“You gonna run this whole race in those?” -A concerned fellow runner at the starting line of the Chilly Half Marathon
I do not run in conventional running shoes. My shoe of choice is the Vibram Five Finger, currently the KSO (stands for Keep Stuff Out). I have been running in the Vibrams (sometimes called VFF’s) exclusively now for almost five months. My old Asics and New Balance running shoes have been relegated to the back of the closet, pulled out only when I have to do yard work, which my wife will attest is not that often. Why do I choose to run in these funny little excuses of shoes? These “foot gloves”?
Back in March when I was still running in regular running shoes, I was just finishing up a treadmill run when I decided to end with an uphill climb. I pushed the elevation up to about 5 or 6 degrees and within about 5 seconds I felt a pop and a sharp pain behind my right knee. I immediately lowered the incline back to zero and tried to continue running. I lasted about 5 or 6 steps and was forced to stop. It was my first real running injury. I had read that every runner eventually suffers a setback, but I had convinced myself that it wasn’t going to happen to me. I tried to shake it off and run the next day, but I couldn’t get more than 100 feet. I thought about running through the pain, but I knew that this wasn’t one of those injuries. I had run through some foot and ankle pain early on in my rediscovery of running, but I knew that pain was merely my body acclimating itself to the idea of running. This was different. Something had popped. I took about 10 days off but was back at it in relatively short order. I didn’t want to take too much time off because I was training to run the Run To Remember Half Marathon on Memorial Day Weekend. Still, every time I’d hit close to 35-40 miles in a week, my knee would ache to the point of causing me to limp noticeably. Something wasn’t right.
I went to the doctor who asked my why I was running. I thought that was kind of a funny question coming from a doctor, but I went on to list the various health benefits of running, both physical and mental. I also mentioned that I was training for a half marathon. She looked at me with a funny look and then said, “you know, we’re not made to run like that.” I nodded and said nothing. “Your gonna run this thing anyway aren’t you?” Again, I nodded and said nothing. She decided to send me to a specialist to figure out what was wrong with the knee and get me back on track. One specialist, an MRI and a lot of poking and prodding later, I was told to switch to rowing. When I said I had signed up for road races not rowing races he told me to stretch three times a day every day and if anything happened while I was running the race to stop.
I paid how much for that advice?
I cut down on my miles in the weeks leading up to the race to avoid the soreness and the race came and went. I was pretty happy with my time (1:40:47).
It was around this time that I set my eyes on the marathon. I started to think that maybe, just maybe, I could qualify for the Boston Marathon. My time in the half was nowhere near good enough, but quite honestly I hadn’t followed any kind of training program. If I stuck to a schedule I was pretty sure that I could get it done. I poked around online looking for various programs. Every one I looked at made me groan. They all gradually built to at least 35-40 miles a week. It was also around this time that my good friend Mike told me about some funny shoes he was wearing every once in a while when he went running. He told me their name. The Vibram Five Finger shoe. Sounded almost dirty. I looked at them online thinking he was crazy.
A couple of weeks later he suggested that I read a new book that had recently come out called Born To Run by Christopher McDougall. I used to be a reader. But with the arrival of kids and the variety of things that kept me busy, I had stopped reading books for what seemed like ages. But this book was about running, my new found passion. We were going away on a short vacation soon and I would need something to read by the pool. I started reading it a few days before we left and couldn’t put it down. By the time I plopped myself down by the pool I was nearly done with it. The story itself was fascinating, but it was one particular character and a section on the science of why we run that grabbed my attention.
According to McDougall, the science behind why we run is that we evolved that way. Boiled down to its simplest terms, early man did not have the strength, speed or natural weapons to be able to kill its meal. What he developed was endurance. He would essentially run his prey to death. Running in a pack, he would jog after his target, which would sprint away and rest. He and the rest of the runners would simply keep jogging after it. The cycle would continue over several hours (about the time it takes us to run a marathon) until the prey would collapse from exhaustion. At that point, he would jog up to the collapsed animal and kill it with ease. This way of tracking and eventually killing an animal is called persistence hunting. The hunts could last 20, 30, 40 miles, but inevitably, man would get his prey (and therefore a well deserved dinner). There were no running shoes back in the day. These early humans ran on the shoes nature had given them…their feet. Which brings me to Barefoot Ted.
