Questions & Answers

I am a Chicago firefighter and have been running seriously for 4 years. I am transitioning to a mid/forefoot strike and am seeking guidance. I have struggled with IT band issues the last two years as my mileage has increased. My last traditional shoe was the Asics 2150 and now I am running in the Saucony Kinvara. My next shoe will be more minimalist and I want to make the right decision. I would like to get a good rotation going between 3 or 4 different shoes, from the Kinvaras to maybe VFF Bikalas (or something similar), in descending order of minimalism. So I am in the market for 2 or 3 more pairs of shoes, however at the moment my ITBS has put a stop to all running. Yep zero miles the last two months. The end is in sight though. I will probably start running again the end of the month...Thanks for reading!

Nice site.

I quit using traditional running shoes in April of 2010 after getting started with Vibram Five Fingers in February 2010.

I typically run 35-45 miles per week with at least one run of 6 miles totally barefoot. My current favorite is the VFF KSO Remix.

I love being in SoCal because I can run year round without having to worry about snow, ice and freezing temps.

Don’t run but walk a lot hate traditional shoes. Cant handle all that stuff under my feet. But since I'm in Wisconsin I need it sometimes.

I am so excited about this website. Thank you Damien and family for starting this up! I have not been in minimalist shoes for very long...maybe 4-5months, but love them and will not go back to standard footwear. I switched due to problems with my toes and feet. Actually I was never one to go barefoot, but after too many feet issues, I started to go barefoot as often as possible. I ordered the VivoBarefoot Compton Wellie and LOVE them. I just ordered a second pair of VivoBarefoots (the candy); I cannot wait to get them in the mail! I am a wife and mother of 4 wonderful (young) children, and we love to run together (usually with two in the baby jogger and two running beside us). My husband and I have always been runners, but we have not yet run barefoot (looking forward to it this summer, though). We are attempting to switch the entire household over to minimalist footwear (one pair of shoes at a time).

Barefoot/minimalist in Fort Collins, Colorado. Gravitate toward weird/different ideas like "gee, you can run barefoot?" Started with KSOs, then got a pair of Invisible Shoes, then a pair of RunAmocs. In-town I'm barefoot, 5-8 mile runs. Trails are rocky around here, so I take the RunAmocs there, and also a pair of Inov-8 195's. Like my wife says, "you've got an awful lot of shoes for someone who runs barefoot" :-)

I'm a minimalist mountain ultra-runner. I've been wearing minimalist footwear and running barefoot for a year and a half and am happy to try some of the footwear coming out in 2011! I'm currently running in VFF Treks, New Balance 101s. In the summer I ran barefoot, in VFFs and Lunas. Looking forward to the Merrill Trail Gloves!

Of all the videos I've watched of people demonstrating barefoot running I can't seem to find anyone running faster than a moderate pace. My long-term goal is to be have a sub 3hr marathon. Does anyone have any experience in this regard? Is it recommended to go minimal if I am going that speed for that long? Any insight is welcome. Thanks.

I wanted to run.

I had an old knee injury that was prone to trouble but I still wanted to run. In our family of many children, we could not afford for me to be injured so the start was intentionally slow & careful. The rest of our family was doing fine in conventional running shoes but I was having serious problems. The Man started researching and thus began our minimalist footwear conversion.

We have 6 minimalist runners in our family now and all that can walk wear minimal/zero-drop footwear when we must. And, in Minnesota, there are times we must.

Our new adventure is making our own footwear for our growing children so we can all have good footwear and still afford to eat.

Sarah K

Hello Everyone. Great to be a part of a growing community.....

After running in shoes for 25+ years, I ran my first two miles barefoot around a local track last March. After a 3 month transition to minimalist/barefoot running (a real test of my patience!), I've not looked back.

Will run my first 50K this summer. Currently wearing Terra Plana Evos and VFFs. Trying to keep my toes warm during the chilly months!

Cheers, J

Hi there, just wanted to say a quick hi to everyone and introduce myself.

Mark, Brit living in Hoboken NJ Running - seems to be a historical activity due to one injury after another although beginning to slowly come back into it. I would treat myself as a tortoise rather than a hare.

Have been using VFFs for a couple of years.

Mark

Hi there. I'm pretty new to this minimalist stuff. I've always been intrigued by the minimalist idea, but never really considered moving in that direction. Mostly because I had always thought I needed a lot of cushion. Last year, a friend of mine gave me his Saucony Kinvaras that were too small for him. I know they are not as minimal as a lot of stuff out there, but I have fallen in love with them. I'm looking forward to learning more about minimalism. :-)

Is any as excited for this line of shoes as I am? I have heard nothing but great things about The Adam. You can pre-order their shoes on the website which I did the other day. It was also announced that Altra shoes will be available through Running Warehouse!

