Minimalist running shoes

Okay, so I'm in pretty good shape for an old guy these days. Most of my mileage is on bicycle. But I'm intrigued by these so-called minimalist running shoes. I know some of you cutting-edge guys have tried 'em out and I hope to benefit from your knowledge.

If I was to actually do any running in them, it would likely be on roads. I ran track and cross-country in high school, but that was deep in the last century. My knee will typically ache after a few miles to let me know I'm overdoing it.

The Vibram five fingers look pretty crazy. How are they? Will they make me gay?

I love New Balance shoes. Anyone have experience with the Minimus product?

What about Merrell? They seem to have a pretty broad product line in this type of shoe.

In general, I'm concerned with the longevity of these shoes. Nothing would tick me off worse than paying a high price for a trendy, cheaply made product, and having them fall apart in a month.

I can't comment on the ultra-minimalist shoes myself. But I am an older guy who started running late. Hurt myself quite a bit, and have learned a few things.

I started with the big clunky running shoes. They create a lousy form, promoting heel strike in particular. Going with a much simpler shoe lets me land on the balls of my feet. I can also feel the ground better. The more narrow sole lets my ankle work normally on uneven ground, without the wrenching leverage that those stupid wide heels cause. Walmart, of all places, sells several cheap, minimalist(ish) running shoes that last for forever.

If I run on the track, I go faster, and tend to hurt more. Run cross county, especially in the grass and through the woods, I'm much slower, and don't get injured nearly as much. On a track, it's very easy for me to get into rut and do dumb things like lock my knees or such. Then I just pound the joint relentlessly. Cross country, it's constantly changing, and no footfall is like the next. It keeps my body limber and active, and rather pain and injury free. Even when I trip.

PS. Several of the fitness freaks at the Y were wearing Vibram toe shoes about a year or more ago. I haven't seen any of them wearing them in quite a few months.

I'm a fatty trying to become an ex-fatty. I recently went shoe shopping. My wife swears by New Balance shoes (she walks for a living so good shoes are important). I tried to some of the New balance super light things, I was stunned, they weighed nearly nothing, but as usual fo rme they just weren't a comfortable fit. I tried on all sorts of shoes, and came back to what I always end up with Asic's, they were heavier but just fit like a glove. I think being comfortable has to be more important than saving a couple of ounces.

I've got a set of Vibran 5 finger shoes.

Build wise, they are totally awesome. Top notch- I've met a few people who only run in them, and they last a LOT longer than normal shoes. The sole is very durable, and since there's no padding to crush, well, that doesn't really wear, too. The change in gait will also help wear- if you shuffle your feet at all, the blisters will stop you from doing that way before the shoes wear out.

It takes some time to get used to running in them- like start with a mile, increase that a little, etc. After while, you'll be ok.

If you are worried about your look, I would suggest stop running- we all look like dorks. The shoes are the least of your worries.

That all being said- I do NOT run in them anymore. I've been battling pain in my foot for three years- year one thought it was a Nuroma, year two- I stepped on a traffic buldge in the Vibram, which I had though was the cause of a stress reaction. Then last year, I actually got a stress fracture.

But not because of the shoes- my step starts on the outside of the foot, and the slaps down toward the inside. The slap is violent enough to hurt me. So it was suggested that I not run in unpadded shoes until I can get that worked out. I had gone to the Vibram orignally to work out foot strength, and stop the neuroma- but in the end, that wasn't the problem. If I had a knee problem, I would totally rock Vibram or any other minimal shoe, to make sure I mid food strike (it works for me- the foot problem is a heck of a lot easier to deal with than knee problems- the foot stuff doesn't pop up anymore until I'm in the 15-18 mile long runs)

I keep trying to get some NB Minimus, and see what they are like- but everytime I'm at the store, they don't have them in my size (the only time they did- one week after the stress fracture... oops).

One other thing- Vibrams are about $20 cheaper than a typical running shoe, $40 cheaper than the "high tech" ones.

Hope that helps.

My wife doesn't run, but had some problems with her feet. She started using the glove-shoe things and has not complained about foot pain since.

The one exception to this is if she steps on a pointy rock or Lego brick or something. The soles of the finger shoes are thin enough that it'll still hurt quite a bit apparently.

