INTERESTING UPDATE -- Vibram FiveFingers shoes and the annoying people who buy them

[cyfan2000]

I wear my VFF as my primary

I wear my VFF as my primary casual shoe around town, or even travelling on business in the evening or weekends. I'm amazed how I can walk by 1,000 people and no one will say a word (although they do point) and then 10 people in a row will ask me about them. Most have "never seen such a thing", and many can't even understand why someone would want to walk around feeling barefoot.

I always warn people that one has to strengthen the unused calf and ankle muscles when starting out with them. I could do a half-marathon in shoes, but only 5 miles in VFF when I started out. And even that was painful.

I hope there isn't a great divide in the "barefoot" running world soon between the truly barefoot crowd and those of us who wear VFF. Frankly I just don't run enough to make my feet tough enough to be competely barefoot. I was raised on a farm and was barefoot about 1/3rd of the year...so I know the feeling and prefer it, but it's not a priority for me to toughen my feet like the days of my youth. I used to RUN across gravel by summer's end as a teenager. Of course I also used to commonly pull nails, thorns, and other things out of my feet.

 

[Joshh]

What are Vibram Five Fingers?

What are Vibram Five Fingers?

 

[Mike]

http://www.vibramfivefingers.

http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/products/index.htm

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Our aim here at the BRS is to

Our aim here at the BRS is to support both barefoot and minimalist runners. We prefer that people learn to run with a proper running form, one that is unique to them, before donning footwear. We also understand that this is not always practical in all situations (terrain and whether), so during those times, we would like to support our members in finding and properly using the best possible footwear available. We know too much that people are quick to blame barefoot running on injuries incurred by those who are eager to jump straight from their traditional running shoes (TSR) to minimalist running shoes (MRS) without first giving the proper adjustment time to take place. This is where the soles come in to play. Our plantar skin will only allow us to go as far as the rest of our body is able to, meaning the more you go barefoot the farther and faster you will be able to go both barefoot and in minimalist shoes without becoming injured.
Welcome, CyFan!

 

[JosephTree]

Um, yeah, TJ.  That's what I

Um, yeah, TJ. That's what I meant to say.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

I wasn't commenting on your

I wasn't commenting on your post, Mr. Joseph. I had to go back to see what you wrote to try to figure out what you were talking about. I was just trying to make the new guy feel at home. ;-)

 

[NakedSoleNate]

 my first date with

my first date with VFF's...thought it strangely appropriate for this discussion...since I just happened to come to own a pair....

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150092214845406&id=1250394823

 

[miker]

cyfan, are you going to run

cyfan, are you going to run the Hospital Hill in your VFFs next June? I'm working the Rt. 66 Marathon expo this weekend in the HH booth w/Beth S. (race director) She won't put in a BF division in 2011, but I'm working on her to offer a BF division in 2012 or 2013. Good to see you post! Don't be a stranger.

 

[Barefoot Mary]

I was mighty glad I had my

I was mighty glad I had my Vibrams today...ran .75 miles barefoot in 37 degrees...and the rest 1+ miles in the safety of my KSOs. Mmmmmm nothing quite like lack of frostbite!

 

[barefootcaleb]

 I bought the Vibram's after

I bought the Vibram's after running barefoot for some time. I also made huaraches, but nothing is quite like true BF running and i've only worn the VFFs three times. I did; however, just complete a half marathon in 20 degree temperature and my feet were not pleased with these conditions. I am thinking that temperatures below freezing might force me into wearing the Vibrams, but am looking forward to the day it warms back up and I am able to run as I was intended to run. I also am on a midwestern campus and have noticed several people wearing vibrams, but do not think it is much of a craze here yet.

 

[barefoot kean]

your toes do tend to get a

your toes do tend to get a bit cold while wearing vibrams, probably because they are separated.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Welcome back, Caleb!

Welcome back, Caleb!

 

[Barefoot TJ]

We received this from our

We received this from our Media Contact link. Apparently, he doesn't know we've already been talking about this story for the past two days. What do you guys make of it?



http://www.barefootrunners.org/build2/contact.http://www.sfweekly.com/2010-11-17/news/vibram-fivefingers-shoes-and-the-annoying-people-who-buy-them/http://www.sfweekly.com/2010-11-17/...s-shoes-and-the-annoying-people-who-buy-them/

Hello-

Andy from SF Weekly here. We're running a story about barefoot runners in San

Francisco's that I thought would interest your readers. Many store owners in

the area who are excited by the revenue that the sale of Vibram FiveFingers

bring, are less excited about the customers, who some have described as

"demanding" and "intense." (This story was written by a barefoot runner, by

the way.)

Link:





Best,

Andy

Andy Wright sent a message using the contact form at

 

[saypay45]

Should the story be

Should the story be interesting to us because we are demanding and intense? J)

 

[stomper]

 TJ, if somebody from the

TJ, if somebody from the SFWeekly site wrote you, they're probably just fishing for traffic and buzz for their own site. Or, they really truly thought people here on this site would be interested and would want to see somebody from the BRS quoted. Nothing bad either way.

 

[harrino]

Abide my understanding is

Abide my understanding is that when walking one should have a heel strike - at least that is the view of Prfessor Libermann. This he discussed at the talk/presentation he gave as part of the NYC barefoot run weekend. He said that the type of motion one has when walking is totally conducive to heel striking and is in fact better that way.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

I have less pain with a

I have less pain with a walking barefoot heel strike than I do with a walking VFF heal strike. Very odd.

 

[fetish4running]

I don't have pain when I heel

I don't have pain when I heel strike with ff, but I definitely heel strike with much more force than when I'm barefoot. It's what makes me nervous about running in ff...that whole false sense of security thing. I don't ever want a stress fracture again!

 

[Barefoot TJ]

I have pain because of the

I have pain because of the PF I developed from having that surgery for MN (caused by shoes).

 

[barefootCrossCountry]

 I use vff (bikila's) because

I use vff (bikila's) because we have to for xc... and we train during the regular season, winter, and summer break, so the longest i can run w/o shoes is 3-4 months during tennis season.... also lots of the trails are full of sharp things so i have to use them 3/4's of the year.... i just went in and asked for my size and payed for them.