The 2022 Edinburgh Marathon
Marathon # 346
Barefoot Marathon # 109
Date: May 29, 2022
My Time: 5:14:17
May 31, 2022
By Dr. Barefoot Sidy Diallo
I did last Sunday in Edinburgh my 109th barefoot marathon on one of the most challenging courses for naked feet. The course is harsh—especially for seasonal barefoot runners—from the start to the finish line, not to mention the 2 km stony path and the unusually rough home stretch. I therefore had to adjust my pace accordingly, so that I could finish the race without any pain, injury or fatigue.
The Cognitive Benefits of Barefoot Running
Barefoot running is not just hitting the asphalt or any other surface with your bare feet. It’s a smart and active undertaking that induces an intense brain activity, which is an efficient way to improve your working memory. And this is what barefoot running is mainly about, especially regarding aging: it’s one of the best weapons against the Alzheimer disease and other dementia.
Understandably, many businesses, including healthcare providers, don’t want you to know that researchers at the University of North Florida published six years ago a study that proved that barefoot running is better than shod running for your working memory: “The experiment, designed by lead researcher Dr. Ross Alloway, shows that running barefoot leads to better cognitive performance than running with shoes. Working memory, our ability to recall and process information, is used throughout our lifespan. By improving it, we may be able to realize gains in key areas, from school to work to retirement. ‘This research shows us that we can realize our cognitive potential and enjoy ourselves at the same time,’ said Ross Alloway. The barefoot condition requires a more intensive use of working memory because of the extra tactile and proprioceptive demands associated with barefoot running, which may account for the working memory gains.”
An Exclusively Blissful Experience
As I explain in the book Running Barefoot for Human Survival, doing a marathon should be like practicing persistence hunting, i.e. an exclusively blissful experience, not a painful one.
“The heat crashed the Royan Marathon. Fortunately, the start was brought forward to 7:30 a.m. Otherwise the participants would have suffered even more. Many didn’t finish the race,” wrote the daily Ouest France. Well, I ran barefoot the Royan Marathon just seven days before the Edinburgh Marathon.
Blaming the heat for runners exhaustion and other shortcomings is ignoring that our ancestors had the intelligence to understand that persistence hunting was much easier when it was hot and humid, thanks to the comparative advantages of our thermoregulation system. Running long distances to catch an animal or a medal is a vital and trivial human activity. Therefore, like persistence hunting, the marathon is not meant to be painful or lead to the exhaustion of the runner.
Sadly, the marathon is painful for most runners for various reasons. First, many marathon runners don’t run as often as our hunter-gatherer ancestors: we shouldn’t prepare for a marathon, we should be ready to run a marathon at any time. Second, the feet should be free of any accessories or only provided with minimal protection in adverse circumstances. Third, the body mass index (BMI) should be like that of a hunter-gatherer. Fourth, drinking alcohol is not a good idea, especially when it’s hot and humid. This non-exhaustive list means that the marathon is run more easily and more pleasantly as a hunter-gatherer.
Abebe Bikila fulfilled all these criteria when he ran barefoot the 1960 Olympic Marathon in Rome, won the race and broke the world record, without any pain, injury or fatigue: “Immediately after crossing the finish line, Abebe began to touch his toes and run on the spot, and he later said he could have run another 15 km,” explains Wikipedia. Alas! he afterwards agreed to run with sneakers, and the resulting injuries prevented him years later from completing his marathons, and forced him to stop running prematurely. It’s unfortunate that so many shod runners also end up “bikilizing” themselves, while paying physically, psychologically and financially for that.
Barefoot Running in the Hostile Habitat
Seasonal barefoot runners are those who cannot run or walk barefoot all year around, because they live far from Homo sapiens’ normal habitat that many instinctively and strategically call the “tropical paradise.” In other words, humans are a tropical species, which means that our normal habitat is between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, where even naked humans can survive years and years, while no naked human can survive the winter in Edinburgh’s Holyrood Park, Chicago’s Lincoln Park or New York’s Central Park.
This explains why the cold is an issue for barefoot running. Sadly, this means that after the mandatory winter break, the feet will need to readapt progressively to barefoot running. The other option—that I’m considering for when I retire—is to relocate to a tropical country. Meanwhile, I’m planning to run my 110th barefoot marathon next Sunday in Scandinavia.
Running Barefoot for Human Survival is available on Amazon in paperback and e-book format (French edition: Courir pieds nus pour sauver les humains).
The Edinburgh Evening News: French physician travels to Edinburgh to complete his 109th barefoot marathon.
Barefoot Marathon # 109
Date: May 29, 2022
My Time: 5:14:17
May 31, 2022
By Dr. Barefoot Sidy Diallo
I did last Sunday in Edinburgh my 109th barefoot marathon on one of the most challenging courses for naked feet. The course is harsh—especially for seasonal barefoot runners—from the start to the finish line, not to mention the 2 km stony path and the unusually rough home stretch. I therefore had to adjust my pace accordingly, so that I could finish the race without any pain, injury or fatigue.