Barefoot Ted was one of the more entertaining characters in Born To Run. The short story is that after years of running in pain and spending more and more money on more and more expensive shoes (I think his last pair had springs on the bottom), he finally got so fed up that in the middle of a run, he took his shoes off in disgust and ran home barefoot. Halfway through his run home he realized something. He was no longer running with pain. He has essentially run barefoot ever since. Occasionally when the terrain gets rough, he will slip on a pair of Vibram Five Fingers.
When I read that, I thought, “maybe Mike’s on to something.” As soon as I got back from our short vacation I went out and bought a pair of the VFF Sprints. That night I hopped on the treadmill and ran three miles in them.
It was one of the most painful things I had ever done. My shins hurt. My calves hurt. My ankles hurt. All that hurt was nothing compared to the next day when I could hardly walk. I called my buddy Mike and he laughed.
“Of course you hurt! You’re using muscles, ligaments and tendons that you haven’t used since you were a kid running around barefoot! You’re not supposed to run more than a mile the first time. It’s like learning to run again.” Gee, thanks. Nobody gave me a copy of the manual. I put the VFF’s away for a couple of weeks. I kept running in my regular shoes and the knee pain persisted. Finally I tried the Vibrams again. This time I ran easy. I did about 3 or 4 miles, but I did them slowly. They felt great. Over the next couple of weeks I built up to about 6 miles per run. I realized that my knee pain was essentially gone. Now, I won’t lie to you and say my knee was completely better. Every once in a while, if I stood just so, it would hurt. But for the most part, the pain was gone. I decided to follow in the steps of our ancestors, Barefoot Ted and my buddy Mike and go barefoot style completely.
When my marathon training reached its peak, my knee was fine. It would bother me a little now and again, but never to the extent that it had before. I am convinced it is because of the shoes.
Now there was a downside to switching to the VFF’s and not giving the transition its proper due. From everything I have read since one should take several months to transition permanently to the Vibrams.
I took two weeks.
I did not give the tendons in my feet ample time to strengthen. On the morning after what was supposed to be my second to last long run (a 19 miler), I woke up with a pain on the top of my right foot. I was afraid I had suffered a stress fracture. My doctor was convinced of the same and said I needed to take 6 – 8 weeks off. No running.
“But I have a marathon in 4 weeks!”
“Uh, no, you don’t. You need to take 6 – 8 weeks off”
“I’ll give you 2.”
“You’re going to run this marathon no matter what I say aren’t you?”
I nodded. I had spent the bulk of the summer training. I didn’t want to do all that training for nothing. She called me an idiot and told me to lay off for the two weeks and then get back into it slowly. I met her halfway by finding another marathon that took place two weeks later (Manchester). I took four weeks off and then eased back into the final two weeks.
Even after the grueling run at Manchester, the pain in my right foot has not returned. I am now convinced that it was tendinitis caused by my overly rapid transition into the VFF’s. From what I understand, wearing the Vibrams allows a certain amount of toeing off that you wouldn’t be able to do barefoot. This has been known to cause some tendon pain on the top of the foot in those who don’t take the time to transition properly (like me). All that said, almost 3 weeks later, I am running pain free and I am convinced that I am going to stay that way. I don’t foresee myself ever going back to regular running shoes.
If you are thinking about switching to the Vibrams, I would strongly suggest that you do it slowly. Maybe even find a transition shoe like the new Nike Free’s or the Biom running shoes to act as a bridge. Your feet will thank you. If you still think people are crazy to be running in these shoes, I would ask you to consider this. For millions of years we have run either barefoot or with thin sandals on our feet. Even up until the 1970’s we were essentially running in shoes that offered very little support or cushion.
Our feet were strong and sensitive – able to relay information quickly to the brain and allow us to adjust our footfalls rapidly. The modern running shoe has essentially taken them out of the equation by wrapping them up in a protective cocoon. Our feet have given up their job to all the cushioning and support supplied by the cozy blanket wrapped around them. They have fallen asleep…they’ve become soft.
You want to run like you did when you were a kid? Like you didn’t care about anything other than the wind in your hair and the laughter in the air? Wake your feet up. Vibrams are the vehicle to get you back to the joy of running…just do it slowly. No one, not even your feet like to be jarred awake!
All you need to do is send me a paragraph or two telling me why you run and/ or why you think others should run. E-mail it to me at “runluaurun at gmail dot com” (written out so the bots don’t start sending me spam).
