What it’s like to run a marathon in flip-flops

WASHINGTON – If running 26.2 miles and completing a marathon isn’t hard enough, try wearing flip-flops during the challenge.

Runner Keith Levasseur, 34, of Glen Burnie, Md. recently completed the Baltimore Marathon on October 13 and choose to do so in flip-flops.

When asked why? Levasseur says, “Why not? It seemed like a fun thing to do.”

While he was up for the challenge, he says some onlookers doubted his sanity. “One person I passed remarked he thought it was a hoax and didn’t really believe it was going to happen and I assured him that in fact it was happening.”

Otherwise, Levasseur heard cheers of “good job” and “go get ’em” or “you’re crazy,” he says, and overall his feet suffered little damage.

“I had some decent abrasions on the top inside part of my foot from where the strap comes across but it wasn’t anything significant. I figured there would be pretty bad damage. It really wasn’t bad at all.”

The flip-flops didn’t really slow him down either. He ran a competitive time of 2:46:58. So after flip-flops, what other possible footwear could he don while running?

Levasseur says he has considered swim fins as “pretty interesting” but will leave that for someone else to try.

WTOP’s Brennan Haselton contributed to this report.

Follow Brennan and WTOP on Twitter.

(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up