Global Running Human
  • Home
    • Running Barefoot for Human Survival
    • Courir pieds nus pour sauver les humains
    • About Doctor Sidy Diallo
    • Qui est docteur Sidy Diallo ?
    • Barefoot Running Training
    • The tragic fate of Abebe Bikila
    • Le destin tragique d’Abebe Bikila
    • Ancestral Cryophobia is Back
    • The Running Pioneers and the Cheaters
    • Correr descalzos por la supervivencia humana
    • Doctor Descalzo Sidy Diallo
    • Les piliers du bonheur
    • The Basics of Bliss and Wellness
    • Nearly 60 Kg of Body Fat Burned in Two Years
    • 6 885 km et 452 577 kcal en 2 ans
    • The Human Body Is Not Designed for Our Lifestyle
    • El cuerpo humano no está diseñado para nuestro estilo de vida
    • Overcoming Nelophobia
  • Homo Sapiens
    • A Tropical Paradise in Europe
    • Perdre du poids facilement et gratuitement
    • Durable Weight Loss
    • Planet of the Masked Apes
    • I Ran 25 Marathons in 18 Weeks
    • Cool Flight from Mexico City
    • Forty-One Million Preventable Deaths per Year
    • 41 millions de décès évitables par an
    • Le syndrome du bagne
    • The Port Arthur Syndrome
    • The Aggravation of COVID-19 Comorbidities
    • L’aggravation des comorbidités de la Covid
    • Authoritarian Absurdistan aka France
    • The Irrational Bans on Running
    • Physical Activity Ban in Absurdistan
  • Media
  • 2025
    • 2025 Comrades Marathon
    • 500th Marathon
    • 2025 Canarias Day Marathon
    • 2025 Mayday Marathon
    • 2025 Madrid Marathon
    • 2025 Easter Sunday Marathon
    • 2025 Paris Marathon
    • 2025 Royal Paris Marathon
    • King Lizard Lacktail Marathon
    • 2025 Maspalomas Carnival Marathon
    • The 70th Birthday Marathon
    • 2025 Barcelona Marathon
    • 2025 Tunte Marathon
    • 2025 Montigny Great Walk
    • 2025 Lake Ayagaures Ultramarathon
    • Maspalomas Racial Profiling Marathon
    • 2025 Playa del Ingles New Year Marathon
  • Barefoot
    • Dr. Diallo’s Marathons 2.0
    • My Barefoot World Marathon Majors
    • Fifteen Weekly Barefoot Marathons
    • 8 Barefoot Marathons in 8 Weeks
  • Private Runs
    • Maspalomas Dunes Marathons
    • Paradise Marathons
    • Private Runs in Absurdistan
    • Paradise Half Marathons
  • 42k & ultras
    • Countries
    • Ultramarathons >
      • 11-2017-06-04 Comrades Marathon (87 km)
      • 10-2016-05-29 Comrades Marathon (89 km)
      • 9-2016-03-19 Eco Trail de Paris (80 km / 5O Miles)
      • 8. 2015 Two Oceans Ultra 56km (Cape Town, South Africa/Afrique du Sud)
      • 7. 2015 White Continent Ultramarathon (King George Island, Antarctica)
      • 6. 2015 Punta Arenas Ultramarathon (Chile, South America)
      • 5. 2015 Kathmandu Ultra 50 km (Nepal, Asia)
      • 4. 2014 Chicago Lakefront 50k (North America)
      • 3. 2014 Bush Capital Bush Ultramathon (63.3 K, Oceania)
      • 2. 2014 Trail du Golfe du Morbihan (56k, France)
      • 1. 2014 Royal Raid 80 km (50 miles), Ile Maurice / Mauritius (Africa)
    • 2024 >
      • 2024 Puerto del Carmen Marathon
      • 2024 Lanzarote Marathon
      • 2024 Playa de Las Americas Marathon
      • 2024 Santa Cruz de Tenerife Marathon
      • 2024 Lyon Marathon
      • 2024 Marne et Gondoire Marathon
      • 2024 Maspalomas Olympic Marathon
      • 2024 Isleta Extreme Marathon
