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The Great Barefoot Running Hysteria of 2010

runningshoescore.com

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Re: The Great Barefoot Running Hysteria of 2010

#11

Post by virtualritz »

I bought a pair of the original Vibram Five Fingers while living in London, 2007/2008. It was more out of curiosity than anything. They were displayed in a shop window in Spitalfields and looked bizarre in an appealing way.

I was never a runner/jogger. But I do walk a lot. Especially in summer. For example, if something is 20 walking minutes away and public transport takes 15, I walk.

I wore the Five Fingers all summer, every summer, ever after.

I never had any sore feet when wearing these. And what's more, I have exceptionally strong feet and I attribute it to these shoes. I only found this out when I started tango dancing and several of my teachers told me.

My first pair from London disintegrated, a decade later, in 2017.

Every pair of five fingers I bought after that lasted a maximum of two years.

As such they're both an example of a great product as well as great example of enshittification.

Re: The Great Barefoot Running Hysteria of 2010

#12

Post by johnsmth »

If you were a red-blooded progressive maker-type of person in 2010, and you read Born to Run and didn't immediately go out and buy a pair of Vibram 5 Fingers, I really have to wonder if we're going to get along.

Never use the shoes anymore but that book has made me a healthier human for sure.

Re: The Great Barefoot Running Hysteria of 2010

#13

Post by soco »

ineedaj0b wrote: post #6

i started and ran a barefoot running club back then. it doesn't make your foot stronger. but you do learn to put up with pain. i did real no shoe barefoot running and pushed most people to try that. it did have an effect; no more twisted ankles. i got them quite often and never after 3 months of no shoes. there was a kid who eventually played d1 ball who joined because he had 'bad ankles' and still credits me for sol…

I argue that doing any sport would help with the bad ankles. For me it worked, for kid it worked, so I have two data points to offer. Of course if you have them and want to get into real performance sports you'll still need ankle support, but for the daily life this got us fixed.

Re: The Great Barefoot Running Hysteria of 2010

#14

Post by mrweasel »

flowingfocus wrote: post #9

Anecdotally, I see a lot of people wearing minimal shoes in their daily lives. But pretty much no minimal/barefoot runners anymore

I know a guy who has been no shoes for almost 20 years now. I think he does use the shoes with the toes when running, but in everyday life, he's just no shoes, no socks. The exception is situations where he's in a formal wear, in those cases he does put on shoes.

Most others who didn't the barefoot running have all quit.

Re: The Great Barefoot Running Hysteria of 2010

#15

Post by te_chris »

I wear nothing but minimal shoes day to day. I find them so much better. I used to have precision manufactured orthotics etc, then went to another podiatrist one day who had moved to specialise in barefoot. She basically said "your feet are fine, try these shoes out and see how it goes". It went great.

TBC on running, I have tight achilles and need to put in a lot of prep work to be able to run without pain so cbf. Day to day though, give vivobarefoot or something a shot - I have 7 pairs. They're great.

Re: The Great Barefoot Running Hysteria of 2010

#16

Post by subpixel »

ineedaj0b wrote: post #6

i started and ran a barefoot running club back then. it doesn't make your foot stronger. but you do learn to put up with pain. i did real no shoe barefoot running and pushed most people to try that. it did have an effect; no more twisted ankles. i got them quite often and never after 3 months of no shoes. there was a kid who eventually played d1 ball who joined because he had 'bad ankles' and still credits me for sol…

I was in a trail running club in that era and the organizer and a few others ran in flat Luna sandals. I will say that their form was beautiful - there’s no question in my mind that barefoot-inspired running produces a more natural locomotion.

But I tried it and it was a bust. A one mile run would lock my calf up, and that would set me back for weeks. I still have the Lunas and wear them on the boat.

Re: The Great Barefoot Running Hysteria of 2010

#17

Post by petemir »

Aldipower wrote: post #5

The article is not telling what happened after the hysteria. This movement settled and manifested to a "natural running" idea. We now have Altra, Topo Athletic, Hoka, Invo8 and others, offering shoes with more or less flat soles. Encouraging you to run with a natural running pose. This does not mean cushioning wouldn't be allowed.

To me, the last section of the article states exactly what happened after the hysteria.

Re: The Great Barefoot Running Hysteria of 2010

#18

Post by globular-toast »

My girlfriend at the time got into this. I didn't run but expressed interest in giving it a go, so I got a pair of lightweight running shoes and she instructed me how to run "properly" like dogs and other animals, that is on the balls of my feet and not on my heels.

I injured myself on my first run and couldn't walk for two weeks. I still don't really know what happened. Nothing obvious happened on the run; I didn't fall or twist anything and wasn't in pain during or after the run. But when I awoke the next day I couldn't stand. I was very fit at the time due to daily cycling both as transport and as a sport/hobby. So my theory is my "cycling muscles" were way stronger than my "running muscles" and something in the latter just gave.

This theory was corroborated by the fact that I could not walk at all during my two week recovery period, but I could still cycle. I was in pain most of the time. It's the only time in my life I've taken painkillers regularly. It actually seemed to be getting worse, then one day I woke up, the pain was gone, and I could walk again.

Suffice to say I've never tried running in this completely unnatural way again. I've run since and never injured myself again. I run the way my body tells me I should run.

Re: The Great Barefoot Running Hysteria of 2010

#19

Post by spacecadet »

Aldipower wrote: post #5

The article is not telling what happened after the hysteria. This movement settled and manifested to a "natural running" idea. We now have Altra, Topo Athletic, Hoka, Invo8 and others, offering shoes with more or less flat soles. Encouraging you to run with a natural running pose. This does not mean cushioning wouldn't be allowed.

This. Shoes are meaningless, pose, stride, biomechanical process.

Re: The Great Barefoot Running Hysteria of 2010

#20

Post by genghisjahn »

I read Born to Run and loved it. I never did the barefoot running thing. I just started running. That was four years ago. Weight is down. BP is down. A1C in the middle of normal. It’s done wonders.

There’s a passage in there about how humans have evolved to run that’s fascinating. Made me realize maybe we are naturals at running.

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