The 2022 Rio de Janeiro Marathon
Marathon # 349
Barefoot Marathon # 111
Date: June 19, 2022
My Time: 4:16:34
By Dr. Barefoot Sidy Diallo
I completed barefoot at 67 in Rio de Janeiro my seventh post-COVID-19 marathon in six weeks as usual, i.e. without any pain, injury or fatigue, so much so that I was ready to do the race again. Immediately after crossing the finish line I did ten push-ups and touched my toes. I congratulate Sandra Bogado from Argentina for her inspiring story. We did most of the race together. The next day I participated in a tour of Rio de Janeiro, which included the Tijuca National Park, the Sugar Loaf Mountain, the Sambodrome and walking up and down the 215 stairs of the lovely Escadaria Selarón, which was, of course, not a problem for me.
I started running barefoot at 60 and I completed barefoot even the 90 km of the 2018 Comrades Marathon in South Africa without any pain, injury or fatigue. Folks, I’m a guy like you and what I’m doing is not a performance, which means that if I can do it, you too can do it. But many businesses, including healthcare providers don’t want you to know that long-distance running is highly beneficial for our fitness, our physical and mental health and our well-being, and that the activity should be the most rewarding and a totally painless experience, provided that we accept to respect our biology.
I encourage everyone to read the book Running Barefoot for Human Survival to find out why all humans are excellent persistent hunters—or long-distance runners—and how and why we can use our exceptional abilities to run marathons to stay fit and healthy, prevent comorbidities, boost our immune system, and why we should run barefoot to improve our working memory, prevent bikilization, and save Homo sapiens, not the planet. The planet will survive us for billions of years.
Our wise ancestors ran barefoot for three million years until few thousand years ago. If they had waited for sneakers—which are a recent invention—, they would’ve starved, which means that we wouldn’t obviously be here. And if they were running with sneakers, they would’ve also starved, because like many shod runners who complete a marathon, they wouldn’t have been able to hunt for food the next few days or few weeks, which would similarly result in the extinction of their species.
Moreover, while pursuing a quadrupedal animal for food, our ancestors had to confront barefoot all kinds of natural hazards, including predators, snakes, spiders and hidden sharp objects. This means that we’re comparatively very fortunate to have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of barefoot running on our safe and artificial environment. In that regard, the Rio de Janeiro Marathon boasts one of the most barefoot friendly courses.
Enjoying the Basics of Human Bliss in Rio de Janeiro
As I explain in the book Running Barefoot for Human Survival, the four elements of human bliss are natural habitat, natural environment, natural physical activity, i.e. long-distance running (persistence hunting or marathon) and natural procreation, which means that billions of humans are born to be depressed because of their location or the consequences of their lifestyle.
For instance, while procreation is possible everywhere on the planet—even though infertility keeps rising, particularly in North America, Western Europe, Australia, etc., whose sterile nationals are increasingly and desperately resorting to artificial procreation or even questionable adoption of babies from other countries—, Homo sapiens’ natural habitat, that many call “tropical paradise,” is limited to the Earth zone extending from the Tropic of Cancer in the north to the Tropic of Capricorn in the south.
Rio de Janeiro lies less than one degree north of the Tropic of Capricorn, so there you can enjoy the four elements of bliss by starting a family, running the marathon of the Cidade Maravilhosa and enjoying the beaches and the world’s largest urban forest: the Tijuca National Park.
Unfortunately, most current humans are lacking two or all the elements of human bliss, hence the impulsive and desperate quest for happiness in overconsumption, the use of alcohol, tobacco and medical or illegal drugs, in overeating, in money, power, cruelties, etc., which fuels not only a permanent frustration, but also the vicious circle of global warming and comorbidities: overweight, obesity, diabetes, depression, stress, stroke, chronic cardiovascular diseases, chronic lung diseases, loss of physical abilities, Alzheimer disease and other dementia, etc.
This means that, unless we recover the rationality that characterized human species for three million years, and break the above-mentioned vicious circle, we should brace and accept the responsibility for our untimely extinction along with innocent species.
Homo Predator and Homo Stultus
Like our wise ancestors for three million years, other apes, lions, boars, bears, etc., know about everything they need. Some birds, sea turtles and penguins even fly or swim year after year hundreds or thousands kilometers to the same place for their reproduction, without any navigation tools. I felt very impressed by the Magellanic penguins on Magdalena Island during my first trip to Patagonia and Antarctica.
It’s both extraordinary and regrettable that Homo sapiens has become the only animal species whose individuals need advice from other individuals on nutrition and physical activity, which highlights the chasm between what current humans think about themselves and who we actually are.
“Homo sapiens owes his name and surname to our two main characteristics: being human and possessing the ability to think. Those responsible for the greatest environmental catastrophe in Borneo do not qualify to be sapiens,” wrote a wealthy activist, which begs the question: Who does qualify?
This is a just an example of the arrogance and irresponsibly of global warmers who are irrationally claiming to save a healthy and multi-billion-year-old planet, while unwisely seeking happiness through toxic or unhealthy consumption, relying on pills, shots or surgery for their comorbidities, and blaming everyone except themselves for their health conditions and the global warming.
Homo sapiens have evolved during the last 10 thousand years into Homo predator and Homo stultus, in high speed since the 1970s along with obesity, other chronic preventable diseases and global warming. Folks, the global warmers and environment predators are the consumers, not countries, companies, organizations or politicians.
Running Barefoot for Human Survival is available on Amazon in paperback and e-book format (French edition: Courir pieds nus pour sauver les humains).