      • 2024 Canarias Day Marathon
      • Maspalomas Districts Marathon
      • 2024 Tokyo Marathon
      • 2024 Paris Marathon
      • 2024 Air Marathon
    • 2023 >
      • 2023 GC Maspalomas Marathon
      • First Maspalomas Dunes Marathon
      • 2023 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Marathon
      • 2023 Amsterdam Marathon
      • 2023 Guayaquil Marathon
      • 2023 Seine Marathon
      • 2023 Medellin Marathon
      • Audax 50 km Paris-Cergy
      • My 400th Marathon
      • 2023 Leamington Spa Marathon
      • 2023 Peace and Love Marathon
      • 2023 Paris Marathon
      • 2023 Retirement Marathon
      • 2023 Montpellier Marathon
      • Le marathon pour l’autonomie des seniors
      • 2023 Moorea Marathon
      • Tahiti 25 Km
      • 2023 Dying Forests Marathon
      • 2023 Bermuda Marathon
      • 2023 Bermuda Mermaid Marathon
    • 2022 >
      • 2022 SQY Saint Sylvester Marathon
      • 2022 Tilia Residences Marathon
      • 2022 HCMC International Marathon
      • 2022 Empire City Marathon
      • 2022 Panama Marathon
      • 2022 KL Marathon
      • 2022 French Riviera Marathon
      • 2022 Tirana Marathon
      • 2022 Vannes Marathon
      • 2022 Skopje Marathon
      • 2022 Pristina Marathon
      • 2022 Oslo Marathon
      • 2022.08.20 Chambord Marathon
      • 2022.06.19 Rio de Janeiro Marathon
      • 2022.06.04 Stockholm Marathon
      • 2022.05.29 Edinburgh Marathon
      • 2022.05:21 Royan Marathon
      • 2022.05:15 Route du Louvre Marathon
      • 2022.05:08 Barcelona Marathon
      • 2022.04.18 Boston Marathon
      • 2022.04.03 Paris Marathon
      • My 67th Birthday Barefoot Marathon
      • 2022.03.19 Paris EcoTrail
      • 2022.01.15 The O’Mycron Marathon
    • 2021 >
      • 2021.12.31 Marathon Against Pandemics
      • The 2021 Absurdistan Running Series (ARS)
      • 2021.12.19 The Human Misery Marathon
      • 2021.11.28 Mexico City Marathon
      • 2021.11.26 Chapultepec Marathon
      • 2021.11.14 Athens Marathon
      • 2021.11.07 Podgorica Marathon
      • 2021.10.31 Bucharest Marathon
      • 2021.10.24 Ljubljana Marathon
      • 2021.10.17 Paris Marathon
      • 2021.10.10 Sofia Marathon
      • 2021.10.03 London Marathon
      • 2021.09.26 Berlin Marathon
      • 2021.09.19 Rome Marathon
      • 2021.09.12 Vienna Marathon
      • 2021.09.05 Run in Paradise Marathon
      • 2021.08.29 Chantilly Castle Marathon
      • 2021.08.24 The COVID Big Screen Marathon
      • 2021.08.10 Marathon # 295
      • The 2021 Lac d’Orient Marathon
      • The 2021 Eco Trail de Paris (80 km)
      • The 2021 Palace of Versailles Marathon
      • The 2021 Divi Tree Marathon
      • The 2021 Aruba Marathon
      • My other Races in 2021
    • 2020 >
      • 45 Marathons and 2 Ultramathons in 4 Months
      • 3.2020.03.08 Los Angeles Marathon - USA
      • 2.2020-03.01 Malta Marathon - Malta
      • 1.2020-02.09 Miami Marathon - USA
      • My 2020 Non-official Marathons >
        • My Liberation Marathon # 60
        • Three Liberation Marathons
        • SQY Park Marathon
        • 2020 Virtual New York Marathon
        • SQY to the Statue of Liberty Marathon
        • Tenth Anniversary Celebration Marathon
        • SQY to Health Ministry Marathon
        • SQY to Paris Ultramarathon
