Most of us have heard about the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s deadly Copper Canyons. These legendary endurance runners, as famously chronicled in the book ‘Born to Run.’ They run for miles on barefoot, enjoying the sun, storms and treacherous terrain. In this episode of “World of Running,” host Aditi Pandya talks with Thomas Bobby Philip (Barefoot Bobby) on various facets of Barefoot running.

• Reasons to explore barefoot running


• Benefits of barefoot running


• Transitioning to barefoot running


• Specific strength & training needs of barefoot running

Guest Intro: Thomas Bobby Philip

Bobby is known in running circles as “Barefoot Bobby”, Bobby realized his passion towards running in 2009. Through years of disciplined training he has been a podium finisher across 10 km, Half Marathon & Full Marathon events in India.

Bobby transitioned to Barefoot running April 2012, and ever since he never looked back. He qualified for the Boston Marathon in 2014 and was the first Indian to have run the Boston Marathon, Barefoot.

With the support from the experienced Barefoot runners, he actively promotes barefoot running in Bangalore and other cities. The community of Barefoot runners are growing across the country, with the benefits they see in it.

Bobby ran his first Sub 3 hrs marathon at Mumbai Marathon ’17 and later has run 6 Marathons under sub 3 hrs. He has also run lots of 10Ks in under 40 mins. His personal bests for 10k is 36m:23s, Half Marathon is 1h:18m:37s & Marathon is 2h:55m:00s

Related Episodes:

• Ep 17: Strength Training for Runners