Matt Jenkins Runs Barefoot 760 Miles To Raise Awareness About Nonprofits Hurt By Budget Cuts

Two weeks ago, Matt Jenkins began running barefoot up the coast of North Carolina to raise awareness about nonprofit organizations hit hard by state budget cuts. He plans to run a total of 760 miles by the end of his journey.

Jenkins works for the Western Youth Network, which has lost $200,000 worth of funding from the state government this year.

Jenkins runs an average of 12 to 14 hours a day and plans to arrive at the end of his trip on Friday. His goal is to raise $20,000 in donations for the Western Youth Network and put the spotlight on other nonprofits struggling to find funding.

Donate to the Western Youth Network or learn more about the barefoot runner's cause.

WLOS News reports.

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Comments

[nickclarson]

12:33 AM on 08/12/2010

for some reason this reminds me of Tom Hanks in Forest Gump, even though he didn't run barefoot. natural energy supplement

[Jon Sanders]

12:13 PM on 08/09/2010

Great new blog with 100 tips for barefoot running:
http://barefootinbob.blogspot.com/

[Jon Sanders]

12:12 PM on 08/09/2010

Traditional running shoes atrophy the glutes. I dumped my Nikes for GistFiveToes. My Gists have brought my tone back, and I feel like I am connecting to the Earth when I run. After some more training, I am going to go completely barefoot. I tried others (Vibram & Five Fingers), but the zipper on the Gists makes them fit more snugly.

Gists seem to be the only toe shoes that have a zipper, so they actually fit. They don't fall off like some other five finger type shoes. I zip them up to keep the glop off my feet, but I unzip to wear them indoors. They are $50 without a promo code at
www.gistfivetoes.com.

[NoSandwiches]

02:12 PM on 08/04/2010

Did someone read Christopher McDougal's Born to Run?
Cool Book that has a lot about barefoot running and how most running injuries are caused by expensive running shoes...

http://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-Greatest/dp/0307266303/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1280945465&sr=1-1

[SNS]

01:46 AM on 08/04/2010

Talk about a homage to the South. Not wearing shoes...