        • Montigny to Paris Bercy Marathon
        • SQY to Versailles Park Marathon
        • Liberation Marathons # 41 to 50
        • Chantilly Palace Marathon
        • Liberation Marathons # 31 to 40
        • Liberation Marathons # 21 to 30 >
          • Liberation Marathons # 28 to 30
          • Liberation Marathon # 27
          • Liberation Marathon # 26
          • Liberation Marathon # 25
          • Liberation Marathon # 24
          • Liberation Marathon # 23
          • Liberation Marathon # 22
          • Liberation Marathon # 21
        • Liberation Marathons # 11 to 20 and Ultramarathon # 2 >
          • Liberation Marathon # 20
          • Liberation Marathon # 19
          • Liberation Marathon # 18
          • Liberation Marathon # 17
          • Liberation Marathon # 16
          • Race the Comrades Legends
          • Liberation Marathon # 15
          • Liberation Marathon # 14
          • Liberation Marathon # 13
          • Liberation Marathon # 12
          • Liberation Marathon # 11
        • Liberation Marathons # 1 to 10 and Ultramarathon # 1 >
          • Liberation Marathon # 10
          • Liberation Ultramarathon # 1
          • Liberation Marathon # 9
          • Liberation Marathon # 8
          • Liberation Marathon # 7
          • Liberation Marathon # 6
          • Liberation Marathon # 5
          • Liberation Marathon # 4
          • Liberation Marathon # 3
          • Liberation Marathon # 2
          • Liberation Marathon # 1
        • Marathon Against Pandemics
        • Last Marathon Before Lockdown
        • Private Muscat Marathon
    • 2019 >
      • Seven Marathons in Seven Days
      • 32.2019.12.15 Malaga Marathon - Spain
      • 31.2019.12.08 Reggae Marathon - Jamaica
      • 30.2019.12.01 Valencia Marathon - Spain
      • 2019 Ivory Coast Marathon
      • 29.2019.11.03 New York Marathon - USA
      • 2019.11.02 New York Dash to the Finish Line 5K - USA
      • 28.2019.10.27 Lausanne Marathon - Switzerland
      • 27.2019.10.20 Auckland Marathon - New Zealand
      • 26.2019.10.13 Chicago Marathon - USA
      • 25.2019.10.06 Brusssels Marathon - Belgium
      • 24.2019.09.29 Budapest Marathon - Hungary
      • 23.2019.09.22 Buenos Aires Marathon - Argentina
      • 22.2019.09.08 Koblenz Marathon - Germany
      • 21.2019.08.25 Asuncion Marathon - Paraguay
      • 20.2019.06.16 Liberty Marathon - France
      • 19.2019.05.19 Lima Marathon - Peru
      • 18.2019.05.12 Marathon de la Loire - France
      • 17.2019.05.05 Prague Marathon - Czechia
      • 16.2019.04.28 Nantes Marathon - France
      • 15.2019.04.14 Paris Marathon - France
      • 14.2019.04.07 Bratislava Marathon - Slovaquia
      • 13.2019.03.31 Montauban Marathon - France
      • 12.2019.03.24 Marseille Marathon - France
      • 2019.03.16 Eco Trail de Paris (80 km) - France
      • 11.2019.03.14 Fonds Blancs Marathon - Fort-de-France, Martinique
      • 10.2019.03.13 Volcanic Sand Marathon - Saint Vincent
      • 2019.03.12 Dominica Marathon
      • 8.2019.03.11 Quartier d’Orleans Marathon - Saint Martin
      • 7.2019.03..10 BVI Marathon - British Virgin Islands
      • 6.2019.03.09 Costa Magica Marathon - Caribbean Sea
      • 5.2019.03.08 Butterfly Island Marathon - Le Gosier, Guadeloupe
      • 4.2019.02.24 Seychelles Marathon
