Question regarding 5 finger running shoes

youtube!

Hi ,

I am a 5-10 K runner on and off over the yrs and recently have got back into good habits and am building up again. I sometimes run barefoot in the park grass and never had any bad pain , however my normal running shoes are Asics which I get specially fitted for.

I am very curious about trying the 5 finger route as my asics are wearing out anyway and I might invest in a pair and go in a different direction so to speak.

My main issue though is I will not be able to wear them as much as I would like because as I work on a building site I am required to wear heavy duty boots full-time. Would it be a bad idea to change to running naturally and then having to wear the work-boots for my 40 hrs on site? Do you think I would be likely to injure my feet by changing footwear as is necessary ? Anybody out there have this conflict and if so what was your experience and outcome?

Thanks !
Thanks!

rom

https://www.runnersworld.com/newswire/vibram-settles-class-action-lawsuit

goalscoringhero

OP,

it's great to hear that you are interested in running more natural.

Whether you are thinking of running in VFFs, other zero drop shoes, huaraches, sandals or completely barefoot, the key is to build up distance slowly.

You are approaching it right by taking baby-steps in the grass (although you don't easily see what you're stepping into).
Running minimal means more immediate sensory feedback, the more minimal, the more immediate the feedback.

Adopting a minimal-shoe lifestyle, while it may slightly accelerate your adjustment in posture, in reality the gains are negligible - your running form is very different from your walking form so wearing safety shoes at work should not affect your running form if you were to switch to minimal.

rom wrote: »

https://www.runnersworld.com/newswire/vibram-settles-class-action-lawsuit

I would not conclude anything from that widely publicised settlement of that lawsuit, certainly not with regards to risk of injury. And it certainly does not address the questions that you had.

Be mindful about your build-up, and choose a type of runner (or not) that you like. There are plenty of minimal options out there, like I said VFF are not the only ones.

youtube!

I did read about that lawsuit in my research into minimal running technique and it seems more about the claims made by vibram regarding less injuries as opposed to the effectiveness of their shoes so I'm not really concerned about it.

I'm not absolutely set on 5 finger anyway, it just seems to be the most popular one out there, can you recommend any alternatives and where to purchase them ? I have about 150 - 200 to spend.

Thanks again.

Murph_D

It was a fad. It appears to be over.

williestroker1

Physiotherapists loved it. They made a lot of money from the minimal shoe fad. All started from a work of fiction 'Born to Run'.

robinph

Not sure it was a work of fiction, just that it was all overblown claims of creating awesome runners who will just float over the ground when wearing the minimal shoes and so save the world and grow wonderful beards whilst eating nothing but quinoa.

Wearing the minimalist shoes is perfectly fine and reasonable thing to do that humans have been doing for thousands of years. Claiming that it will solve all your running problems isn't and is where Vibram went wrong.

beans

I wear VivoBarefoot office shoes, and run in 5Fingers, so most of my time is spent either shoe-less or in that style of 'barefoot' footwear. When I put my hiking boots on for a walk on the weekend, I definitely notice the difference in gait. It has become less of a problem over time, but I do plan to transition to a zero-drop hiking-boot when boot-money becomes available.

I would imagine if you're wearing work-boots all the time, the transition would be less of a problem for you. Probably more about changing how you run, and since I've never run in anything other than 5Fingers, I can't advise there.

To dip your toe in the water, you might consider buying a second-hand pair on Ebay (and throwing them through a hot-wash) to test them out. There's always cheap Vibrams available (possibly due to people not liking them?). My current running pair was picked-up for £25 and they're great.

Safiri

Not sure how much of a fad barefoot or minimalist running is, the marketing of it maybe but people have been wearing lightweight racers for decades. I personally do all my training in flats and spikes and always have. I still occasionally run intervals and cool downd on grass barefoot and any races I done on grass as a junior nearly 20 years ago where done barefoot and that was common enough back then. I personally never liked the feel of training shoes and having a heavy lump of foam glued to the bottom of my foot(never felt natural). Does it help with injury prevention? I don't know and not something that I pay much attention to but I feel a lot more comfortable running in spikes, barefoot and stripped out flats. Probably worth noting that I'm pretty light and durable when it comes to injuries though.

As for the 5 fingers; can't see the logic in paying out that amount of money to buy a shoe that replicates barefoot running when you have a foot that can already do that. Kind of like selling oil at an inflated price to the arabs.

Djoucer

Murph_D wrote: »

It was a fad. It appears to be over.

Fad maybe over but the reasons for running barefoot are still valid.

Djoucer

Murph_D wrote: »

It was a fad. It appears to be over.

Fad maybe over but the reasons for running barefoot are still valid.

robinph

Safiri wrote: »

As for the 5 fingers; can't see the logic in paying out that amount of money to buy a shoe that replicates barefoot running when you have a foot that can already do that. Kind of like selling oil at an inflated price to the arabs.

It does make sense though if you can't trust the surface you are running on. You still need to protect yourself from modern life.

Murph_D

Djoucer wrote: »

Fad maybe over but the reasons for running barefoot are still valid.

What are they exactly? There doesn't seem to be any conclusive link between type of footwear (or lack of footwear) and running economy, to the best of my knowledge?

Safiri

Murph_D wrote: »

What are they exactly? There doesn't seem to be any conclusive link between type of footwear (or lack of footwear) and running economy, to the best of my knowledge?

There is though. The Nike 4% is probably the most famous case but different shoes alter running economy across the board. And you are also probably going to limit 02 cost in a pair of track spikes with a carbon fiber plate, low weight and smaller surface area to produce more concentrated force. Just like surfaces like tracks, roads or XC will have an effect on running economy, so tooo will what you wear.

The results may be negligible or statistically significant but there is changes whether it's in running economy or kinematics. It may not be well understood to a point where someone can say this will change that but changes do occur. Either way, it's not going to make you a completely different runner but I've personally found a noticeably difference between wearing normal XC spikes and track spikes for XC. Could be a placebo but I'm not a scientist so anything that makes me faster physiologically or mentally is a win-win for me:)

goalscoringhero

youtube! wrote: »

I'm not absolutely set on 5 finger anyway, it just seems to be the most popular one out there, can you recommend any alternatives and where to purchase them ? I have about 150 - 200 to spend.

Personally, I started running minimal with New Balance Minimus around 5 years ago. Pretty drastic with no real ramp-up, so my calfs were a bit tight with the muscle build-up for 2 months.

After 1 year I started experimenting with Vivo Barefoot (neo, if I remember correctly because I could get my hands on a special offer for 30€).

Another year later, I started using Xero Shoes, the DIY huaraches (25€) , and wearing them consistently during the day. At the same time I went completely barefoot whenever I felt like it.

I have a wide forefoot and like a wide footbed if I have to wear shoes.

See if you find a pair of minimal / zero-drop runners that you feel comfortable in and start your experiment there.
I don’t think there is too much difference in the very minimal shoe choices on offer, other than price.