The founding fathers of Western civilization are the greatest barefoot runners recorded in history.
Ancient Greeks Are the Best Barefoot Runners
In 490 BC, Pheidippides—a professional courier known as hemerodrome in Ancient Greece—ran barefoot 240 km (149 mi) from Athens to Sparta to convey a request for help in the fight against the Persian invaders. The journey took him about two days, only to be told by the Spartans that they could not provide help, because they were celebrating an important religious festival. Pheidippides ran back to Athens to report the bad news. He then ran the 40 km (24.6 mi) to the battlefield near the city Marathon and back to Athens to announce the unexpected Athenian victory over invaders. Legend has it that upon delivering the message he collapsed and died from the exertion after running in few days about 560 km (348 mi).
Some of those who nowadays claim or think they have too evolved to be able to walk or run barefoot, will likely be amazed to learn that the best barefoot runners recorded in history are neither the Africans, nor any indigenous people of Northern Mexico, but the “evolved” white men of the cradle of Western civilization, i.e. Ancient Greece, where the barefoot culture was a fundamental component of their lifestyle, and where the word “barbarian” (βάρβαρος) was originated to describe all non-Greek-speaking peoples, thus including all other Europeans.
Moreover, nudity was a fundamental feature of ancient Greek culture, as explained on the website of the Olympic Games: “The Olympics became an integral part of ancient Greek society. Every four years from 776 BC to AD 393, thousands of people from all over the Greek world congregated for the competition. If you’ve ever seen the depictions of ancient Olympians on pots, bowls, and in other artworks, you will have noticed that they competed in the nude. Nudity was a fundamental part of ancient Greek culture, and the athletes would show off their physiques during parades in the stadium. Men would also work out in the buff, and the word ‘gymnasium’ actually comes from the Greek word ‘gymnos,’ meaning naked.”
When the “barbarian” Romans later conquered Greece, they zealously adopted all the ingredients of the Greek civilization, except one: the barefoot culture, simply because the Romans like most current Europeans were experiencing what I call ancestral barefoot phobia in my book “Running Barefoot for Human Survival.” Barefoot phobia is still so strong that many people, when they see me running barefoot and smiling, not only think that I’m seriously hurting myself and experiencing horrendous pain in my feet, but also feel and express my “pain” on their faces. Some even shout: Ouch! Or the equivalent in their language.
Another striking evidence of persistent barefoot phobia is that while Pheidippides and other long-distance runners in Ancient Greece wore clothes and ran barefoot, most participants in current nudist races ironically do the opposite: They run with sneakers while the rest of their body is naked! Find out more on shod nudist runners in an interesting article of the NY Times.
The “marathon” is named after Pheidippides’s barefoot run from the city of Marathon to the Greek capital. His example should inspire not only runners, but every one of us, and this article will hopefully help some people think again, get rid of stereotypes and act accordingly to stay fit, healthy and happy. The Athens Marathon follows the original course and finishes inside the Panathenaic Stadium, which is on the site of an ancient stadium, where for many centuries nude male athletes of the cradle of Western civilization participated in several competitions. Sadly, many people, including in Greece keep associating barefoot running with Bikila who ran only two barefoot marathons, then became a shod runner and later sustained serious injuries that terminated his career.
I started running barefoot at 60, which means there is no excuse. In other words, contrary to what some bipedal primates stupidly write on social media, I’ve never been running after animals in the African Savannah. On the other hand, the marathon is just the new form of persistence hunting, which explains why some finishers instinctively bite the metallic medals—as if they were actual animals—and proudly take selfies, which usually generate a lot of likes.
I’m running—barefoot circumstances permitting—around the world to raise awareness on the high effectiveness of preventive and healing runtherapy of obesity and other COVID comorbidities.
Sadly, many still prefer to keep indulging in the risk factors (physical inactivity, alcohol, tobacco, excess of food, etc.) of chronic diseases and global warming, while naively relying on mostly ineffective and lucrative solutions provided by third parties. This means that, unless we change course sooner rather than later, we should brace for more devastating pandemics, fires, hurricanes or typhoons, floods, drought and other human tragedies, and ultimately for the untimely extinction of Homo sapiens along with many other animal species.
Find out in my book “Running Barefoot for Human Survival” why Big Doc and Associates hate prevention of diseases, and how we can easily achieve a healthy and happy life, while reducing global warming and saving a lot money.
Sadly, many still prefer to keep indulging in the risk factors (physical inactivity, alcohol, tobacco, excess of food, etc.) of chronic diseases and global warming, while naively relying on mostly ineffective and lucrative solutions provided by third parties. This means that, unless we change course sooner rather than later, we should brace for more devastating pandemics, fires, hurricanes or typhoons, floods, drought and other human tragedies, and ultimately for the untimely extinction of Homo sapiens along with many other animal species.
Find out in my book “Running Barefoot for Human Survival” why Big Doc and Associates hate prevention of diseases, and how we can easily achieve a healthy and happy life, while reducing global warming and saving a lot money.