      • 3.2019.02.17 Seville Marathon - Spain
      • 2.2019.01.25 Dubai Marathon - UAE
      • 1.2019.01.11 Doha Marathon - Qatar
      • 2019.02.09 Chinese New Year Hash - Paris
    • 2018 >
      • 24.2018.12.16 Pisa Marathon - Italy
      • 23.2018.12.09 Malaga Marathon - Spain
      • 22.2018.12.02 Costa Rica Marathon
      • 21.2018.11.25 Panama Marathon
      • 20.2018.11.18 Bangkok Marathon - Thailand
      • 19.2018.11.11 Istanbul Marathon - Turkey
      • 18.2018.11.04 French Riviera Marathon
      • 17.2018.10.28 Rennes Marathon - France
      • 16.2018.10.21 Toulouse Marathon - France
      • 15.2018.10.14 Metz Marathon - France
      • 14.2018.10.07 Lyon Marathon - France
      • 13.2018.30.09 Chisinau Marathon - Moldova
      • 12.2018.23.09 Marathon de Montreal
      • 11.2018.15.09 Seine-Marathon 76 - France
      • 10.2018.09.09 Vilnius Marathon - Lithuania
      • 9.2018-08-20 Capital City Marathon - Georgia
      • 8.2018-08-19 Bagratashen Marathon - Armenia
      • 7.2018-08-18 Azeri Marathon and Half Marathon - Azerbaidjan
      • 6.2018-08-11 10th Gay Games Marathon
      • 2018 La Course royale au Château de Versailles
      • 12-2018-06-10 Comrades Marathon (90.2 km)
      • 5.2018-06-03 Rhein-Ruhr Marathon
      • 4.2018-04-22 Antwerp Marathon
      • 3.2018-04-15 Bonn Marathon
      • 2.2018-04-08 Paris Marathon
      • 1.2018-01-21 Trinidad & Tobago Marathon - & 5k
    • 2017 >
      • 13. 2017-11-18 Suriname Marathon
      • 12. 2017-10-15 Amaterdam Marathon
      • 11. 2017-10-08 Metz Marathon
      • 10. 2017-10-01 Lyon Marathon
      • 9. 2017-08-05 Zambezi Waterfront Marathon
      • 8. 2017-08-04 Impalila Island Marathon
      • 7. 2017-08-03 Chobe Marathon
      • 6. 2017-08-02 Hwange Marathon
      • 5. 2017-07-31 Sand River Marathon
      • 4. 2017-07-3O Maseru Bridge Marathon
      • 3. 2017-07-29 Ladybrand Boarder Marathon
      • 2. 2017-04-09 Rotterdam Marathon
      • 1. 2017-03-19 Marathon de l'espace (Kourou, French Guiana)
    • 2016 >
      • 20. 2016-11-27 Curaçao Marathon
      • 19. 2016-11-19 Suriname Marathon
      • 18. 2016-07-16 Andorra Marathon
      • 17. 2016-06-26 Marathon du Terroir brayon
      • 16. 2016-06-12 Marathon de Marne & Gondoire
      • 15. 2016-05-08 Geneva Marathon / Marathon de Genève
      • 14. 2016-04-17 Marathon de Nantes
      • 13. 2016-04-10 Pyongyang Marathon
      • 12. 2016-04-03 Marathon de Paris
      • 11. 2016-03-27 Sri Chinmoy Marathon de Paris
      • 10. 2016-02-28 Malta Marathon
      • 9. 2016 Marathon de Dakar
      • 8. 2016-02-06: Philipsburg Waterfront Marathon (Sint Maarten/St Martin)
      • 7. 2016-02-05: St Kitts Waterfall Marathon, Basseterre (Saint Kitts and Nevis)
      • 6. 2016-02-04: Pitons Peak Marathon, Castries (Saint Lucia)
      • 5. 2016-02-03: Carlisle Bay Marathon, Bridgetown (Barbados)
      • 4. 2016-02-02: Carnival Cruise Marathon (Caribbean Sea / Mer des Caraïbes)
      • 3. 2016-02-01: St Thomas Cove Marathon (US Virgin Islands)
      • 2. 2016-01-31: San Juan Harbor Marathon (Puerto Rico)
      • 1. 2016 marathon de Cerny-La-Ville
    • 2015 >
      • 22. 2015 Marathon du beajolais
      • 21. 2015 Marathon des Alpes-Maritimes / 2015 French Riviera Marathon
      • 20. 2015 Dublin Marathon
      • 19. 2015 Zagreb Marathon
