually have a conversation with me while running.

I make my way along the course, making sure to stop at every aid station and grab a water or a Gatorade because the sun is starting to come out and I know that it is going to get hot out real quick.

At mile 10 I feel a blister starting to form on the outside of my left foot. I continued on and soon realized that I was giving my self a blister from cutting back and forth trying to get around people. I continued on trying not to aggravate the blister further.

I hit the 12 mile marker and the blister is starting to become a nuisance. I stop, take a seat on the guard rail and take a look. I make the call to put on my Vibrams. I am thrilled to have made it 12 miles barefoot. The longest barefoot run I have ran before was around 4 miles. Taking into account that I have not been training to run a marathon barefoot, I was very happy to make it that far.

I strap on my Five Fingers and keep on running down to the turn around point in Hawaii Kai. Its getting very hot out and I still have not seen Christian. I keep on running enjoying the view. Then at about mile 21.5 I see him again.

I catch up and talk to him for a little. I feel great. I dont feel exhausted or tired at all. He looks like the heat and humidity have really taken a beating on him. I run with him a little bit and he tells to take off and finish, I tell him I will be there at the finish waiting for him.

 With the finish line right around the corner I continue on as the crowd of runners slowly became a crowd of walkers. I head back towards Diamond Head for the last hill before the finish line. It seems like the hill never ends. Near the top I start to get a cramp on the backside of my left knee. It hits me like running into a brick wall. I stop at the last couple aid stations and knock back a couple cups of Gatorade at each.

I hit the 25 mile marker, 1.2 miles left to go and boy was my leg hurting. I would run for about 100m and then have to walk so I decided to walk for awhile and finish on a strong note.

That little walking turned into alot of walking and I ended up running only the last .2 of the marathon.

I crossed the line and walked down the chute, grabbed some Gatorade.I finished with a time of 5hrs and 17mins. I don't care about the time. Like I said I had not even in the slightest bit been marathon training, never mind barefoot marathon training. I was plenty happy with the fact that I ran the first 12 miles barefoot and the last 14.2 in my Vibrams. My goal was just to finish it, irrelevant of the time it took.

I walked around for a little while waiting for Christian to finish. Not to far behind me he came across the line. I shook his hand had one last conversation with him and then we parted ways. Him to meet up with his team and me limping over to get my finisher's tee-shirt and medal. I crept back to my car, legs absolutely hurting.

Me at mile 24

When I got home I did nothing but sit around the rest of the day, or should I say lay around. My right foot was hurting more then everything else, and I feared the worse. The next day with my legs feeling great and my right foot killing me, I go see the doctor. Sure enough, I got a stress fracture in my foot.

This was not a one time thing. When I first started running barefoot I stepped on a rock the wrong way and injured my right foot some months ago. Its been mostly pain free aside from the occasional pain when I land on something wrong. I dont blame my injury on barefoot running, I blame it on my lack of preparation for the marathon. Given the same circumstances, would I do it again? Absolutely.

I have not ran at all in the past week and very limited walking around. I am trying to minimize the impact and help speed along the process of healing so I can get back to running again. The Great Aloha Run is in February and you can bet I will be there with no shoes.

Barefoot Running = Better Shod Running

I have never been a runner. I ran track in high school and was never really good at it, but I did it anyways because it killed time and had some fun doing it. When I joined the Army, I was a horrible runner. Terrible form, terrible times, and just felt terrible while running. I went to basic training running a high 15 minute 2 mile, I mean like 15:45. My last PT test at basic, I ran the fastest time I have ever ran 2 miles in, 13:04.

Part of what contributed to the fact that I shaved over 2 minutes off my two mile run is we ran every where. I mean everywhere. Going to PT, we ran to PT. For PT, we ran. Going to the chow hall, we ran there too, and also back from chow. We ran so much, that it was no longer fun and became more of a chore.

Up until I deployed I was always running my 2 miles in about 14:30. Given our area and our job, we did not really have the time or the space to run, so I rarely did so. The only time I ran 2 miles deployed, was at a PT test we had a month before we came back. I failed to meet the minimum Army standards. I ran a 16:40 missing the minimum by 8 seconds.

We came back and I was able to attend college full time for a semester. No work, no formations, and you guessed it, no PT. The first PT test I took when I got back, I had not ran at all in 3 months. I knew I was going to post a horrible time, but at least I passed with a 16:24. Still horrible, but passing.

I started running on a regular basis and got my times back around a 7:15 pace. Then I started to run barefoot. And as everyone knows, when you run barefoot, you run more efficiently. I was no exception.

From the very first time I ran barefoot my stride and foot strike changed. As I continued to run barefoot, I had no idea that it would actually improve my PT test times. So my does that matter. Running barefoot and running in shoes are 2 different things. But, at my last PT test, I noticed a huge change.

