L.A. Marathon: Barefoot runner Caity McCardell completes the race
Caity McCardell did something that few Angelenos would dare do.
She ran through downtown Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica without any shoes.
The 42-year-old barefoot runner, profiled in The Times last week, completed the 26.2-mile race from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica in an unofficial time of 6 hours, 22 minutes. It was her first marathon.
""Imagine running in the rain in soggy wet socks," she said. "My feet felt great."
Sunday was believed to be the stormiest day in race history, and McCardell said that while shod runners were dancing around the myriad of puddles that plagued the course, she was able to plow right through them.
"I was like, 'I'm so glad I'm doing this barefoot,'" she said.
There was one other huge advantage to running shoeless.
"Every eighth of a mile, someone would be like, 'Oh my God, barefoot runners,'" she said. "I felt like a movie star."
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-- Melissa Rohlin
Photo: Barefoot Todd Byers jogs with Caity McCardell in Huntington Beach. Todd has run 101 marathons barefoot and coached Caity McCardell for her first barefoot marathon. Credit: Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times