I switched to Merrell Trail Gloves as my every day shoe last year after reading "Born to Run." Good book, BTW, with a bit of history about how the current heel-strike-inducing shoes came about. Up until then, I had increasingly bad shin splints and plantar fascitis that got to the point where I could barely walk, and running was out of the question. More expensive "support" running shoes and $300 orthotics only made things worse. Once I switched to the Trail Gloves, the shin splints were gone in a week and the fascitis was gone in 3 weeks. I haven't had any problems, since, and my knee problems have cleared up, too. I was up to almost 20 miles/week before I had to take several months off this summer because I broke my foot, but that was because of a dumb-ass in a minivan+cell phone and not due to the shoes.

I'm now running with Merrell Road Gloves, which have just a tiny bit of padding, but it makes a big difference when running on streets or sidewalks. Both the Road & Trail Gloves have tough soles, and you can feel the gravel and rocks, but they give you a little more protection than the VFFs. The Merrells are like having massive calluses on the bottoms of your feet.

The biggest thing with the minimalist shoes is they're not jacked up in the back like other running shoes, and they usually don't have any arch support. These shoes change your running form back to the way it evolved to be, so you have to start out carefully and get used to it. You can totally destroy your feet if you go too much too soon, because your arches are used to being supported and you'll still tend to want to heel strike at first. You'll also find your calf musces will be pretty sore at first.

HTH.

I switched to lightweight shoes about a year and a half ago.

You'll run "lighter", you'll go faster, and they won't "Cadillac" away all your road feel so you won't fall anywhere near as often.

The V5s are great. My "Bikilas" have 500 miles on them or so, which is about when you'd throw out a conventional pair of shoes, and aside from some wear on the tread fit and run the same as new. I expect around 1500 miles out of them.

There are tons of other options now. The cheapest way to go lightweight is to get some cross-country or distance racing flats and run in those. I got my flats freshman year and raced in them till I was a senior. Everyone said they only lasted a hundred miles or so; but I put over 500 on them, making them cheaper per mile than my training shoes. I still keep them for ice because they've got spike holes.

Check out the Saucony Hattori - as minimal and light as any shoe gets - but they only last 300 miles or so. The New Balance Ionix 3090 is great; it feels and laces up like a conventional shoe but flexes well.

I saw a guy using those things as driving shoes. I don't know how you can berking stand to have all that material between your toes. It would make me insane.

Don't run on pavement. It aint natural.

Focus on time/distance, not on "how hard it hurts". I know lots people who tried getting back into running/riding and injured themselves because they pushed too hard. You'll get faster over time, and your distances will get longer.

Another thing I've noticed, at least about myself, is that my goal has to be something physical. I'll go out to the local 1000 acre park and say "i want to go here on the map and back before dark". I run, hike, climb, jump, rest...... and do it all again on the way back from destination. When I say "i'm going to run for 45 minutes..." I get bored quick.

I switched from standard shoes to racing flats, couldn't go all the way to minimalist. The flats are light and about the same height from heel to toe. They also don't provide much support so are a compromise. I read about some research that's finding that people are getting injured on minimalist shoes because they aren't changing their gait, so if you go the minimalist route you need to be aware of how your feet are hitting the ground.

EDIT: I should have added that the flats are supposed to be good for about 300 miles.

Funny to hear about racing flats. I have a pair of these that I never wore much. They are near mint condition in the original box. I wonder if they're worth anything.

http://www.arkamix.com/vintage-nike/running/nike-marathon-1972

PHeller wrote: Don't run on pavement. It aint natural. Focus on time/distance, not on "how hard it hurts". I know lots people who tried getting back into running/riding and injured themselves because they pushed too hard. You'll get faster over time, and your distances will get longer. Another thing I've noticed, at least about myself, is that my goal has to be something physical. I'll go out to the local 1000 acre park and say "i want to go here on the map and back before dark". I run, hike, climb, jump, rest...... and do it all again on the way back from destination. When I say "i'm going to run for 45 minutes..." I get bored quick.

This is good advice - lately on weekends or when I have extra time I've been putting on my running gear and my backpack. Then I go to jog/walk/jog/walk until I get "somewhere" on the map. It is never boring. I could do it all day long if I didn't have other E36 M3 to do. The only downside is that it takes too much time. Minimum of 2-3hrs. It's lunch time right now and I've only got an hour. I'm just going to run 6 miles on blacktop in a loop, shower and get back to work. I'll hate it the whole way around but... paying forward the Chimay Blue sitting in the fridge is essential :)

I'd stay away from the 5 "finger" shoes. There's a running shoe store near my work, apparently it's highly recommended by the local running community. I went there a while back when I was training for a half marathon. I asked about those things and didn't get good feedback. I very rarely see them in the 5k runs I've done. I wound up with a pair of Saucony, I forget which model, and I was very happy with them.

