UKC

so do you run in five fingers , are they any good . is it just a novelty and something different to do in your day to day training or a valid form of running this barefoot thing.
the reason i ask is that i have met several people that have been very pro five fingers but not actually particularly good runners in their own right and also they seemed a little strange,somehow desperate to justify this form of running.
should i try it?

In reply to cabbagepuller: Some reckon they are great. A guy recently ran around 2:45 in Edinburgh marathon wearing them...

However he had splits of something like 1:10 and 1:35... so his legs were battered...

Personally they are a nice idea but I wouldn't. A typical fell shoe or racing flat is essentially bare foot technology anyway.

In reply to cabbagepuller:
i have tried a racing flat and it made me go slower not faster and was generally a disapointment.
i am very heavy for a runner (90 kilos) so i guess i will stick to a more padded shoe (nike lunar glide)
probably poor running technique doesn't help either

In reply to cabbagepuller: Speed wise I don't think racing flats will make a difference until you are well under 40 min for 10k..

In reply to cabbagepuller:
That's me out then as i'm only dreaming of 40 mins for 10k.
42.30 is my best time although i've never done a proper flat one.

In reply to cabbagepuller:

I've run in them for almost a couple of years now. I bought a pair just to try it out after reading Born to Run, which struck a chord with me. I liked running in them straight from the off, but it took a while for it to feel 'right'. They have helped me develop my stride from a heel strike to a mid-foot strike, as well as strengthening my foot muscles.

However, I also realise they won't be for everyone. I have wide forefoot and quite shallow feet, so they fit me better than a lot of typical running shoes. I also wouldn't recommend them for any off-road running.

If you are thinking of trying it, I'd recommend you start off with the KSOs. Although they have the thinnest soles, the fact that they're smooth means you're less likely to develop blisters from the tread which can happen with other models (I speak from experience).

In reply to cabbagepuller:

I got a pair a couple of months ago, Bikila's. I've been having problems with my stride and found they helped enormously. They give great feedback from the road, are extremely light and are just a great running experience.

HOWEVER...

You must gradually build up the mileage in them. I've just spent a week off running. In fact barely able to walk for a couple of days due to a tendon or ligament strain in my foot that happened while running in them. I hadn't used them for a couple of weeks, then went out and did 10 miles. A week later I went out to do the same thing and from the start my foot started hurting and got worse and worse.

That aside I still love them and can't wait to use them again. Though I'll go back to square 1 and just do one short run in them a week and build up from there. I'm happy to recommend them.

In reply to cabbagepuller:

I bought some a while ago falling for all the marketing hype. I have now concluded they are only useful as part of a gorilla costume.

In reply to cabbagepuller:

That's the point, tbh. Barefoot running 'forces' you into a more 'low impact' running technique. The idea is that it's all the padding that allows the body to run with poor technique.

Take the padding away, and you will instinctively run with better form. You'll need to take it fairly steady, at first, to allow your body some adjustment, so you'll ache a bit.

Five fingers aren't the only option out there- I like my Merrell Trail Gloves, which also look a bit more normal than my fivefingers, and my missus is running in New Balance MT10's which she loves. The MT10's have a small amount of heel raise, so some believe they're better for 'beginners' to barefoot runnig.

In reply to Ander: My gf has done a lot of research into the barefoot philosophy and tried quite a few of the shoes. Her general finding is that the arguments for barefoot make a lot of sense, but that fivefingers are not a necessarily the best shoe. They have loads of seams and bulky bits of material between your toes which tend to cause blistering. Something more -sock-like such as the ZEM Gear Ninja looks to be a better bet.

In reply to cabbagepuller:

As above, really. I've been using them for a couple of years, and really like them for 'fun' runs because they're so light and unobtrusive. But for longer distances, or trying to go as fast as possible, I'd prefer to wear a more fulsome shoe.
Generally, I'd say they're most useful as an supplement to running training by more conventional methods, rather than an outright replacement. Not really better or worse, particularly, just 'different'.
They're also nice as a shoe for general wear, mind. You don't have to run in them if you're not keen on the feeling.

And remember, being all righteous and superior comes naturally when you've just shelled out £££s on footwear that doesn't really look like it should cost as much as it does and everyone thinks is silly. You just have to suppress the worst excesses and take quiet comfort in your rippling calf muscles.

In reply to 1andrew1:

And there is the issue.

People claim that running barefoot reduces injuries. But what reduces injuries is building up slowly.

If you go too far, too quick, too fast then something will break and it doesn't matter what is on your feet.

In reply to cabbagepuller:

My boyfriend was given a pair by his sister. She swears by them and runs in them a lot. He seems to have never really got round to putting in the effort to build up slowly into using them - but has done lots of running in a pair of race flats, which he feels has worked for him.

When he did the Glasgow to Edinburgh double marathon, there was a guy who did it in them, in a respectable time.

In reply to cabbagepuller:

I bought a pair of Bikila's about a year ago as I fancied trying barefoot running and seeing what the fuss was about. They are really light and grippy and give very high feedback levels from the road or terrain.

I have used mine on both tarmac and off road and they have been very comfortable, however i found the distances i could run immediately were much shorter than my usual shoes. This issue however, does reduce with time and I can now run just as far in my fivefingers as any other shoe.

I enjoy using my fivefingers and would hapily recommend them to any runner looking to go barefoot, but I would add that you really need to try them on as the toes are a particular fit and I ended up going a size below my normal shoe size.

Hope this helps

In reply to cabbagepuller:

I have run in vibrams, but much prefer fell shoes. I think they are a bit of a gimmick - if your want to learn proper technique, find somewhere to run barefoot on grass and save the 100+ quid for a couple of pairs of grippy offroaders.

I found with Vibrams that having something between your foot and the ground just made your brain think it had shoes on, so technique didn't change much for me. I think it might be different if you heel strike and try them on tarmac!

As others have mentioned, if you are used to well-cushioned shoes the transition takes a long time or results in stress injuries.

In reply to Eric the Red:

Yeah you're right. But a crap running style, which I had, also gives injuries whether you build up slowly or not. Minimalist shoes help to improve that when used properly. At least that is in my experience.

In reply to cabbagepuller:
thanks for all the replies,in the short term i think that i will stick to my cushioned shoes as i'm just interested in setting some pb's over the next few months and staying injury free but in ther future i think i will give some form of "barefoot" shoe a go and see what happens.
cheers everyone