Friday, May 21, 2010

Shifting to Minimalist Shoes

Ever since I bought those darn Vibram FiveFinger KSOs last summer, I've been getting more and more into barefoot and minimalist running.  Now it seems that almost all of my shoes are "minimalist."  This may be a fad...or maybe I'll be running purely in bare feet in a year!  At times, even minimalist footwear can interfere with ground feel.  I have been reading two new barefoot running books (I'll review them soon on this blog) and I can't imagine going back to "regular old cushioned shoes" in the future. I'd love to run a 5K completely barefoot and finish a 50K trail ultra in my FiveFinger shoes. I might pull off both of those feats (feets?!) before the end of this year.

My current minimalist running shoes are:
Vibram FiveFinger KSOs
Feelmax Osma
New Balance 790 (discontinued trail shoe)
Mizuno Wave Universe 3 racing flat

Shoes I would like to buy and try:
Vibram FiveFinger Bikila
Soft Star RunAmoc
Terra Plana Evo

Shoe I am waiting to come out:
Altera Adam

I hope that Inov-8 comes out with some truly "flat" trail running shoes that still have a wide toebox.  They have come close with a couple of models, but they are either too narrow or too built up.  They seem to be good at producing new models and listening to runner feedback. I believe they will produce a true minimalist trail running flat soon.  I've also got a pair of Feiyue martial arts shoes, but I haven't run in them...yet.  They only cost $15 and are very low-to-the-ground with no cushioning or support. 

NOTE:  I've added a listing of "minimalist shoes" and "barefoot running" resources on the left side bar of this blog.  All of the shoes listed above are linked on the side bar so you can click and get more information.

6 comments:

John Cash said...

Looking forward to reading your reviews on the new minimilist gear. I feel the same way about never wearing a "shoe" ever again!

Peace friend

Chris Ⓥ said...

Couldn't help myself...I just ordered the new Vibram Bikilas. They are supposedly designed for running. I'll review them soon (and comment on these other shoe options). I have a feeling all of my "regular shoes" will be cleaned and donated to Goodwill very soon.

Joshua said...

keep it up chris. you'll love it. i ran my first 5k barefoot last october. PR'd. ran another in november, PR'd again and then ran my most recent barefoot 5k a few weeks ago. PR'd again and placed in my division for the first time ever! if i kept to shorter distances, i'd be barefoot all the time but it's going to take a lot longer to work up my max barefoot mileage.
look how happy i am!
http://s2.dmimg.com/pictures/users/26868/1272290594_profile.jpg

Chris Ⓥ said...

Nice photo Joshua! I am convinced I'll do a barefoot 5K. And I'll get in a minimalist 50K too. Then maybe a 100 miler in FiveFingers?

donna c said...

Chris, where did you order your Bikila's from?

Chris Ⓥ said...

I ordered my Vibram Bikilas from City Sports:

http://www.citysports.com/citysports/

You can use the coupon code BIRTHDAY to receive free ground shipping.