I have not changed the amount that I am running, just when I run at night, I run barefoot. I don't run as far as I would in shoes, and I run at a slower pace. What I noticed when I was running my 2 mile run was that I was striking the ground with a shorter stride and mid/forefoot strike. A more efficient way to run instead of running with a longer stride and heel striking. I cant remember where I heard it, but when you heel strike with your foot way out in front, you basically are hitting the brakes if you will whenever your foot strikes the ground, slowing yourself down.

I was turning over faster and running with a mid/forefoot strike. I felt like I was running the same pace as I always did, based on the way my heart was beating and I was breathing, but when I finished I was astonished when I looked at my time. 13:11, a score of 98 out of 100 possible points. The fastest I have ran in over 4 years. And I felt great when I finished, instead of the usual where do I throw up look I have on my face.

The only thing I can contribute to the fact of my time is the more efficient stride I was using. I was not running any more then I usually did, and I was not running faster either, but I was running with different form. One that transferred over to when I run with shoes on. Now that my form is improving, I wonder how low I can get my times when I try and work on speed. I guess only time will tell.

Up The Trail We Go

Again with the late entry, but better late then never.... Last Sunday a friend of mine went hiking along with my wife and I up a trail called Wiliwilinui Trail. The trail is near the south eastern part of the island where the H1 ends. You drive up to the trial by entering a gated community. The community is very welcoming of those who wish to hike the trail, even offering a map to the trail head on the back of the guest pass.


The trail we chose to do is a 3 up, 3 down trail. We wanted to do something relatively easy because my wife had wanted to wear her Vibrams hiking for the first time.

About 15 mins from the top of the trail we stop to enjoy the view

We started off at around 12:30 PM. The trail started off pretty wide and had alot of rocks on the path. The rocks were big enough so that they were not to much of a hassle to walk on and they were not stacked next to each other like gravel is. It made for a nice trip up to the top.


Along the way the trail was covered with these fruit like things that fell on the ground making every step feel like I was crushing grapes to make wine. The fruit squeezed its way into each one of my toes, making for a interesting and unique feeling.


Going back to my wife wanting hike in her Vibrams, she has a nasty habit of rolling her ankles whenever we go hiking. I have tried for a couple months to get her to try and go barefoot or in minimalist shoes while we are hiking or running. Finally shoe broke down and got the gray and blue sprints you see in the picture.

At the top

Along the way up the trail she was moving slower then usual, which is to be expected when you are not used having no padding below your feet hiding all the elements of the ground from your feet. On the way down the trail, she was very fast and left me behind a couple times. I kept asking her how her feet felt, and she said they felt great.


Once we reach the top of the trail we had lunch on the ridge and got to view Kaneohe and Kaialua in between the passing clouds which was pretty cool. We sat up there for about 45 mins enjoying the view before we started back down the trail.


I noticed while on our journey that there are quite a few people who hike in five fingers. I seen more people hiking on this short trail in five fingers then I have seen anywhere else. Atleast one person in every group that we passed was wearing Vibrams. Of course everyone commented on myself being barefoot and my wife wearing the five fingers. Those wearing the same said things along the lines of nice shoes and things of that nature.

On the way back down, the day started getting late and the I had to put on my five fingers for the last 3/4 of a mile. The terrain was down hill and filled with rocks and we had to get back to the car before it got to dark out. 

The next day my wife was talking about how sore her calves were from the hike. Its to be expected, that's the furthest she has gone in five fingers, not to mention the steep terrain added to the workout. But she said that her feet did not hurt her at all, I was surprised at that part. As for myself, I stepped on a rock the wrong way, so I took a couple days off and went out again today (5 days later) with no problems.

US Vets 5K Patriot Run

I know this entry is about a week late, but between work and all the other things I have going on in my life, I finally found some time to write about the last race I participated in, the US Vets 5K Patriot Run/Walk


The main goal of the event was to raise money for the homeless Veterans who live in Hawaii so that those who gave some much for their country are not left with no where to turn. This is a big deal to me being a veteran myself (yeah I know that I haven.t posted a little bit about myself yet, I promise its coming soon) and of course I had to run to support the cause.


The day started off as usual, register, pick up race packet, walk around, run, finish, go home. Me being me, I ran barefoot. Once again the only barefoot runner. This time though, there were a bunch of runners in Vibrams. I would venture a guess of about maybe 15 or so runners/walkers.  Some of who even thought that I was pretty insane for running barefoot.


The race was nice and flat paced, with smooth roads for me to run on. About 1.5 miles of it were on a bike path that ran along a body of water and gave a nice scenic view along the way. Because it was a bike path though, it was pretty narrow and I had to do the vast majority of the running on the wet grass so I could get around people.


