79-Year-Old Pastor Runs Barefoot 15 Miles a Week; Meet Jerrie Barber

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A man is on the move. Some immediately see him as an inspiration. Others immediately wonder. You may have seen him on the move. Red hat. Red pants. Now it’s time to hear his story.

You live in a west Nashville neighborhood and you’ve seen the runner.

“Oh my God, yes!” neighbor Patty Ritoch joked as she watered her yard. “I haven’t had the conversation yet about why he does it.”

So what is it about runner Jerrie Barber that is so eye-catching?

“People often ask me, ‘Sir, do you realize you don’t have any shoes on?’” Jerrie smiles. “I look down and say, ‘I knew I forgot something at home!’ Well, yeah, it’s a little weird. People ask me, ‘How do you run barefoot?’ Well, you take off your shoes and socks and start running! I’m 79. I’ve been running barefoot since March 2010. If I felt better when I was 20, I don’t remember.”

Jerrie runs barefoot 15 miles most weeks, often on Charlotte Pike. He has heard from many concerned people.

“I think I might run away from the nursing home!” Jerrie laughed. “A few people have offered to buy me shoes.”

Many others know it’s just Jerrie.

“Red hat. Red pants. There’s that funny preacher running around barefoot when it’s 50 degrees or more!” Jerrie said.

Jerrie has preached in many churches since the age of 16 and continues to do interim preaching and guest speaking engagements.

“It’s rewarding to see people who were without hope learn to have hope again and build relationships with others and with God,” Jerrie said.

Since Jerrie loves to talk, running barefoot is a way to get people talking. He loves it. It’s partly a throwback to his childhood, when he ran around barefoot.

“People say, ‘Doesn’t it hurt?’” he continued. “I say, ‘Absolutely!’”

He said it was worth it for the exercise, for his health.

“Life is painful, and if we only try to stay comfortable, we will fail,” Jerrie explains. “If I am not willing to endure the pain, I get no benefit from it.”

“When I have friends watching and supporting me, I feel better,” Jerrie continued, speaking as he ran. “That’s true for races or if I’m running with someone else. It’s a different thing in life. We need to have good friends who encourage us.”

In truth, when Jerrie thinks about all the people who stop to make sure he’s okay, he doesn’t mind. They’re caring people.

“You don’t have to apologize!” Jerrie said. “You’re very kind, and if we had more people like you in the world, we’d be in a much better position.”

Be careful of pedestrians. You might like the person you meet.

“You know, people say it’s dangerous out there,” Jerrie said. “People have been very, very nice to me. People are just nice.”

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