“Good evening San Diego! I’m Ron Burgandy, and welcome to a special segment I like to call, ‘Brilliance.’ It’s rare that I climb down from my perch and conduct an interview with the common man. When I do, however, I find it fascinating. Today is such a day, and with me is Scott Reslow. He’s from New England. Scott is a man, a volleyball coach, a husband, a father, a lover, and an aspiring writer. For these traits, I salute him. Who wouldn’t want to be a women’s volleyball coach? It’s lovely to watch the….what?…you’re the men’s coach? Oh, well that’s good, I guess? Why would anyone be the MEN’S volleyball coach? Ahem, ok! Let’s press on, shall we?
The reason Scott is with us today is because he has become a writer. Kudos to you, sir! He puts words to page. He uses the skill that separates human beings from the snow leopards…the use of words. Oddly enough, he composes his thoughts on a funny type of shoes. These shoes look like feet. I kid you not fellow San Diegans; he has these silly shoes on that look like feet gloves. How cute! So, Scott, tell me, what made you decide to cast off normal shoes and start to wear feet gloves?”
“Hello Mr. Burgandy…”
“Call me Ron, oh poet of the Velcro shoe gloves!”
“Yes, of course. Ron. Ron, I became interested in the Vibram Five Finger shoes after reading a book called ‘Born to Run,’ by Christopher McDougal. It was actually the first chapter that sealed it for me. When he talked about being a larger person who wanted to run but kept breaking down, it felt like he was talking directly to me. Being 6’6” and an ex-college basketball player, I too often ran and found that my body just hurt and hurt after the activity. I wondered the same things Chris wondered. Was my body just not meant for running? How come other people could run for days without injury, and I made my way only to fall to pain? Once that first chapter was over, I was hooked, and I think I was on a website getting my first Vibrams, within hours of finishing the book.”
“Astonishing! It sounds like you enjoy a good read. I have many books that are leather bound, but often fail to find the time. So, Scott, you became enthralled by a novel. I believe many wars have been started over such enthusiastic reads. You, however, bought funny shoes. Was the conversion to this new footwear a smooth one?”
“Yes and no. Figuring out how to get them on smoothly came easy enough, but getting your feet and legs strong enough to really run in them took some time. I really had to ease into it. I probably took at least a solid month, just walking around in them before I got the strength, and courage, to take a run.”
“You needed courage. I love that. We all need courage sometime. It took courage for me to get into an enclosure full of Kodiak bears in 2004. As I saw my impending death almost come to fruition, I realized that without courage, great hair, and an outstanding news team, it is really tough to be successful. Tell me, what was your favorite moment with this new found running love? Personally, I only run when chased, if you know what I mean! Am I right fellas?”
“Ron, I can honestly say, that the best moments were the first two runs I took. Getting over those mental hurdles that said you need running shoes to do this. You need to run heel toe. Your ankles are going to break, and your feet will hurt. Once my mind got around those obstacles, I ran. I ran well, and I ran with a giant smile on my face. It was like a big secret, which had been kept from me, had finally been revealed. These shoes allowed me to reach this knowledge, thus they were worth every penny.”
“Well, there you have it. It’s not my cup of tea, but apparently there are many who enjoy that running thing. The man’s name is Scott Reslow, and the shoes are called Vibram Five Fingers. The website is myfivefingers.com and I am late for a magical evening at Tino’s. I’m Ron Burgandy, and you stay classy San Diego. Audrey, get this big goof off of the set, and pack my flute…”