Five finger runners

Some of you may have heard of the Vibram five finger running shoes. They are getting a lot of airplay and feedback at the moment as the hot new "must have" item for running. Ordinary running shoes force your foot to fall heel first which places a huge amount of stress on your calf and knees. The Vibram shoes allow your feet to fall naturally (as they woud if you were barefoot) which more often than not is midfoot for most people. Midfoot strikers avoid stress on the calf and achilles tendon as the midfoot is a better shock absorber. The shoes themselves are ugly as hell (why are ugly shoes always in bright colours??)..really ugly...but I'm curious to know if anyone has a pair/tried them/going to get a pair. Did you personally notice a big difference?

Scarlet Johannsen in a pair of Vibrams below...

They don't look like they are doing poor Scarlet any good!

I agree they are the ugliest things I have ever seen but I run on the balls of my feet with regular running shoes. I grew up running around barefooted so I am sure that is why.

Moral of the story, you do not have to buy those ugly ass shoes to run on your midfoot. Shoes are not the problem it is the was coach's teach their runners.

Scarlett loves them. She is a massive advocate of these shoes. Granted, I didn't pick the best pic of her in them but the other photos were too big.
I don't agree that you can blame a coach for the way you strike the ground. I for one, cannot strike midfoot no matter how hard I try in a good pair of running shoes...which is why I don't run...too much stress on the knee which I feel almost immediately. I don't get the same feeling though running barefoot (because I'm a natural mid-foot striker)...but unfortunately, you are very limited in where you can run barefoot. Even the beach can be dicey. It doesn't matter what kind of standard running shoes I wear, I can't get a midfoot strike going at all. The support is in the wrong place and prevents it from happening for me.

C

Scarlet Johannsen in a pair of Vibrams below...

Originally Posted by Camille

Scarlet???........WOW!.....she doesn't seem to be running very hard either.......perhaps her trainer could leash her to the back of the car and go "jogging".......

She's running with Sean Penn, in that picture, who is significantly older. If you google photos of her alone she runs at a much faster pace. No offense Sean

C

She's running with Sean Penn, in that picture, who is significantly older. If you google photos of her alone she runs at a much faster pace. No offense Sean

C Originally Posted by Camille

She's dating Sean Penn??? WOW! Goes to show you, you let yourself go and all you get to pick from is the oldy-moldies......

My teenage daughter bought a pair of them about 3 years ago when we vacationed in DC in a sports shop near Chinatown. I always called them "toe shoes" because they form fit around each toe.

I don't know what they run now, but back then (if I remember correctly) they were about $80. Not too, too, expensive for running shoes.

The shoes themselves are ugly as hell (why are ugly shoes always in bright colours??)..really ugly...but I'm curious to know if anyone has a pair/tried them/going to get a pair. Did you personally notice a big difference? Originally Posted by Camille

Those better do something amazing as they may be the UGLIEST footwear I have ever seen. What's the quote from, "Elizabethtown"?

"It's the shoe that inspired a entire generation to return to bare feet..."

They don't look like they are doing poor Scarlet any good!

I agree they are the ugliest things I have ever seen but I run on the balls of my feet with regular running shoes. I grew up running around barefooted so I am sure that is why.

Moral of the story, you do not have to buy those ugly ass shoes to run on your midfoot. Shoes are not the problem it is the was coach's teach their runners. Originally Posted by WTF

Scarlett loves them. She is a massive advocate of these shoes. Granted, I didn't pick the best pic of her in them but the other photos were too big.
I don't agree that you can blame a coach for the way you strike the ground. I for one, cannot strike midfoot no matter how hard I try in a good pair of running shoes...which is why I don't run...too much stress on the knee which I feel almost immediately. I don't get the same feeling though running barefoot (because I'm a natural mid-foot striker)...but unfortunately, you are very limited in where you can run barefoot. Even the beach can be dicey. It doesn't matter what kind of standard running shoes I wear, I can't get a midfoot strike going at all. The support is in the wrong place and prevents it from happening for me.

C Originally Posted by Camille

What I know about running would fit in a thimble...with plenty of room left over. But....

...I was always under the impression that the "proper strike" was a function of whether one was jogging or sprinting. The former is supposed to be a "smooth" heel-midfoot-toe motion that uses the arch to dissipate the force which minimizes the risk of injury. The latter is more on the ball of the foot to get into & out of contact with the ground as quickly as possible.

Being flat-footed AND so slow that my 40 was clocked with a sundial....that's all "theoretical" on my part...

She's running with Sean Penn, in that picture, who is significantly older. If you google photos of her alone she runs at a much faster pace. No offense Sean

C Originally Posted by Camille

Well then....that's either a most unflattering picture of her; or, Sean needs to peel off & let her do her thing for a while. That photo makes it look like all her running of late has been from the couch to the frig....not that there's anything wrong with that!!

She's running with Sean Penn Originally Posted by Camille

Well no wonder she looks like she is in pain.

Camille buy some toe shocks, and a bucket of the Kevlar truck bed polymer and make you own in any color you like.JK I don't know that these would be any better for your body since they don't have any support to speak of, or any shock absorbing material for that matter. Your foot is going to take all of the impact which may be fine for some people, but beware of an increase in plantar fascistic with the insurgence of this product. I know sprinters usually run on there forefoot, and not the mid foot so track athletes sprinters in particular like them, but distance runners don't.

If you want to know what is on the cutting edge of equipment go to a local college track event, and see what the athletes are using. You don't see these very often.

Some of you may have heard of the Vibram five finger running shoes. They are getting a lot of airplay and feedback at the moment as the hot new "must have" item for running. Ordinary running shoes force your foot to fall heel first which places a huge amount of stress on your calf and knees. The Vibram shoes allow your feet to fall naturally (as they woud if you were barefoot) which more often than not is midfoot for most people. Midfoot strikers avoid stress on the calf and achilles tendon as the midfoot is a better shock absorber. The shoes themselves are ugly as hell (why are ugly shoes always in bright colours??)..really ugly...but I'm curious to know if anyone has a pair/tried them/going to get a pair. Did you personally notice a big difference?

Scarlet Johannsen in a pair of Vibrams below...

Originally Posted by Camille

I haven't tried those, but I am interested in the new Reebok Reeflex shoes. http://www.reebok.com/US/product?mod...ticleId=J84833

They have a very flexible sole, and are suppose to be awesome for running. Not sure I would want to wear the five fingered shoes however, as I have run in the past bare foot, and it is very hard on your feet, especially if you are not use to it. Your calves will kill you after running like that.

I don't like running, but my career choice made it an occupational hazard. I tried Nike, but now I always buy New Balance because they have wide support for the instep and this helped keep my feet from rolling to the outside which caused inordinate stress on my ankles and knees. Furthermore, since the APFT two-mile run was a timed event, I (can’t blame a coach) perfected a stride that had my heels always hitting the ground first (that extra three to four inches for each foot to roll from heel to toe really adds up over two miles). Again, New Balance shoes had sufficient padding on the heels to reduce the shock; though, I had to replace the shoes – they wore out – about every six months. The New Balance shoes came as a great relief, because for ten years prior to that, the Army had me (and everyone else) running in combat boots! Needless-to-say, now that I've left the service, I don’t run anywhere any more. Thousands of miles and thousands of sit-ups have taken their toll. My new motto is: “Anywhere is walking distance, if you’ve got the time.” – Steven Wright.