subject: Barefoot Running: Secret Energy Drink From Ancient Times [print this page] When I first started out barefoot running, I used Gatorade and Cliff Bars for hydration and energy during my long runs. I was barefoot running 10-15 miles a day at that time, in training for my cross-America run.
After a time I switched to CeraSport for hydration, a rice-based drink with more actual nutrients than Gatorade - and that helped. I also switched to energy gels instead of Cliff Bars (at least for the most part), because they seemed to be better as far as not giving me indigestion while barefoot running.
That was back in Vermont, where I was running on the familiar back roads around my home, in training for the longest barefoot run I would ever undertake: a run across the United States to benefit homeless kids. However...a little way into my cross-country run, I was reading "Born To Run" by Christopher McDougal (a great book all about barefoot running) and I discovered a energy supplement that was specifically for barefoot running, and turned out to be better than anything I had tried previously.
It was a drink AND a food. And I could gulp it all at one go, without breaking a barefoot running pace.
This energy supplement was the most amazing thing I had experienced for barefoot running - not only was it "clean" energy, with no caffeine, no sugar, and no additives or junk whatsoever, but it gave me the kind of feeling I had always wanted to feel while barefoot running: strong, sharp, and unstoppable.
It also happened to be thousands of years old.
It also happened to be one of the strangest, and most alarming-looking substances I had ever tried to pour down my throat. But more about that in a moment; first, a little about it's history:
This thousand-year-old supplement has been grown by the Aztec people in pre-Columbian times, and was presented to Aztec rulers and priests as a tribute because it was seen as so valuable. It is still consumed today in Mexico and South America, most notably by the most famous barefoot runners of all time: the Tarahumara tribe.
The Tarahumara are an entire tribe of barefoot runners; it is a part of their culture and a daily way of life to do barefoot running, not just a hobby or pastime. Children are encouraged to do barefoot running, and the elders, at 60 or so years of age, are considered to be at the top of their form for barefoot running. The Tarahumara will commonly go barefoot running not for miles, but for days at a time without stopping. And this supplement is what they consume to do so.
The supplement I am talking about is Salvia hispanica, otherwise known as Chia Seeds, or simply, "Chia." It is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and the seeds yield 25-30% extractable oil, mostly -linolenic acid. They have no gluten and only trace levels of sodium. Chia is also is a great source of antioxidants and amino acids.
Chia when dry are very tiny, hard seeds a little smaller than sesame seeds; however the preferred way of consuming Chia for barefoot running is to take the seeds and combine them with water to crate a kid of 'gel' that, to be honest, looks and feels like frogs eggs floating in a pond.
How I use Chia when barefoot running is this: I make up a container (I use a Nalgene bottle) of Chia gel, then consume it while I am barefoot running, both before and during my run. The energy and endurance it gives me is simply amazing; the benefits far out weigh any "ick" factor I initially had upon first drinking the slippery substance.
There is not much flavor to Chia at all; some of the recipes call for adding lime juice and sugar, though personally I have found that adding this to it gives me some heartburn so I prefer to drink it plain while barefoot running. I have a personal method and recipe for mixing up Chia gel for barefoot running purposes.
It is important to find personal recipes and methods for mixing and consuming Chia, and learn how to alter your stride to the correct running form for barefoot running (it's different than shoe stride).