Is it just me or are many minimalist shoes just as or more expensive than "regular" shoes. You would think that with less material that the cost would be less.

I know that many of these shoes come from smaller companies and don't have sweat shops set up in China like many of the major shoe manufacturers but paying $100 or more for very little shoe seems a bit unreasonable. Thoughts?

Hi

I'm a woman with extra wide feet. I have and love my Bikilas, which are the men's size 40. I was thinking of picking up another pair of VFF for the gym and possibily just regular shoes if I dare! My Bikilas are skin tight, and so I was thinking to maybe try the women's 41 size, but am worried they might be too narrow. Does anyone know how the men's and women's models differ? It is just length, or are the women's shoes narrower?

Thanks!

Niki

Hi all. 42-year-old male beginner in Philly area. I prefer trail-running, so I am REALLY excited to try the new Merrells in a month or so. Also looking forward to some (virtual) support as I learn more about this whole "running" thing, as I believe it is sometimes called.

I ran ~50 miles in these over the summer, mostly for 5k races. They're very lightweight and minimal, and offer a fair amount of ground feel. No insole, no arch support, no cusioning. You can roll the shoe into a ball easily. These are the Puma successor to the H-Street and K-Street, both of which were praised for their minimal characteristics when they were available.

Downsides: -Very little traction, so I would only use these for roads and very, very well manicured trails. -Narrow, and may run a 1/2 size small depending on your feet. -Wore out rather quickly on rough sidewalks.

Upsides: -Relatively inexpensive, especially if there's a sale. -Minimal, and the flexibility encourages a forefoot strike. -Breathable upper. -Heel to toe drop is very, very, low. Didn't have calipers, but AT MOST it's 4mm, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's zero drop entirely. -Shoes ride very low to the ground. -Stylish enough to wear as an everyday minimal shoe as well.

Zappos links: Men's: http://www.zappos.com/puma-street-kosmos-snorkel-blue-new-navy-white Women's: http://www.zappos.com/puma-street-kosmos-nm-wns-white-puma-silver-aquarius

Hi,

I'm Josh in Albany, CA (next to Berkeley). I've been a regular (though mostly lurking lately) on BFT's google group for a few years now. I transitioned slowly out of regular running shoes, going to NB MR790s for a while, then racing flats, and finally adding in KSOs. Started a while ago, and I've been running in VFFs exclusively now for a couple years, and I've never felt better. I was fortunate enough to not have any major issues prior to my transition. Just retired my shredded KSOs a couple months ago and switched to Bikilas, which I'm still on the fence about overall. I've enjoyed VFFs a lot, but I'm looking forward to some of the stuff coming out in spring.

Non running-wise, I usually switch between a pair of NB MT101s, Sanuk Sidewalk Surfers, and barefoot around the house.

Thanks!

Josh

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum and to being barefoot. I've looked over quite a few reviews and I'm very excited about eventually getting myself a pair. In the past I've tried to pick up jogging but always stop due to shins and my knee joints hurting. Hopefully going down a new path, barefoot, will change my views of jogging/running daily.

What I would like to know is what your favorite minimalist footwear is for walking around casually and for running. Looking forward to hearing from you!! Thanks.

I dipped my toes into minimalist and barefoot running late last spring, and have now worked up to a 90% ratio of minimalist miles to traditional. My stable of shoes consists of Brooks Switch 3 (2-4 runs/mo), VFF Bikila, Newton Motus, Brooks Mach 11 spikeless and Saucony Knvara. Because of current temps, I tend to use the shoes with thicker soles for winter runs, thus the Bikilas and Mach 11's are getting a break. I did some barefoot running last summer, and found that I was most comfortable on asphalt. I don't like the stones on the gravel country roads, and don't have enough groomed grass in the area to try that out. Getting weeds and such caught between my toes is not a fun experience. I have 2 sons running varsity CC. One has spent the last year in Green Silence (has gotten along great), and the 8th grader is impatiently waiting for New Balance's line to debut. His wide, short feet have made shoes a challenge, and he wasn't ready to make the jump to the other options this last summer. My 11 year old daughter loves her Injinji socks, and will probably continue to run in flip-flops all summer again. I look forward to what this forum has to offer, and will share my experiences when appropriate.

Hi, I'm Jon and I live in north Jersey. I've been running barefoot/minimalist for about a year now. I own a pair of VFF Sprints and Trek Sports, and a pair of Luna Sandals that I won while participating in the 1st Annual NYC Barefoot Run this past October. I just received a pair of O'Neill Reef Boots after they were suggested for winter running in a post over at BirthdayShoes.com. Can't wait to try them out and perhaps will post a review of them here if anyone's interested. Look forward to referring to this site for the latest in all things minimalist shoes!