The Cognitive Benefits of Barefoot Running
Barefoot running is not just hitting the asphalt or any other surface with your bare feet. It’s a smart and active undertaking that induces an intense brain activity, which is an efficient way to improve your working memory. And this is what barefoot running is mainly about, especially regarding aging: it’s one of the best weapons against the Alzheimer disease and other dementia.
Understandably, many businesses, including healthcare providers, don’t want you to know that researchers at the University of North Florida published six years ago a study that proved that barefoot running is better than shod running for your working memory: “The experiment, designed by lead researcher Dr. Ross Alloway, shows that running barefoot leads to better cognitive performance than running with shoes. Working memory, our ability to recall and process information, is used throughout our lifespan. By improving it, we may be able to realize gains in key areas, from school to work to retirement. ‘This research shows us that we can realize our cognitive potential and enjoy ourselves at the same time,’ said Ross Alloway. The barefoot condition requires a more intensive use of working memory because of the extra tactile and proprioceptive demands associated with barefoot running, which may account for the working memory gains.”
An Exclusively Blissful Experience
As I explain in the book Running Barefoot for Human Survival, doing a marathon should be like practicing persistence hunting, i.e. an exclusively blissful experience, not a painful one.
“The heat crashed the Royan Marathon. Fortunately, the start was brought forward to 7:30 a.m. Otherwise the participants would have suffered even more. Many didn’t finish the race,” wrote the daily Ouest France. Well, I ran barefoot the Royan Marathon just seven days before the Edinburgh Marathon.
Blaming the heat for runners exhaustion and other shortcomings is ignoring that our ancestors had the intelligence to understand that persistence hunting was much easier when it was hot and humid, thanks to the comparative advantages of our thermoregulation system. Running long distances to catch an animal or a medal is a vital and trivial human activity. Therefore, like persistence hunting, the marathon is not meant to be painful or lead to the exhaustion of the runner.
Sadly, the marathon is painful for most runners for various reasons. First, many marathon runners don’t run as often as our hunter-gatherer ancestors: we shouldn’t prepare for a marathon, we should be ready to run a marathon at any time. Second, the feet should be free of any accessories or only provided with minimal protection in adverse circumstances. Third, the body mass index (BMI) should be like that of a hunter-gatherer. Fourth, drinking alcohol is not a good idea, especially when it’s hot and humid. This non-exhaustive list means that the marathon is run more easily and more pleasantly as a hunter-gatherer.
Abebe Bikila fulfilled all these criteria when he ran barefoot the 1960 Olympic Marathon in Rome, won the race and broke the world record, without any pain, injury or fatigue: “Immediately after crossing the finish line, Abebe began to touch his toes and run on the spot, and he later said he could have run another 15 km,” explains Wikipedia. Alas! he afterwards agreed to run with sneakers, and the resulting injuries prevented him years later from completing his marathons, and forced him to stop running prematurely. It’s unfortunate that so many shod runners also end up “bikilizing” themselves, while paying physically, psychologically and financially for that.
Barefoot Running in the Hostile Habitat
Seasonal barefoot runners are those who cannot run or walk barefoot all year around, because they live far from Homo sapiens’ normal habitat that many instinctively and strategically call the “tropical paradise.” In other words, humans are a tropical species, which means that our normal habitat is between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, where even naked humans can survive years and years, while no naked human can survive the winter in Edinburgh’s Holyrood Park, Chicago’s Lincoln Park or New York’s Central Park.
This explains why the cold is an issue for barefoot running. Sadly, this means that after the mandatory winter break, the feet will need to readapt progressively to barefoot running. The other option—that I’m considering for when I retire—is to relocate to a tropical country. Meanwhile, I’m planning to run my 110th barefoot marathon next Sunday in Scandinavia.
Running Barefoot for Human Survival is available on Amazon in paperback and e-book format (French edition: Courir pieds nus pour sauver les humains).
The Edinburgh Evening News: French physician travels to Edinburgh to complete his 109th barefoot marathon.
Dr. Sidy Diallo wearing a kilt in Edinburgh, Scotland
The Edinburgh Evening News: French physician travels to Edinburgh to complete his 109th barefoot marathon.
Dr Sidy Diallo did barefoot the 2022 Edinburgh Marathon
Dr. Sidy Diallo’s 2022 Edinburgh Marathon Certificate
Dr. Sidy Diallo ran barefoot the 2022 Edinburgh Marathon
The 2022 Edinburgh Marathon Course
Dr Sidy Diallo completed barefoot the 2022 Edinburgh Marathon
Edinburgh, Scotland