The 2019 New York Marathon
Barefoot World Marathon Major # 2
Marathon # 206
Barefoot Marathon # 64
Date: November 3, 2019
My Time: 4:40:13
By Dr. Barefoot Sidy Diallo
I completed in the United States my 64th truly barefoot marathon and 206th marathon.
The 2019 New York Marathon and the Dash to the Finish Line 5K, held the previous day, were good examples of the impact of running with shoes. I did both races on my bare feet, crossing the finish line in Central Park fatigue, pain and injury free. I had also run barefoot in the Park for the media.
Most, if not all the 10,344 finishers of 5K race did not sustain injury. But what about the 53,513 finishers of the marathon?
The World Largest Modern Tribe
Well, when I saw many of them wearing those expensive “fast shoes,” I knew that it was the wrong way to reconnect with the ancestral persistence hunting. By the way, the New York Marathon is surprisingly an almost perfect reenactment of persistence hunting. It’s therefore a very sought-after tribal experience. So people came from all over the planet to form the world biggest tribe of hunters.
We were transported in the early hours of Sunday, November 3, to Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, where we were divided into three tribes, according to the color (blue, orange and green) of our tribal IDs, that modern humans call “bib numbers.” We joined the corresponding “start village” to wait for the launch of the great hunting through the boroughs of New York.
I belonged to the blue tribe, so I gathered with the other members of my new tribe in the “Blue Village,” which we called home for few hours. It’s worth highlighting that the term “village,” an instinctive reminder of our roots, is frequently used by marathon organizers and runners.
The three tribes started the hunting in waves from three locations, ran on the Verrazzano Bridge to Brooklyn, joined a common course after eight miles (12.9 km), continued to Queens, crossed the Queensboro Bridge to Manhattan, headed north to Bronx, then came back to Central Park to cross the Finish Line and get the immense human reward—the endorphins that make us naturally feel elated. Each successful hunter, aka finisher, received afterwards the prey, he or she had chased on 26.2 miles (42.2 km): the medal that some instinctively bite, as if it were a real prey. It’s the hunting trophy many are so proud of.
But, while the hunters were feeling so happy for their achievement, so many of them had so much suffered on the course, and would likely keep suffering for days or weeks. That means, if our ancestors were wearing shoes, they wouldn’t be able to hunt as often as it was necessary to get enough food to survive. So we wouldn’t be here today, arguing about barefoot running.
As for me, I hunted on my bare feet, like our ancestors, and completed my eighth barefoot marathon in eight weeks like the seven previous ones, i.e. fatigue, pain and injury free, in a time of 4:40:13. So I was ready to do it again right away, if it were necessary. In other words, it was like what it should always be: a pleasant walk in the park. I was wearing an unusual West-African outfit called chaya. A like-minded barefoot runner, Brynda Mara, also did the race in “tribal garb.”
Not Fast Enough?
Some may argue that my time was not fast enough. But I finished in the first half of my age group (60–64), and faster than over 22,000 hunters. Moreover, the pavement in New York proved to be very challenging for new barefoot runners. For instance, three weeks earlier, I ran the 2019 Chicago Marathon on my bare feet in a time of 3:57:23, i.e. over 7 minutes faster than my Boston Marathon qualifying standard.
What's more, I ran on September 23, 2018, in Montréal, my first barefoot marathon in continental North America, completing the race in a time of 3:37:41, and beating my Boston Marathon qualifying standard by over 27 minutes.
Since marathon running is a modern form of a tribal activity, the right way to do it is the tribal way, i.e. on our naked feet. And, for that, we don’t even need to take the shoes off, we just don’t put them on.
My book Running Barefoot for Human Survival is available on Amazon in paperback and e-book format (French edition: Courir pieds nus pour sauver les humains).
Media
A walk in the park: NYC marathon runner praises barefoot running (AFP)
For Sidy Diallo, the weekend brings another marathon -- run barefoot (AFP)
Un marathon par semaine pieds nus, le régime atypique de Sidy Diallo (Ouest France)
Marathon # 206
Barefoot Marathon # 64
Date: November 3, 2019
My Time: 4:40:13
By Dr. Barefoot Sidy Diallo
I completed in the United States my 64th truly barefoot marathon and 206th marathon.
