by Damien Tougas
I recently stumbled across a new barefoot shoe company from the UK called Freet Footwear. Their first product is an all-around outdoor tabi-style shoe with a softshell upper called the 4+1, which also includes a foam wedge insole for helping transition people to more minimal shoes. I figured the best way to get to know them and what they are all about would be to do an interview.
by Damien Tougas
A month ago we asked Toe Salad readers to nominate their favorite shoes for our 2013 Readers Choice Awards. We had six categories: Road running, Trail running, Outdoors, Men's casual, Women's casual, and Kids. Once all the nominations were in, we asked the readers to vote. The results are finally in, the readers have spoken!
by Dave Chenault
One potential shortcoming of minimal shoes is in the shoulder seasons of spring and autumn. Given that these seasons look rather different in different places, it is simplest and will serve my purposes best to define shoulder season as those times when daytime temperatures are most often above freezing, there is rarely enough snow to merit skis or snowshoes, but the conditions too cold for simple wool and/or synthetic socks to be especially pleasant. Good minimal shoes are most often not waterproof, which means your feet will get wet. As will be discussed below this is not necessarily problematic, but it is something which needs to be planned for.
by Damien Tougas
The muscles of the foot and leg are more than enough to support the rigors of backpacking. Wearing rigid footwear is not unlike wearing a cast, it causes the foot muscles to atrophy because the body relies on the structure of the shoe for support. Having full flexibility of the feet and ankles is essential to absorbing shock and preventing injury.
by Damien Tougas
This past weekend had a lot of firsts for a lot of people. It was the first edition of the Marathon Baie-des-Chaleurs, held in Carleton-sur-Mer, a coastal town on the Gaspe Peninsula a short drive from where we live. In addition to the full marathon, there was a half-marathon, a 10K, a 5K, and a 1K. I ran my first half-marathon at the race, and survived to tell you about it. I am still feeling my legs, but I guess that is a good indicator that I am alive.