The birth of the Hybrid Runner

Let me start by saying that I don't blog. I do not believe myself to be a writer that people will actually “follow” to see what I write next. What will follow these few sentences is just a rambling of my thoughts and OPINIONS on what we call barefoot running.



At the risk of being too blunt I will say that if you wear any sort of protection on your feet, whether it be leather or an iron slab, you are not a barefoot runner. This does not mean that you are less of a runner and it does not mean that I am better than you or healthier than you, it's simply that since you are protected you are not barefoot.

Barefoot shoes are a myth, if barefoot shoes were possible, the nudist population would be walking around Wal-Mart in “naked pants” and I for one am not ready for that. Shoes that mimic barefoot walking or running are minimalist shoes, this includes Vibrams. When a magazine or website does an article about Vibrams, it is not a barefoot running article. I get these articles forwarded to me weekly from friends and coworkers, (“Here's an article about you!!” is usually in the subject line) and it has a big picture of VFF's.

A few times when someone had heard that I run barefoot they asked where I got the shoes. Ummm, Squeeze me? Baking Powder?

As I brows Blogs on the interweb I see many out there about barefoot running and the author spends most of the time talking about their recent run in VFF's. This would be a “minimalist blog.”

Now, don't get the wrong idea. I am not saying there is anything wrong with using minimal shoes, they are much better than the standards. I own a pair of VFF KSO's, I wore them once last winter because I don't run barefoot on ice.

OK, so what If I run barefoot AND minimalist depending on distance, terrain, health etc? Well, I don't really know if that has been answered. I would answer like this: If you run mainly barefoot but just put on the shoes for extreme weather conditions I'd call you a barefoot runner. If you run mainly in minimalist shoes and use barefoot running as an occasional training tool, you are a minimalist runner. Now, if you are split and run almost 50/50 what are you? I would propose that you are a hybrid runner. A hybrid runner would be someone who runs barefoot but knows their limitations for distance or terrain and uses minimalist shoes to compensate.

Again, these are my poorly written opinions. Don't expect many blog posts from me but when you see ‘em you better read ‘em because there is no greater truth then the Ramzev truth.



Cheers

Comments

Here here barefoot brother! I've been thinking about this same thing for a couple of weeks now and I'm happy someone verbalized it. There's been a lot of minimalisttalk going aroundlately.

I've always thought it was strange that we spend a large chunk of time in barefoot forums talking about SHOES! It's nice to know I'm not taking crazy pills.

I think the other side of this coin though is that minimialist and hybrid runners are acting in the same spirit as barefoot runners. They want to run more naturally and freely just like we who barefoot all the time. There are plenty of good reasons why they may not. But that's no reason not to include them in our group. They may want to get where we are, or they may just want to hang out with us. Either way, they are the same in spirit and should be accepted as equals.
 
Absolutely, I agree 100%. As I said, I'm not much of a writer, I was trying not want to come across as "anti-minimalist." I know that this site was built around welcoming both barefoot and minimalist (and now hybrid runners?) and I embrace this. There is a lot of knowledge that can be shared both ways and I do see us all as equals.

Thanks Say!
 
For a non-blogger, you expressed your point well.

If it weren't for Winter, Isuspect I would run exclusively barefoot. Ifound my favorite shoes, and they were my feet. Idon't see any reason to switch.

By the way, I'm wearing my "naked" pants again today.
 
I like what you're saying and I do not disagree as running with something on your feet is obviously not running bare. With that said I caution us all to be careful with things like this as they seem like we're drawing lines in the sand. I've been in the running world for about 14 years on all levels from pro to hobbyist and the biggest debate out there was always what to do about joggers. Are they real runners or not? I always said who cares because if they're jogging they are trying and that is better than being a fat kid eating cheetos on the couch.

I don't want to have to start defining my running world all over again by trying to decide if minimal is right/wrong/or something else. Like Saypay said, I you agreed, we're all out here trying to find a healthy and enjoyable way to run. I have spent the majority of my summer running in all sorts of minimal shoes and I have developed a real liking for it. I do not claim that I have been running bare because that is not right but I have been running very close to bare and bare when I feel like it.

At the end of the day I am a runner and so are you guys. So is the guy in the Brooks Beasts, the guy who only runs on the treadmill, and the dude out there trucking a 14 minute mile. If someone claiming barefoot when they are never actually barefoot is getting your rubbed raw I understand and go after them for it because that is wrong. I wouldn't do so much in terms of working on new categories for people who run minimal, or hybrid in your terms. Just let running be running my friends and in the words of the great Rodney Kind "Can't we all just get along"

This message was written with a scale of 50/50. 50% actual opinion and 50% humor so take it how you want but I really do think we need to stop trying to define so many things in this world. Just let it be.
 
Thanks for this. I agree with you and Jimmy (and the others), the running bit is the important thing. Still, I get pretty annoyed at the likes of Vibram and Nike with their whole thing about having to wear their shoes to be barefoot. I mean, seriously? I think we could all benefit from using clear definitions, as clear as we can make them at least. Barefoot is barefoot, shoes are shoes no matter how thin and flexible they are. I don't want to exclude anyone though, it's not in my nature to do so and honestly, our numbers aren't high enough for that to serve any useful purpose.
 