The 2019 New York Marathon and the Dash to the Finish Line 5K, held the previous day, were good examples of the impact of running with shoes. I did both races on my bare feet, crossing the finish line in Central Park fatigue, pain and injury free. I had also run barefoot in the Park for the media.
Most, if not all the 10,344 finishers of 5K race did not sustain injury. But what about the 53,513 finishers of the marathon?
The World Largest Modern Tribe
Well, when I saw many of them wearing those expensive “fast shoes,” I knew that it was the wrong way to reconnect with the ancestral persistence hunting. By the way, the New York Marathon is surprisingly an almost perfect reenactment of persistence hunting. It’s therefore a very sought-after tribal experience. So people came from all over the planet to form the world biggest tribe of hunters.
We were transported in the early hours of Sunday, November 3, to Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, where we were divided into three tribes, according to the color (blue, orange and green) of our tribal IDs, that modern humans call “bib numbers.” We joined the corresponding “start village” to wait for the launch of the great hunting through the boroughs of New York.
I belonged to the blue tribe, so I gathered with the other members of my new tribe in the “Blue Village,” which we called home for few hours. It’s worth highlighting that the term “village,” an instinctive reminder of our roots, is frequently used by marathon organizers and runners.
The three tribes started the hunting in waves from three locations, ran on the Verrazzano Bridge to Brooklyn, joined a common course after eight miles (12.9 km), continued to Queens, crossed the Queensboro Bridge to Manhattan, headed north to Bronx, then came back to Central Park to cross the Finish Line and get the immense human reward—the endorphins that make us naturally feel elated. Each successful hunter, aka finisher, received afterwards the prey, he or she had chased on 26.2 miles (42.2 km): the medal that some instinctively bite, as if it were a real prey. It’s the hunting trophy many are so proud of.
But, while the hunters were feeling so happy for their achievement, so many of them had so much suffered on the course, and would likely keep suffering for days or weeks. That means, if our ancestors were wearing shoes, they wouldn’t be able to hunt as often as it was necessary to get enough food to survive. So we wouldn’t be here today, arguing about barefoot running.
As for me, I hunted on my bare feet, like our ancestors, and completed my eighth barefoot marathon in eight weeks like the seven previous ones, i.e. fatigue, pain and injury free, in a time of 4:40:13. So I was ready to do it again right away, if it were necessary. In other words, it was like what it should always be: a pleasant walk in the park. I was wearing an unusual West-African outfit called chaya. A like-minded barefoot runner, Brynda Mara, also did the race in “tribal garb.”
Not Fast Enough?
Some may argue that my time was not fast enough. But I finished in the first half of my age group (60–64), and faster than over 22,000 hunters. Moreover, the pavement in New York proved to be very challenging for new barefoot runners. For instance, three weeks earlier, I ran the 2019 Chicago Marathon on my bare feet in a time of 3:57:23, i.e. over 7 minutes faster than my Boston Marathon qualifying standard.
What's more, I ran on September 23, 2018, in Montréal, my first barefoot marathon in continental North America, completing the race in a time of 3:37:41, and beating my Boston Marathon qualifying standard by over 27 minutes.
Since marathon running is a modern form of a tribal activity, the right way to do it is the tribal way, i.e. on our naked feet. And, for that, we don’t even need to take the shoes off, we just don’t put them on.
My book Running Barefoot for Human Survival is available on Amazon in paperback and e-book format (French edition: Courir pieds nus pour sauver les humains).
Media
A walk in the park: NYC marathon runner praises barefoot running (AFP)
For Sidy Diallo, the weekend brings another marathon -- run barefoot (AFP)
Un marathon par semaine pieds nus, le régime atypique de Sidy Diallo (Ouest France)
Dr. Sidy Diallo ran barefoot the 2019 New York Marathon
Dr. Sidy Diallo's 2019 New York Marathon Certificate
Dr. Sidy Diallo's 2019 New York Marathon Results
"A walk in the park": NYC marathon runner praises barefoot running | AFP
Dr. Sidy Diallo's 2019 New York Marathon Garmin Data