His bare feet so calloused that the heat from the asphalt was nothing, Bruce Herrig looked comfortable after completing the 47th Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race on Monday.

“Didn’t feel it at all,” he said after slipping on his red, white and blue flip-flops.

Herrig, a Stone Mountain resident, said he has been running sans shoes and socks for approximately 25 years after a friend in the Marine Corps taught him the benefits of a less-is-more approach.

Herrig said he has never had any knee or back problems as a result of his podiatric preference after completing his 40th Peachtree.

His only issue Monday wasn’t the heat from the street, it was what was going in the air.

“Little warm, other than it, it’s OK,” he said.

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