The 2022 French Riviera Marathon
Marathon # 361
Barefoot marathon # 120
Date: October 30, 2022
My Time: 4:27:13
By Dr. Barefoot Sidy Diallo
The marathon is persistence hunting 2.0: I participated in the second-largest persistence hunting in France to promote the benefits of barefoot running.
As I explain in the book Running Barefoot for Human Survival, we no longer need to run for food, but we still need to run marathons to stay fit, healthy and naturally happy, and run barefoot to prevent pain, injury and fatigue.
I did barefoot for the third time the French Riviera Marathon—the second-largest yearly persistence hunting in France. I finished my seventh marathon in six weeks as usual, namely without any issue: no shoes, no problems.
Doing a marathon is about reconnecting with the most prominent and rewarding feature of our hunter-gatherer heritage: persistence hunting, a pursuit until the prey succumbs to exhaustion or heat stroke. In that regard, the finisher medal represents symbolically both the hunting trophy and the hunted animal, which explains why some marathoners instinctively bite the medal and so proudly take selfies.
The course of the French Riviera Marathon starts in Nice, goes along the seafront and finishes in Cannes on the Croisette Boulevard. Sadly, despite the nice weather and mild temperatures, many runners sustained fainting, pain, exhaustion and injuries, particularly in the second half of race. I saw many lying on their back on the sidewalks and even more in the finish zone, where some of them were holding their legs in an upper position against the fence in a desperate attempt to alleviate their pains.
What’s more, 18% of the participants did not finish the marathon, and there is the possibility that some of them will never be able to run again because of their injuries, just like the fate of the most legendary victim of shod running: Abebe Bikila whose running career brutally ended in the 1968 Olympic Marathon in Mexico City.
It’s easy to understand that if our ancestors were to finish their hunting the same way, they would have starved to death, which means that human species would have been extinguished long ago.
In other words, if we want to turn the marathon into a safe and pleasant experience, all we need to do is to be humble and run like our ancestors, i.e. regularly and barefoot, period!.
Running Barefoot for Human Survival is available on Amazon in paperback and e-book format (French edition: Courir pieds nus pour sauver les humains).
Nice Matin: Un marathon par semaine pieds nus
Barefoot marathon # 120
Date: October 30, 2022
My Time: 4:27:13
By Dr. Barefoot Sidy Diallo
The marathon is persistence hunting 2.0: I participated in the second-largest persistence hunting in France to promote the benefits of barefoot running.
As I explain in the book Running Barefoot for Human Survival, we no longer need to run for food, but we still need to run marathons to stay fit, healthy and naturally happy, and run barefoot to prevent pain, injury and fatigue.
I did barefoot for the third time the French Riviera Marathon—the second-largest yearly persistence hunting in France. I finished my seventh marathon in six weeks as usual, namely without any issue: no shoes, no problems.
Doing a marathon is about reconnecting with the most prominent and rewarding feature of our hunter-gatherer heritage: persistence hunting, a pursuit until the prey succumbs to exhaustion or heat stroke. In that regard, the finisher medal represents symbolically both the hunting trophy and the hunted animal, which explains why some marathoners instinctively bite the medal and so proudly take selfies.
The course of the French Riviera Marathon starts in Nice, goes along the seafront and finishes in Cannes on the Croisette Boulevard. Sadly, despite the nice weather and mild temperatures, many runners sustained fainting, pain, exhaustion and injuries, particularly in the second half of race. I saw many lying on their back on the sidewalks and even more in the finish zone, where some of them were holding their legs in an upper position against the fence in a desperate attempt to alleviate their pains.
What’s more, 18% of the participants did not finish the marathon, and there is the possibility that some of them will never be able to run again because of their injuries, just like the fate of the most legendary victim of shod running: Abebe Bikila whose running career brutally ended in the 1968 Olympic Marathon in Mexico City.
It’s easy to understand that if our ancestors were to finish their hunting the same way, they would have starved to death, which means that human species would have been extinguished long ago.
In other words, if we want to turn the marathon into a safe and pleasant experience, all we need to do is to be humble and run like our ancestors, i.e. regularly and barefoot, period!.
Running Barefoot for Human Survival is available on Amazon in paperback and e-book format (French edition: Courir pieds nus pour sauver les humains).
Nice Matin: Un marathon par semaine pieds nus
Dr. Sidy Diallo ran barefoot the 2022 French Riviera Marathon
Dr. Sidy Diallo's 2022 French Riviera Marathon Certificate
Le Dr Sidy Diallo a couru pieds nus le Marathon de la Côte d'Azur 2022
Dr. Sidy Diallo on the steps of the Palais des Festivals in Cannes after completing the 2022 French Riviera Marathon
Dr. Sidy Diallo confidently stepping barefoot on broken glass in the French Riviera