If you can, please include a picture of your favorite running shoes and tell me what kind of shoes they are. Also, please let me know how you would like to be referenced (real name, nickname, pseudonym, etc) just in case this project actually ever sees the light of day.
The more responses I get, the sooner I can put it all together, so please don’t be shy about forwarding this to your running friends and spreading the word.
Thanks!
Luau
I love my VFFs, and next year it looks like there will be whole host of other minimalist options out there (new Vibram models, Skora, plenty of others). It’s going to be tough being shod for the winter, but I do find that my form is better even in shoes now. I think when I’m forced to do the treadmill, I’ll get to go back to VFFs.
By the way, when I was looking at that picture of you at the Chilly Half waving to the girls (and the picture after that too), your form definitely looks different than it did at the Run to Forget, I mean, Remember.
yeah, well – they still look really funny.
Interesting. I guess I should count my blessings for not having experienced any running-related injuries so far. While I don’t particularly agree with the notion that anything our ancestors did was “right” for our bodies, I would be very curious to try on the VFFs.
Well those are pretty darned cute! I’d never seen them before. Congrats on all your running success!
They’re on my Xmas list…
Great post, thanks for sharing your experience and insights. Are you going to BQ in your VFF?? 😉
That’s my plan…though my next attempt is probably going to be Hyannis in February…just a little on the cold side…might have to try out the new VFF Treks!
Santa is supposed to put a pair of VFF Sprints in my stocking this year. I have heard that Vibram is going to start making Treks for women in about March 2010 due to women signing a petition for them!
Where do I find some instructions on how to go from regular running shoes to VFFs slowly? I don’t want to risk the pain that others have gone thru from doing it too fast!!
I received this note from Vibrams when I first inquired about the shoe:
“I would like to stress the importance of taking your time when transitioning into FiveFingers. Our products will use muscles and tendons in your toes, feet, and lower legs you either did not use before or just to a lesser extent. For this reason it is crucial to allow your body plenty of time to acclimate to your new footwear. We recommend a break in period, for example: wearing FiveFingers around the house/office, then outdoors, and finally a gradual transition into your normal exercise routine. You will need to listen to your body during this process and remember that going out too far, too fast, or too early can lead to injury.”
My best recommendation is to listen to your legs, but take it slow. Don’t be afraid to walk before you run.
Luau
Thanks so much! Basically its listen to your body/legs and take it slow and easy! I can’t wait and I know it will be hard to hold back at first but I will keep reminding myself to “go slow”………..
Thanks and I love your blog,
Janice/GA
Ive had similar sorts of issues with the VFFs. I developed an achilles tendonopathy. Its hard to transition, but in the long run i have much better running economy and enjoy it much more!
I’ve thought about trying these shoes, and I spend a lot of time barefoot already (but not for running). I advise caution when trying some change this huge. My concern is that, as with many fashionable trends, the idea and the logic are good, but the reality may not be the same. All of the reading I’ve done makes the assertions about the evolution of how humans naturally run. The problem I see is that no one is discussing the fact that the people who got injured, or didn’t run, died, and didn’t “report back to us” that running barefoot is not as great as their more successful friends thought. Our life expectancy is a lot longer than some dudes in Africa several hundred years ago, and our body takes a lot of abuse over those years. Science may show that the protection of some shoes might just be a good idea if we want to keep running beyond our thirties.
The evidence in favour of barefoot running is mainly anecdotal, so far. I’d like some science to back it up, and to tell me how to do it safely, before I start.
I have enjoyed reading this article and plan on trying to make this transition as I have always enjoyed running barefoot much more that with shoes. However, I see a number of pitfalls in some of the arguments for these shoes that would be worth a comment or two from someone who is and avid runner and has used different types of shoes, including these.
A lot of the arguments in the article are based on the history of man, and that we were built for endurance. However, when hunting, man did not run on roads or hard pack surfaces but across grasslands that provided a natural cushion. Roads are flat and hard and so shoes are now designed to protect against this hard impact on these flat surfaces, where as grasslands are not. While running in the grasslands with each step you need to adapt your foot placement and as you do so the ground below you gives to adapt to the pressure of you foot. Although the premise of running may be the same, how do you equate using some technology, running on roads and treadmills to aid your running, while neglecting others, using high tech shoes made for these urban conditions?
