Running Enthusiasts Flock To Weird-Looking 'Barefoot Shoes'

Daily Camera:

Kristen Campbell spent most of her 20s wearing soft leather moccasins everywhere she went, even on extended backpacking trips. But when she "grew up," she reluctantly moved on to "real" shoes.

Read the whole story: Daily Camera

Comments

[jimbeaux1961]

11:15 AM on 08/10/2009

SASQUATCH SIGHTING!

[JM35]

10:46 AM on 08/10/2009

As a runner, I have a hard time believing that these are good for the body. But I've never tried them, so what do I know?

[CrazedSurfer]

10:05 AM on 08/10/2009

Dude came in a local beach bar wearing a pair with the camo design. It was just creepy looking but he said they were good.

[gttim]

07:00 AM on 08/10/2009

You have to build up running long distances in them. When I first switched to Nike Free I did short runs a couple times a week and did longer runs in my old shoes. I kept lengthenin­g the runs in the minimal shoes until I was doing all my runs in them. I now do 18 miles easily, and will use them for my 6th Ironman. You just need to take the time to build our feet up. Just ease into running barefoot, as you would with any major change in your workouts.

And yes, all plantars gone. All ankle and knee pain gone. Once your feet strengthen­, they act as shock absorbers protecting your feet better than any shoe can. Your feet feel the ground and react as needed to cushion you.

[RitaLouise]

10:02 PM on 08/30/2009

I am not a runner, but walk 90+ miles a month. I'm 81 years old. I have long discarded the New Balance, etc, and walk on platform sandals. Wearing the shoes that coddle, support, etc, your feet is like wearing a girdle! Your muscles never learn to do the important support on their own! This is good for me, and while I could not recommend it for everyone, I am totally comfortabl­e with minimal footwear.

[fuzzynormal]

03:38 AM on 08/10/2009

It's a fad.

Is it possible to get someone who owns them to offer up a worthwhile testimonia­l? Probably not. They'd be to embarrasse­d to admit that the ridiculous item they spent a ridiculous amount of money on is anything but a ridiculous product.

Of course the caveat to all this: Wish I would have thought of the idea. Legal fleecing of people makes my capitalist­s heart go all aflutter.

[PaleMail]

04:33 AM on 08/10/2009

Most running shoes are ridiculous­ly priced.

[quillsinister]

05:30 AM on 08/10/2009

See my comments below. I own a pair and I love them. Given that barefoot form is how our skeleton is designed to move and absorb shock, and how we did it for literally hundreds of thousands of years before the invention of padded running shoes, I would say that heel striking will come to be seen as the fad.

BTW, my KSOs were much *less* than my Triumph 5s, but when I get a bit more confortabl­e with this mode of running, I plan to get a bald tire and make a few pairs of huarache sandals that will probably cost about a dollar apiece and last me the rest of my life. Capitalism doesn't have to enter the picture.

[quillsinister]

01:48 AM on 08/10/2009

I ran my first marathon in a pair of Saucony Triumph 5. I'll run my next in FiveFinger­s. Just think about it; every aspect of the human form is related in some way to running, and we've been doing it almost since we came down from the trees. We've been wearing running shoes with huge heel cushions for a few decades. The bottom line is that a heel strike is the wrong way to hit the ground. That part of your foot isn't designed to absorb shock. I've only recently become a devotee of running lightly on the balls of my feet instead of clomping along like I've been doing since high school cross country, but I can already tell that this is the way people were intended to run.

That said, you need to START SLOWLY. I was fresh from a marathon when I bought my first pair of FiveFinger­s and I found I couldn't go more than a mile at first, and my calves were killing me the next morning. You have muscles in your foot and ankle that are basically atrophied, and you need to wake them up gently. Once you build them up, running will feel smoother than you ever thought possible.

[dadw5boys]

06:50 PM on 08/09/2009

Great I just spent $1300.00 on my kids feet and support products.

If they were not growing so fast putting their joints at risk every time they go running.

I will take them to the V.A. Hospital to run barefoot in the grass there and the big open spaces now.

Darn ! Throwing money down a hole with these doctors in the USA .

[StrayTalk]

04:21 PM on 08/09/2009

During a recent race I asked a stranger who was wearing them how he liked them. (first time I had ever seen them) He said his running injuries have all disappeare­d since he got them a few months ago. Think I'll give them a try.
(as for MBT shoes mentioned I don't know anyone who actually uses them for running. Perhaps a good walking shoe)

[John Spenser]

04:20 PM on 08/09/2009

I've run with them for about 2 months now. I actually like the sprint design, albeit the ugliest pair of kicks ever. They don't have any bouncy padding in the heal so it keeps you from running on your heals, great for form and learning low impact running. They're definitely a purpose built athletic shoe, not for going to the bar.. Maybe they can make a pair that doesn't have the separated toes.

[PRONESE]

04:15 PM on 08/09/2009

Old News
*
*
This style of tread pattern was experiment­ed with on combat boots during the Vietnam War with little success.
*
Poshish!
*
R/ Prona

[anthroguy]

09:15 PM on 08/09/2009

The "experimen­t" to which you refer was an attempt to disguise US military movements by convincing the enemy that bare-foote­d people (i.e., not US troops) had passed by the area. That's why boot soles molded in the shape of a foot were tried. This had nothing to do with foot health or running. And this experiment­al boot was constructe­d as a regular shoe (aside from its odd sole) -- i.e., all the toes were in one big compartmen­t like a regular shoe. So, your casual dismissal of the technology is silly.

[Soundofthunder]

03:47 PM on 08/09/2009

Big Foot tracks, two days old. They go on for 26.2 miles and are accompanie­d by many crumpled Dixie cups and empty bottles of Gatorade.

SOT

[zerepas]

02:03 PM on 08/09/2009

Besides being ridiculous­ly ugly and giving you that "Fred Flintstone­" look, they are not practical running shoes.

[John Spenser]

04:22 PM on 08/09/2009

barefoot running is the most practical running.

[Changeling]

08:42 PM on 08/09/2009

Not in a modern environmen­t.

Try that on concrete or pavement and let me know how it comes out for you.

[Frugie]

02:02 PM on 08/09/2009

That would hurt

[sekt88]

10:55 AM on 08/09/2009

why not just run in chuck taylors?

[zanzig]

09:33 AM on 08/09/2009

The ugly factor would put me off. I prefer the MBT shoes.

http://us.­mbt.com/Ho­me/Collect­ion.aspx