Barefoot Marathon # 111
Date: June 19, 2022
My Time: 4:16:34
By Dr. Barefoot Sidy Diallo
I completed barefoot at 67 in Rio de Janeiro my seventh post-COVID-19 marathon in six weeks as usual, i.e. without any pain, injury or fatigue, so much so that I was ready to do the race again. Immediately after crossing the finish line I did ten push-ups and touched my toes. I congratulate Sandra Bogado from Argentina for her inspiring story. We did most of the race together. The next day I participated in a tour of Rio de Janeiro, which included the Tijuca National Park, the Sugar Loaf Mountain, the Sambodrome and walking up and down the 215 stairs of the lovely Escadaria Selarón, which was, of course, not a problem for me.
I started running barefoot at 60 and I completed barefoot even the 90 km of the 2018 Comrades Marathon in South Africa without any pain, injury or fatigue. Folks, I’m a guy like you and what I’m doing is not a performance, which means that if I can do it, you too can do it. But many businesses, including healthcare providers don’t want you to know that long-distance running is highly beneficial for our fitness, our physical and mental health and our well-being, and that the activity should be the most rewarding and a totally painless experience, provided that we accept to respect our biology.
I encourage everyone to read the book Running Barefoot for Human Survival to find out why all humans are excellent persistent hunters—or long-distance runners—and how and why we can use our exceptional abilities to run marathons to stay fit and healthy, prevent comorbidities, boost our immune system, and why we should run barefoot to improve our working memory, prevent bikilization, and save Homo sapiens, not the planet. The planet will survive us for billions of years.
Our wise ancestors ran barefoot for three million years until few thousand years ago. If they had waited for sneakers—which are a recent invention—, they would’ve starved, which means that we wouldn’t obviously be here. And if they were running with sneakers, they would’ve also starved, because like many shod runners who complete a marathon, they wouldn’t have been able to hunt for food the next few days or few weeks, which would similarly result in the extinction of their species.
Moreover, while pursuing a quadrupedal animal for food, our ancestors had to confront barefoot all kinds of natural hazards, including predators, snakes, spiders and hidden sharp objects. This means that we’re comparatively very fortunate to have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of barefoot running on our safe and artificial environment. In that regard, the Rio de Janeiro Marathon boasts one of the most barefoot friendly courses.
Enjoying the Basics of Human Bliss in Rio de Janeiro
As I explain in the book Running Barefoot for Human Survival, the four elements of human bliss are natural habitat, natural environment, natural physical activity, i.e. long-distance running (persistence hunting or marathon) and natural procreation, which means that billions of humans are born to be depressed because of their location or the consequences of their lifestyle.
For instance, while procreation is possible everywhere on the planet—even though infertility keeps rising, particularly in North America, Western Europe, Australia, etc., whose sterile nationals are increasingly and desperately resorting to artificial procreation or even questionable adoption of babies from other countries—, Homo sapiens’ natural habitat, that many call “tropical paradise,” is limited to the Earth zone extending from the Tropic of Cancer in the north to the Tropic of Capricorn in the south.
Rio de Janeiro lies less than one degree north of the Tropic of Capricorn, so there you can enjoy the four elements of bliss by starting a family, running the marathon of the Cidade Maravilhosa and enjoying the beaches and the world’s largest urban forest: the Tijuca National Park.
Unfortunately, most current humans are lacking two or all the elements of human bliss, hence the impulsive and desperate quest for happiness in overconsumption, the use of alcohol, tobacco and medical or illegal drugs, in overeating, in money, power, cruelties, etc., which fuels not only a permanent frustration, but also the vicious circle of global warming and comorbidities: overweight, obesity, diabetes, depression, stress, stroke, chronic cardiovascular diseases, chronic lung diseases, loss of physical abilities, Alzheimer disease and other dementia, etc.
This means that, unless we recover the rationality that characterized human species for three million years, and break the above-mentioned vicious circle, we should brace and accept the responsibility for our untimely extinction along with innocent species.
Homo Predator and Homo Stultus
Like our wise ancestors for three million years, other apes, lions, boars, bears, etc., know about everything they need. Some birds, sea turtles and penguins even fly or swim year after year hundreds or thousands kilometers to the same place for their reproduction, without any navigation tools. I felt very impressed by the Magellanic penguins on Magdalena Island during my first trip to Patagonia and Antarctica.
It’s both extraordinary and regrettable that Homo sapiens has become the only animal species whose individuals need advice from other individuals on nutrition and physical activity, which highlights the chasm between what current humans think about themselves and who we actually are.
“Homo sapiens owes his name and surname to our two main characteristics: being human and possessing the ability to think. Those responsible for the greatest environmental catastrophe in Borneo do not qualify to be sapiens,” wrote a wealthy activist, which begs the question: Who does qualify?
This is a just an example of the arrogance and irresponsibly of global warmers who are irrationally claiming to save a healthy and multi-billion-year-old planet, while unwisely seeking happiness through toxic or unhealthy consumption, relying on pills, shots or surgery for their comorbidities, and blaming everyone except themselves for their health conditions and the global warming.
Homo sapiens have evolved during the last 10 thousand years into Homo predator and Homo stultus, in high speed since the 1970s along with obesity, other chronic preventable diseases and global warming. Folks, the global warmers and environment predators are the consumers, not countries, companies, organizations or politicians.
Running Barefoot for Human Survival is available on Amazon in paperback and e-book format (French edition: Courir pieds nus pour sauver les humains).