Although I am no expert, one reason could be that these shoe help you to develop more muscles in your feet and joints, this is one of the reasons why the transition takes time, and these new muscles can better bare the strain of running on these surfaces. Another reason could be that everyones feet are quite different and due to this shoe companies try to generalize foot types to produce shoes for everyone. In contradiction to this the VFF shapes to the contours of your foot letting the shoe adapt better to the user creating a more personalized shoe that lets a persons foot resist the impact as only their foot was design to do.
Thanks for the article,
Bryce
Humans ran for millions of years on the ground, not on paved roads and definitely not on treadmills. Additionally, running on a treadmill has different biomechanics than running overground. Sell your treadmill. Use that money to buy some gear for the rain and snow. Run on trails.
It seems that the only benefit of VVFs is injury prevention. And if you were not able to run in real shoes by all means try VVFs! But I see VVFs more as a supplement to your running routine. I think it would be interesting to measure the recovery time after running in real shoes compared to VVFs. If you recover faster in VVFs you can have harder longer workouts. This is what would separate it from all the other fad products.
But honesty, I do think it is a fad and you do look like a tool wearing them.
Obviously, VVF = VFF.
Your doctor needs to read the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall, and so should all of you.
I love my Five Fingers. I hope that minimalist running doesn’t become a fad for I feel that that would de-credit it.
It’s funny, I have the same pair that you have pictured above. I love my VFF’s! I actually wore them on a trip to Cedar Point this year and people nearly ran into things looking at my feet. I ran into one other person wearing the KSO’s (all black, they look like gorilla feet!), we bonded over our shoes. My friends think I’m crazy, my boss thinks that they are gross, but I wouldn’t run in anything else!
Jen – thanks for the visit and comment. Yeah, I absolutely love ’em. Truth is, they do look funny, but I don’t see myself ever running outside in anything else…at least as long as the snow’s not too deep.
I’m throwing my name on the “best thing i ever did for my knees” list here- if anyone’s doubting how amazing these shoes are, get a pair, you will not be let down. i can’t wait to get a pair of the bikila!
I live up in Canada and my local running store “Runners Soul” is the only one in town that carries the FiveFinger shoes and they can’t seem to keep them on the shelves. I finally tried on a pair and they were a little to small and unfortunately didn’t have any bigger size. So I took a chance and just ordered the next size up online and hoped they fit.
WOW they are awesome. I can’t wait to see how they hold up to the SNOW!!!!
Which pair did you go with?
eh, your doctor was right, humans are built to sprint and walk, long slow paced running like that of a marathon is unnatural.
just saying 😉
I’m going to throw my two cents in here. After 17 years in
the military wearing boots almost every day my feet, ankles and
knees were pretty messed up. In my time in service I broke both
ankles and each foot numerous times. I am only 38 years old but due
to the pain in my right foot and knee I often walked with the limp
of a man twice my age. A friend of mine (a fellow vet) showed up at
a picnic wearing some VFF’s. First I made fun of him but his
conviction was so strong I decided to do a little research. The
more I learned the more I liked the VFF’s. And when my podiatrist
informed me that I’d need to buy all new shoes to be able to wear
the custom inserts she prescribed, I decided I’d rather buy one
pair of funny looking shoes and see how that worked out first,
before replacing every other pair of shoes I own. Little did I know
that my VFF KSO Treks would literally end up replacing all of my
other shoes. I thought it would be a hard transition as I don’t
even wear sandals because I don’t like the feeling of the thing
between my toes. But after wearing the VFF’s for five minutes I
didn’t even notice it anymore. I didn’t do any type of break-in
with them but then again I hadn’t run in years so I just walked
everywhere in them all day. After a couple of weeks I decided to
actually run with my dogs instead of walking and much to my
surprise (and theirs) I was actually able to run until I was tired.
This was a vast improvement from my usual which was more often a
contest to see which body part would hurt me first. I explain to
people who ask about them every day on the street, I’ve never been
a fashion king but my VFFs are the first shoes I have ever
recommended. If you have any type of knee or foot pain, try a pair,
heck Sports Chalet (where I bought mine) has a 30day return policy,
so if you don’t feel the difference take them back. I doubt you’ll
make that move. Just be ready to answer questions from random
strangers, because even though the KSO Treks are all black and are
without question the most inconspicuous model of VFF’s I’ve seen
they still get noticed, and people will talk to you about them. But
hey it’s all good maybe you’ll make a new friend, I know I
have.
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I have tried running many times over the years but could not run without back pain. I got some of the Vibram shoes and tried it one more time and I found that I now can run without pain. These shoes are great for me!