2016 Naked Running Challenge

Many of my running friends have posted their statistics for 2015. In some cases thousands of miles have been clocked at xx speeds. Their breakdowns display any number of variables. From intervals to heart rates, from V02′s to warm downs, there’s a figure for everything.

My challenge to them for 2016 is occasionally, or even often, to run naked. I’m not talking about barefoot which, well, has its own term. Nor am I referring to stripping off, though I daresay that might be fun. I’m speaking about leaving behind that thing on your wrist.

Increasingly my daily runs are naked. Instead of being a slave to the numbers on display, I now breathe, look around me, listen and even smile at strangers. In the past I was so enslaved to the device that a workout would only be meaningful if I was following a prescribed set of statistics. Never mind if the scenery was stunning, or that I felt great. It was eyes down to the entrapment mechanism.

Of course those gadgets have their place. But for a change I challenge you to leave it behind sometimes.

Run naked. It’s fabulous.