      • 18. 2015 Bucharest Marathon/Le Marathon de Bucarest
      • 17. 2015 Warsaw Marathon/Le Marathon de Varsovie
      • 16. 2015 Moscow Marathon
      • 15. 2015 Tallinn Marathon, Estonia
      • 14. 2015 Saint Petersburg Marathon, Russia
      • 13. 2015 Vignoble d'Alsace Marathon
      • 12. 2015 Marne & Gondoire
      • 11. 2015 Copenhagen Marathon
      • 10. 2015 Prague Marathon
      • 9. 2015 Albi Marathon
      • 8. 2015 Paris Marathon
      • 7. 2015 Limassol Marathon (Cyprus/Chypre)
      • 6. 2015 Rome Marathon
      • 5. 2015 Marathon Sri Chinmoy de Paris
      • 4. 2015 Southern Cross Marathon, Punta Arenas
      • 3. 2015 Torcy International Marathon
      • 2. 2015 Bahamas Marathon
      • 1. 2015 Walt Disney World Marathon, Floride
    • 2014 >
      • 2014 Peter Wieneke Geburstags Marathon
      • 30. 2014 Marathon de Pise / Pisa Marathon
      • 29. 2014 Marathon de Reggio Emilia / Reggio Emilia Marathon
      • 28. 2014 Maratón de Málaga
      • 27. 2014 Marathon de la Rochelle / 2014 La Rochelle Marathon
      • 26. 2014 Marathon du Beaujolais / 2014 Beaujolais Marathon
      • 25. 2014 Marathon de La Havane / 2014 Havana Marathon
      • 24. 2014 Marathon d'Athènes / 2014 Athens Marathon
      • 23. 2014 Marathon de Toulouse / 2014 Toulouse Marathon
      • 22. 2014 Marathon de Montpellier / 2014 Montpellier Marathon
      • 21. 2014 Marathon de Chicago / 2014 Chicago Marathon
      • 20. 2014 Marathon de Bruxelles / 2014 Brussels Marathon
      • 19. 2014 Marathon de Berlin / 2014 Berlin Marathon
      • 18. 2014 Marathon d'Oslo (Norvège) / 2014 Oslo Marathon (Norway)
      • 17. Marathon de Cologne (Allemagne) / 2014 Cologne Marathon (Germany)
      • 16.Marathon des Oussaillès / 2014 Oussaillès Marathon (France)
      • 15. Marathon de Monschau/The 2014 Monschau Marathon
      • 14. Marathon de Liechtenstein/The 2014 Liechtenstein Marathon
      • 13. Marathon Marne et Gondoire/2014 Marne et Gondoire Marathon (France)
      • 12. Marathon du Mont Saint-Michel/2014 Mont Saint-Michel Marathon (France)
      • 11. Marathon de Riga/2014 Riga Marathon (Latvia)
      • 10. Marathon de Hambourg/2014 Hamburg Marathon
      • 9. Marathon de Sénart/2014 Senart Marathon
      • 8. Marathon de Düsseldorf /2014 Düsseldorf Marathon
      • 7. Marathon de Boston/ 2014 Boston Marathon
      • 6. Marathon de Vienne/Vienna City Marathon
      • 5. Marathon de Paris
      • 4. Marathon de Barcelone
      • 3. Tokyo Marathon
      • 2. Marathon de Punta Arenas
      • 1. Le White Continent Marathon
    • 48 Marathons in Six Continents in 2013 >
      • 48. Marathon de la Saint Sylvestre (Calderara di Reno, Italie)
      • 47. Heiligabend Marathon (Neubrücke, Allemagne)
      • 46. Marathon de Pise (Italie)
      • 45. Marathon de Honolulu
      • 44. Marathon des Iles Cayman
      • 43. Marathon de Florence (Italie)
      • 42. Marathon de Valence (Espagne)
      • 41. Marathon de Nice - Cannes (France)
      • 40. Marathon de New York
      • 39. Marathon de Francfort (Allemagne)
      • 38. Marathon d'Amsterdam
      • 37. Marathon de Cologne (Allemagne)
      • 36. Marathon de Lyon (France)
      • 35. Marathon d'Einstein (Allemagne)
      • 34. Marathon de Karlsruhe (Allemagne)
      • 33. Marathon de Wachau 2013
      • 32. Marathon de Munster 2013
