Press Release - Kansas City Marathon - 9/20/06

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                         
             Barefoot Rick to Run 22nd Barefoot Marathon in KC

Rick Roeber, alias "Barefoot Rick" of Lee's Summit Missouri will be running 
his 22nd barefoot marathon on October 7 at the Waddell & Reed 
Kansas City Marathon in Kansas City, Missouri. This will be Roeber's 40th 
marathon overall. Roeber ran 18 marathons with shoes before he discovered 
that running sans shoes was better for his knees and allowed him to run 
with better form, thereby eliminating his propensity to leg and knee 
injuries. Roeber claims that is how he can run 7 barefoot marathons 
(marathon = 26.2 miles) already in 2006 with plans to run 4 more before the 
end of the year. In addition, Roeber finished his first ultra-marathon on 
9/11/06 at the Patriots' Run in Olathe Kansas, running barefoot over 40 
miles and taking 2nd place Men' Overall in the 9 hour, 11 minute event.
 
This will be Roeber's 6th Kansas City Marathon, and his 2nd without shoes. 
Roeber ran his first marathon at the Prime Health Kansas City Marathon in 
October 1990. He took a 9 year hiatus from running marathons after the 1990 
event, running his next marathon in KC at the Rib Run Marathon in Fall 
1999. According to Roeber, he made the switch to shoeless running in 
October 2003 and has not regretted it since. Roeber believes that barefoot 
running has allowed him to run with more enjoyment since he has not 
incurred any notable injuries in his nearly 3 years of barefoot running. 
Roeber has logged nearly 7,000 miles since he began his barefoot journey in 
October 2003. He states on his website, www.barefootrunner.org that 

... "Barefoot running is FUN! It allows me to feel the ground and to land 
lightly thereby increasing my enjoyment. As an ambassador for barefoot 
running, I hope to encourage all runners to enjoy running a little more and 
to challenge their pre-conceptions of what a runner should be. I seek to 
inspire those who have never ran in their lives to try it, shod or unshod, 
and that my daily runs would inspire others to a healthier lifestyle. I do 
not suggest that barefoot running is for everyone, however I do hope that 
my example will lead others to find inspiration and ultimately enjoyment 
through their individual running endeavors."
 
For more information, go to Barefoot Rick's www.BarefootRunner.Org
or contact Barefoot Rick Roeber at 

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