For those of you that were around at the time, we had several heated debates over at the Running Shoe magazine forum about the naming of said forum. A group of people were upset that it was referred to as the "barefoot forum" and proposed changing it to the "barefoot and minimalist shoe forum". It got ugly.

Idon't see this as an issue of dividing runners based on their choice of footwear. Even the most hardened barefoot purists will agree that some protection is required in some conditions.

For me, it is simply a matter of using correct terminology. I give people a lot of advice. That advice will vary if a runner is running barefoot or in minimalist shoes. Sometimes new minimalist shoe runners identify themselves as barefoot runners. That's problematic.

Also, I am annoyed at the "barefoot shoe" claim used by many manufacturers, especially Sketchers and MBTs. It's idiotic.
 
Where can I buy some of those "naked pants"? I went to the mall, but I didn't see any.

I'm with you, ramzev... the coverage of all these "barefoot shoes" has made it so difficult to talk to people about barefoot running. I get stuck in this circle sometimes when people hear I run barefoot. "So, you have those shoes..." "No, I run barefoot." "Yeah, with those barefoot shoes, right..." "No, barefoot." <<Repeat>>

I live in Worcester, MA, and I've yet to see another barefoot runner. I have to admit, I don't feel like I have too much in common with the handful of VFF-wearing runners that I see from time to time.
 
Thanks Ramzev for putting words to many of our thoughts. I hate dividing people and I have thought many times about a thread I read here a while ago written by a woman feeling alienated because she wore VFF's. That's no good but at the same time neither is the corporate world selling shoes and calling it "barefoot." We were all born barefoot, my wife and I were married barefoot and now we are discovering from this website that others out there have also connected with it. To me there is a certain hard-earned beauty that comes from running with nothing on your feet and I love that there is nothing to sell in it.

And Saypay, nice Mugato reference.
 
I like the idea of being a 'hybrid runner', but I haven't even reached a point where my footwear (or not) choices have settled into enough of a pattern to define myself. So I'd just generally prefer that people just call me a runner.

(Actually, I dislike defining people by their activities, i.e. "banker" or "runner" or "cook". I'd rather we verb-alize, i.e. "I run" or "I cook", rather than "I am [noun]". But that's a whole 'nother discussion!)
 
I've mentioned this elsewhere as well:

I'm transitioning. I've started only a few months ago. So at the moment I'm probably a minimalist runner leaning toward hybrid running (i think).
 
as a new barefoot runner (who is running indoors for now due to winter, but true barefoot, and considering minimal footwear to be able to go outdoors until it warms up), but could see barefoot for real come spring outside, I appreciate the distinctions... especially after posting what I was doing and being asked if I'd share pictures of my funky new shoes.. I DON'Town minimalist shoes... and am not completely certain I'll get them..
 
Being new to the website and the society, I'm somewhat reluctant to contribute to this particular discussion, but I have to say that overall the general theme of the discussion kind of disturbed me. Has barefoot running gotten that elitist already that there is a need to differentiate and segregate? I know that you stated that wasn't the purpose, but just by the discussion already you can see that there are sides being generated. I guess I would fall into the "minimalist" shoe runner and therefor not a "true" barefoot runner, because I wear VFFs most of the time. I think that worrying about what you call one particular piece of a genre gets somewhat ridiculous. I happen to be in the Army and have had enough difficulty with higher command and the VFF's let alone trying to run completely barefoot, which takes me out of uniform standards. There is still a large segment of the population that see anything minimalist or barefoot as weird and strange. So now we want to do internal segragations as well? I apologize if I sound somewhat sarcastic, but it has been frustrating to deal with people who don't understand "barefoot" or "minimalist" running and be limited in my running as a result and then to hear it coming from those who I would think wouldn't want to be pigeonholed themselves.

I recognize that wasn't the purpose of the discussion, but I do think it will be a result. For those who get upset about the shoe companies, I have another view that may be beneficial to examine. The shoe companies are jumping on a potential for more sales. If that is because they see this as the newest direction for profit, that isn't a bad thing in many ways. Hopefully it brings greater interest to the movement overall and helps more people get healthier in their running. I have seen increasing numbers of studies, new movement techniques, improved understanding of body kinetics, a plethora of websites, and overall improvment of information for people interested in barefoot running. Are these things all bad?

Lastly, I am an avid triahtlete. I say this because I want to give some concrete examples of how sub-division in a sport can cause problems. In the 10 years that I have been racing, I've seen cyclists look down on triahtletes, road triahtletes look down on off-road triathletes, runners look down on triathletes, and every possible variation of the above. The same attitude tends to follow this type of thinking and it goes something like this, "Oh, you are only (insert your specialty or interest), well!" Now most of the time they don't say it, but the attitude is still there. The intention for most people is probably not in this direction, but unfortunately for many it is. I would just caution people worrying more about the lable and less about the purpose.

Hopefully I haven't pissed off too many people, I just thought it important to include everyone versus excluding due to differences.
 
Thanks Derek for your insightful contribution. I can't imagine anyone being put out by your post. It's exactly the sort of thing that makes this community better.
 

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