      • 31. Marathon des Oussaillès du Couserans 2013
      • 30. Marathon de Reykjavik 2013
      • 29. Marathon d'Helsinki 2013
      • 28. Marathon de Monschau 2013
      • 27. Marathon de Saint-André-des-Eaux 2013
      • 26. Le Marathon de l’Outback australien 2013 (Ayers Rock)
      • 25. Le Marathon de l'Ile Maurice 2013
      • 24. Le Marathon de Rio de Janeiro 2013
      • 23. Marathon de Marne et Gondoire 2013
      • 22. Fidelitas Nachtmarathon (Karlsruhe) 2013
      • 21. Marathon de la liberté (Caen) 2013
      • 20. Marathon de Luxembourg 2013
      • 19. Marathon de Stockholm 2013
      • 18. Marathon de Poitiers Futuroscope 2013
      • 17. Marathon de la Grande muraille de Chine 2013
      • 16. Marathon de la Route du Louvre 2013
      • 15. Marathon de Genève 2013
      • 14. Marathon de Sénart 2013
      • 13. Marathon de Madrid 2013
      • 12. Marathon de Londres 2013
      • 11. Marathon de Rotterdam 2013
      • 10. Marathon de Paris 2013
      • 9. Marathon de Marseille 2013
      • 8. Marathon de Rome 2013
      • 7.2013 Bienwald Marathon
      • 6. 2013 Treviso Marathon
      • 5. Marathon de Séville 2013
      • 4. Marathon de la Saint Valentin (Terni, Italie) 2013
      • 3. Marathon de Marrakech 2013
      • 2. Marathon de Gran Canaria (Iles Canaries) 2013
      • 1. Marathon du Nouvel An (Zurich) 2013
    • 2012 >
      • 1. Marathon de Miami 2012
      • 2. Marathon de la Nouvelle-Orléans 2012
      • 3. Marathon de Los Angeles 2012
      • 4. Marathon de Boston 2012
      • 5. Marathon de Nashville 2012
      • 6. Marathon de Seattle 2012
      • 7. Marathon de San Francisco 2012
      • 8. Marathon d'Helsinki 2012
      • 9. Marathon de Berlin 2012
      • 10. Marathon de La Rochelle 2012
      • 11. Marathon de Lisbonne 2012
      • 12. Marathon de Pise 2012
    • 2011 >
      • 1. Marathon de Paris 2011
      • 2. Marathon de Mississauga (Canada) 2011
      • 3. Marathon de Carmel (Indiana, Usa) 2011
      • 4. Marathon de Marquette (Michigan, Usa) 2011
      • 5. Marathon de Chicago 2011
      • 6. Marathon de Las Vegas 2011
    • 2010.10.10 Chicago Marathon/My First Marathon
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • ARS
    • The 2020 Absurdistan Running Series (ARS)
  • 1/2 Marathons
    • 2018-08-18 Azeri Marathon and Half Marathon - Azerbaidjan
    • 2018 Suriname Half Marathon
    • 2016 BIg 25 Berlin (25 km)
    • 2016 Semi-marathon de Paris
    • 2015 Penguin Half Marathon (King George Island, Antarctica)
    • 7 Half Marathons in the US
  • Archives
    • 2018 Brazilian Carnival Party
    • 1715-2015 La Louis XIV (14km)
    • 2015 Paris Saint-Germain-en-Laye La course (20km)
    • Le marathon-relais (Ekiden) de Val de Marne 2014 New
    • Tierra del Fuego
    • Les résidences estivales des manchots de Magellan
    • Torres del Paine
    • Antarctica Chinstrap Penguins
  • Running Human
  • 681 km à pied, ça use le corps et les souliers
  • Le Running Human
  • The Global Marathon Against Pandemics
  • Un marathon pour la santé
  • Le marathon est fatal aux maladies chroniques
  • Coping With the Coronavirus
  • Salvation Is in Our Human Roots
  • The Missed Benefits of COVID-19
  • Pathetic Homo sapiens
  • Stop Deforestation
  • Humans Were Happy Social Beings
  • Interview by Radio Canada

