AKRON, Ohio — If you happen to see 53-year-old Erik Rueschman on the road in Akron, you might take a second glance. But, it's not because of his tall stature, cool cowboy hat and shades. Rather, it's probably because he's running mile after mile in bare feet.
"I did my first marathon in 2008. Shortly afterwards, I started having back problems," Erik told us. "Got custom orthotics, cushier shoes ...things were getting worse."
While searching for solutions, he had a revelation when someone handed him a book. It was called Born to Run by Christopher McDougall.
"It's about a tribe in the Copper Canyon in Mexico that instead of fighting the Spanish conquistadors, they ran into the Copper canyons literally away from them. They're a running tribe. They run 50, a hundred miles at a time," Erik said.
And they did it with no shoes or socks. Erik felt inspired.
"So I went the opposite way, took the shoes off, started running barefoot. Within, I'd say, three to six months, almost all my problems went away," Erik said.
Even as he completed dozens of marathons, road races, ultra and train runs.
"50k's, 50 milers, and a couple hundred milers under my belt," Erik said.
It's not just about the physical benefits for Erik.
"If you wanna learn to have proper form, the quickest way is to go barefoot because your body will tell you within seconds what hurts and what doesn't," he said.
Barefoot running has also taught Erik to be peaceful and present.
"I look more to disconnect from the technological world. So running for me is to get away from technology. I don't run with ... I don't even run with my phone," he said.
But he does run with heart, and that helps him focus on what really matters,
"It forces you to be present. It's easy to put on cushy shoes, put on your earbuds and just zone out. But when you don't have music and you're barefoot, it forces you to be present," he said.
That's exactly what Erik was at this year's Goodyear Half-Marathon in Akron -- he was present.
His posture, persistence and feet to the street carried him 13.1 miles through the finish line.
We caught up with him after he crossed.
"Great day, great race. I know I'm a little extreme with the barefoot thing, but just showing people, get outside, literally, touch grass, get away from your technology ... Enjoy life," Erik said. "The more I run barefoot, the more I get addicted to it."
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