Bikila ran 2:15 barefoot! Four years later he ran with shoes a couple
minutes faster...
Barefoot works if you have a "normal" footplant. Mine is so far out of spec
that I can't run without orthotics, so that's out for me. Also,
Sep 10, 1960 - Men's World Record
Abebe Bikila (Ethiopia) - 2:15:16
Olympic Marathon, Rome, Italy
Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia, a member of Emperor Haile Selassie's Imperial
Bodyguard, shocked the world when he ran barefoot to a new world record of
2:15:16 in the 1960 Olympic marathon. Held in Rome, the Olympic marathon was
the first one not to start and end in a stadium.