The Missed Benefits of COVID-19

March 12, 2020
By Dr. Barefoot Sidy Diallo

Lessons learned and tremendous prospects for humans

It’s all about healthy lifestyle and barefoot running to prevent the virus lethality, while efficiently countering global warming and saving a lot of money, as the welcome result of the significantly reduced consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Yes, here, we can have it all.

The macabre virus keeps spreading, causing panic, marathon cancellations, disrupting other events, challenging the global economy, and killing vulnerable people. Yet, at the same time, this novel pandemic is offering us the amazing opportunity and, hopefully, the motivation to wake up and come together to stop effectively overconsumption and global warming, while significantly reducing healthcare costs, and staying healthy, happy and ready to combat new viruses. And there’s no need for money, research or any magic stick: We should just run away from the pandemic of chronic diseases, literally and on our bare feet.

COVID-19 is lethally impacting around the world on the most vulnerable patients (those who are suffering from the preventable pandemic of chronic diseases), triggering the research for drugs and vaccines. Hopefully, these commendable efforts will end up saving many lives, but won’t prevent new viruses from infecting and killing humans. It’s therefore crucial that we aggressively prevent these humanly, financially and climatically costly chronic diseases.  
   
The short-term benefits of the novel coronavirus pandemic are obvious: It’s temporarily slowing global warming and reducing air pollution, as we can see, for instance, on the NASA maps. It’s proving very effective, where 25 yearly big international gatherings have failed. So, if we’re serious about ensuring our survival as a species, this pandemic is providing the evidence of what we should do rather sooner than later, or brace for more tragedies and ultimate extinction.

As I explain in my book Running Barefoot for Human Survival, individuals of the animal kingdom have the same mission to contribute to the survival of their respective species. However, given their propensity to laziness, it’s the impulsive quest for pleasure that prods them to fulfill their vital obligations properly, namely having sex for procreation, and finding food the ancestral way. This means that all humans are hooked on the natural drugs called endorphins, and since modern long-distance running is tantamount to persistence hunting, marathoners are rewarded with the adequate quantity of endorphins. In other words, these incentives which used to motivate our ancestors to run after their quadruped preys, exert the same effects on marathon runners.

But for the reward to work successfully, people must feel an irresistible need to get it. This is the way animal species survive, which means that humans who don’t run marathons may suffer as a result from the endorphin withdrawal syndrome. And, sadly, many of them seek relief in psychotropic medication, excess of food, licit or prohibited euphoric substances, impulsive consumption, pecuniary accumulation, loony superiority complex, quest for power or domination, cruelties to other humans, etc. “An insatiable voracity goes through human history. Man has become greedy and voracious. Having, amassing things seems for many people the meaning of life. . .”, Pope Francis emphasized in his homily of December 24, 2018.

Sadly, the quest for pleasure through consumption is likely to fuel permanent frustration and trigger a damaging impact on the climate, and on the health, well-being and finances of those who choose that option. Moreover, these “alternative therapies” of the syndrome can create new addictions, which regrettably tend to persist in many runners of long distances. Fortunately, the great benefits of barefoot running (injury-free experience, more endorphins, improved brain efficiency, etc.) may help them to get rid of those addictions, and that would be welcome, since alcohol consumption, for instance, may cause serious trouble for some marathoners, even in mild temperatures, which is particularly the case on the second half of many marathons, as I recently witnessed in the 2020 Malta Marathon.    

In other words, barefoot running is the most effective vaccine and therapy against overconsumption, preventable chronic diseases, coronaviruses, global warming and ultimately human extinction. And you don’t have to spend a single dollar or euro for that, while you’re saving a lot of money by staying away from the harmful and costly “alternative therapies.”

May 10, 2022 update

Sadly, we missed the opportunity created by the pandemic and many used it even as excuse to aggravate their comorbidities (diabetes, obesity, depression, etc.), while irrationally shifting the blame for everything on the coronavirus, including their weight gain, as if the virus had calories.

Running Barefoot for Human Survival is available on Amazon in paperback and e-book format (French edition: Courir pieds nus pour sauver les humains).
Picture
Lariboisère Hospital