A few people along the way ran next to me and talked to me about running barefoot, the typical things like "what if you step on glass" and "you feet have got to hurt when you finish this".


It was not really all that bad of a run. The only problem that I had was because of running on the wet grass, my feet got pretty wet and soft making my feet extremely sensitive to the asphalt for the last mile or so. Other then that, it was a great race for a great cause and another barefoot run under my belt.

A Day for Firsts

Running Barefoot Along the Trails

I recently found a website where they keep an updated calendar of all the races going on in my area, and would you have guessed it, there was a trail race this weekend, The Gunstock Ranch Half Marathon and 5K. I had initially wanted to run the half marathon in my five fingers, but due to work I would not able able too. So, I settled on the next best thing. I decided to run the 5K.

This would be the first trail race I ran, and the first time I ran a trial in over 6 years. It was also going to be the first race I have run in my Vibrams. Note the key word, was.

I show up in the morning as a walk on racer. Strap on my Vibrams and go over to the registration site. It was still dark and the fields were not light up, but the ground felt mostly rock free. I sign up, get my number and walk around to warm up my legs and kill some time. As the sun starts to come over the mountain, I see that the field is mostly grass with minimal pebbles and rocks. I ask one of the course volunteers if the 5K trail was mostly dirt roads or dirt and grass. To my delight she told me that the course was mostly pasture and dirt trails. Then it hit me, I am going to run this race barefoot.

I walk to the starting line and walk about 100 yards over the first hill and took a look around. Soft dirt trails and a few rocks here and there. As I walk back to the starting line into the staging area, I stop, take a look around, and then strip off my Vibrams. This was going to be my first trail race, and my first time running barefoot.

Rewind the clock about 2 months ago, I was just beginning training for a military event involving moving very quickly with weight on your back for long distances. This event is called ruck marching or a forced march. Of the many things that can go wrong while performing this event is blisters and one of the ways I was recommended to toughen my feet was to walk barefoot on asphalt. After my first few steps, I realized that my heel was hitting the ground first and I instantly changed my stride to a better feeling one. From that point on I would continue to walk barefoot gradually increasing my distances and the way I strike the ground with my feet. 

Fast forward to 1.5 miles into my first barefoot trail race. I am feeling good, passing people enjoying the run and the feel of the ground under my feet. Every couple people I pass or that pass me would say something to me about running barefoot. Then I see it. Everyone else tries to avoid it as best they can. A smile comes across my face. A nice big patch of mud that consumed the whole trail. As I run through the mud barefoot for the first time ever, the mud filled the spaces between my toes. What a weird, yet delightful feeling. 

Keeping pace with a group in front of me I relied strongly on them to lead the way along the trail as I keep an eye out for obstacles and the next location of my foot strike. I look at my watch and think to myself, I have been running for awhile and I still have not hit the 2 mile marker yet. I kept running focusing on the trial. We come around a sweeping right hand turn and I see another trail with people running on it. People I had already passed in the very beginning of the race. A few minutes later we finally hit the 2 mile marker and I look at my watch, it read 26 minutes. 

Now I have been running along time and I have a very good sense of the pace I am running. Given I was running a little slower then usual because of being barefoot, I know I was not running a 13 minute mile. Later, upon completion of the race, it turns out that a good number of people had missed the turn off for the 5K and ended up running extra like myself. 

The first 2 miles was mostly uphill and soft dirt trails. Boy would I miss that part of the trail. The last mile or so was down hill, completely covered with rocks and pebbles with no place for my feet to find a soft landing spot. It was pretty painful but I thought to myself, you already went this far without putting the vibrams on, you might as well finish it out. And I did. I crossed the line at just over 36 minutes. Meaning the last mile, where I was creeping along and walking in many parts, was a 10 minute mile. If I had stayed on the correct trail, I figure I would have had a finish time of 26-28 minutes. 

After I finished and was standing by the water I heard one person talking to her friend about the course and one said to the other "and did you see that foot print in the mud?", I just laughed a little to myself. 

I have been reading alot about running barefoot/minimalist and I realized how few and far between these type of runners there are yesterday. Of all the people who raced, about 150, only 5 people ran in a "minimalist" shoe. Of these 5, 2 were running Vibram kso's. The other 3 were wearing Nike Free's, which to me are not a minimalist shoe because they have quite a bit of heel on them.

In the category of barefoot runners in the race, it was just me. So I guess you can say if they had a barefoot category, I would have won 1st place.What was my trophy you ask? Well I was awarded 3 blisters and sore feet for 2 days. If someone would have asked me if I were to do it again? I would say "Where do I sign up?"