Like other said, don't push it getting back into it. Take it slow. When I started running again about 5 years ago, I walked the whole time and ran for 30 seconds. I built it up slowly over time. And I've got all kinds of joint issues myself. Had surgery on both knees 17 or 18 years ago. But if you do it right, with a doctors' supervision, you'll be surprised what you can do. I actually have less knee trouble now then when I started running.

I like my Vibrham Five fingers thank you very much. My back problem is now gone.

What's your gait like? As others have alluded to, you absolutely cannot heel strike in Five Fingers. You'll kill yourself.

I've been a massive heel striker for years. I built very slowly into my Five Fingers, but I just couldn't maintain the necessary mid/forefoot strike. After a few weeks with them, I ran a full mile for the first time and almost immediately pulled up with sharp pain in my metatarsals. Done.

Where I did have success is with minimal-drop shoes (Brooks Pure Flow in my case). These shoes have a 4mm drop from the heel to the toe, much less than the 10+ you get in normal running shoes. They're fiendishly light, yet well cushioned. With these things on my feet, I was able to nail the midfoot strike immediately and consistently. My calves still kill after a good run, but I'm nailing the technique and feeling better about my runs.

Wearing these things after normal shoes, I almost feel like my heel is lower than my toes. It's odd, but it works. There are some zero drop shoes out there, but none fit me.

If you're not a natural midfoot/forefoot striker, you might try a low/zero drop shoe with some padding to get the technique down before moving to the Vibrams...

I've just started running again (usually 2.5 miles, but up to 4 miles if I have the time) and now I have to google this heel striking thing.

I wear cross terrain new balance shoes, because that is what I have.

Flight Service wrote: I like my Vibrham Five fingers thank you very much. My back problem is now gone, replaced by horrible foot and ankle problems.

FTFY.

Klayfish wrote:

Flight Service wrote: I like my Vibrham Five fingers thank you very much. My back problem is now gone, replaced by horrible foot and ankle problems.

FTFY.

I hear people who claim that, but in the time I ran in my 5 Fingers, I never had a foot or ankle problem outside of blisters. If not for my foot slapping gait, I would still run in them.

Nike Free Run 2:

They are ridiculously light and flexible, and as a bonus, they don't look ridiculous. Had these for about a year with great results. My dad even borrowed them for a couple running sessions and really liked then too. They just came out with the Free Run 3 model recently, but I haven't had a chance to try them out yet.

Klayfish wrote:

Flight Service wrote: I like my Vibrham Five fingers thank you very much. My back problem is now gone, replaced by horrible foot and ankle problems.

FTFY.

No I am serious. I hurt my back and always got shin splints when running track back in the day.

The first 3 hours I wore them my feet just ached to no end, but now I walk all over the Big Easy in them and have no discomfort issues what so ever. My back, legs, feet, ankles, knees, and shins all feel fine.

barrowcadbury wrote: Nike Free Run 2: They are ridiculously light and flexible, and as a bonus, they look like Justin Bieber designed them!. Had these for about a year with great results. My dad even borrowed them for a couple running sessions and really liked then too. They just came out with the Free Run 3 model recently, but I haven't had a chance to try them out yet.

FTFY

I have a set of Five Fingers. I mainly bought them so I didn't need to bring two pairs of shoes on the days I lift and run. They worked well for my really flat feet.

That said I had to stop using them because in my area they're associated with the Crossfit retards. When my Sambas wear out, I'm purchasing the Minimus; same utility, no Crossfittery.

If you're a size 44 ( I think; I'll check) in them and don't mind the idea of used toe-shoes, I'll give you mine.

I've been running in Vibram Five Fingers for over 3 years now, they're great.

I also have a pair of Merrell Trail Gloves for running and hiking rocky stuff, they are great shoes too if you're not in to the toe thing.

Osterkraut wrote: If you're a size 44 ( I think; I'll check) in them and don't mind the idea of used toe-shoes, I'll give you mine.

I would be interested if the OP isn't.

e_pie wrote: I've been running in Vibram Five Fingers for over 3 years now, they're great. I also have a pair of Merrell Trail Gloves for running and hiking rocky stuff, they are great shoes too if you're not in to the toe thing.

If you don't mind me asking... how much do you weigh?

The people I see running in them fall into the 140lb man and 100lb woman category... (read: people I can trust because I can throw them pretty damn far). I wonder how many people in the 190lb - 200lb range can run 30 miles a week in those.