"Fingers/Crocs/Clogs"

[dave rockness]

I have nocticed a number of people on this blog experimenting with the minimalist approach to running.  Having read "Born to Run" as well as several forefoot/heal striking articles, I am curious as to what type of insights people on this blog may have or results they may have experienced.

2 questions:  1)  What is the driving force for using "fingers", "crocs", or "clogs"?  Is it a need to improve natural form (transition to forefoot or something else)? Is it a health decision?  Is it strickly financial? (I'm done buying expensive shoes)  Or since this is the "Fast Running Blog" is it primarily to improve speed?  2) Has anyone actually seen results or experience hope or signs of future results?  Less injury, improved strength, or possibly improved race times? 

Any insight would be helpful.  I'm currently weaning my way from heavier shoes in training to lighter ones.  Thus far, everything has seemed positive, yet I'm not far enough along to give any tangible results. 

[Maurine Lee]

I enjoy the feeling and sound of running in minimalist shoes.  I can't say I will ever be fast, so don't have any input on that.  The Vibram FiveFingers definitely give you a good foot and calf workout - but I have found myself limited by the number of miles and terrain I can run in them (usually less than 6 miles, temperatures between 40-90 degrees, downhill on rocks is very painful).  I have just started running in Crocs and was able to run almost 9 miles the first time with no problems, other than rocks in my shoes.  On the bright side, I can wear socks so can extend them to colder temperatures and flipping them off to get a rock out only takes a few seconds.

To me - the best part is an early morning run in the dark when it is quiet out and I can run fairly silently.

[James Moore]

You know, you CAN just run barefoot on grass. I do this all the time.

I have 5 pairs of running shoes (6 if you count barefoot) with a variety of weights. I do this strictly for training purposes. The light weight trainers I have are not really that much cheaper. I wear my light shoes if I want to do something at race pace, so that I know what race pace feels like and so that I am training the proper muscles.

As for these "barefoot running shoes", I'm sure they do force you to run with a forefoot strike. I'm not convinced that is a good thing. If you want to become more of a forefoot striker then you need to do it on your own terms. I would recommend running barefoot on grass for about 20mins at a time. Even so, I'm not sure that being a forefoot striker is helpful for anything over a mile (unless you are really, really fast).

[Tom]

One thing to remember too if you decide to move toward minimalist running is to do it VERY gradually. Talking to my PT about this (he had read "Born to Run") he was wary about runners moving to barefoot-ish running too quickly.  His thinking was if you're going to do it, think in terms of it being a multi-year effort, not multi-week or even multi-month.  Most of us haven't been walking around barefoot most of our lives like the running Native Americans in the book and our feet our very weak from walking around on cushy pillow shoes our whole lives. So take your time and stick to natural surfaces (grass, dirt, etc) as much as possible for the barefoot stuff.

[dave rockness]

thanks for some solid feedback...has anyone gotten any faster through this practice?  Or can anyone point to someone on this blog who's increase their speed or shaved down their times? 

[Bob]

Hi Dave.  I was done with chucking out $$$ buying shoes every 400 miles early last year.  This was before reading "Born to Run" as I got the idea from Ed Whitlock who is notorious for running in shoes until they are pancakes!  I now have 5 old pairs that can be categorized as "beaters" (flat bottoms, holes, etc).  This year I've done a majority of my running in racing flats that are way beyond the so-called mileage limit as well.  I find the flats are a nice compromise between my Vibrams and old trainers, which I still use from time to time.  As far as making me faster I can't say for certain, but would lean towards a "yes".  The reason is the transition has made me more efficient and reduced the incident of injuries thereby helping me run father and more consistent than in the past.  However, part of that could be due to following the LSD and Van Aaken approach to running over the past two years.  Over the past several years I've also transitioned from a heel striker to a fore foot striker, but my heel still makes a little contact after my fore foot.  I have run with others and found that I'm a much quieter striker than most.  Feels like I'm gliding along and "pawing" at the ground, which has to be a good thing.  Plus I just love the feeling of not much weight on my feet.  Makes a big diff on those long runs.  I think the running shoe industry is a sham, but I won't go down that road.  Overall, I think the closer we can get our feet to the ground the better.

[Sasha Pachev]

I feel better in Crocs, but do not run faster or slower than in racing flats. It is not the shoe that makes the runner. Cost-wise, it is a winner. My current pair, which I got on sale for 10$ has gone over 1000 miles and still does not have a hole. Part of the reason I do it is to demonstrate that running does not have to be an expensive sport.

[Michael Laputka]

I've logged about 2000 miles in Crocs since the Salt Lake Marathon last April.  About 4 or 5 years ago I decided to be a forefoot striker.  FYI I have not read "Born to Run".  I wanted to change my foot strike for a couple of reasons.  1. It made sense to land on your forefoot, 2. It increased my turnover  3. I bought a pair of flats, loved the way they feel and wanted to run in them all the time, 4. Fed up with spending $$$$ on shoes,  5. I felt it would make me faster.

It took me about a year before I could  finish a marathon landing on my forefeet only.  After the second year I felt like I had a very solid foundation from which to build.  From day one, I hopped up to my forefeet and never stopped, so for me, it was a two year process.  After two years I noticed a big change in my leg strength and speed.  As time passed I got stronger and stronger.  Migrating to a minimalist she became a natural conclusion.

Am I faster?  Yes, much much faster and stronger.  However, I've increased my mileage significantly so I'm sure that has everything to do with it.  I'm also suffering a little bit of an injury since the beginning of September and I've had to bring my mileage down from 70-80-90 to 60ish for the month of October but I'm ready to start ramping back up to where I was.  I don't feel like my minor injury is due to running in Crocs, it's probably taking my mileage to 70-80-90 for the first time in my life, but it sure made me much faster.

[dave rockness]

Michael, very helpful.  I've progressed to the point in which running a half marathon in lighter shoes (Saucony Tangent's) is very comfortable and almost as comfortable to do (relatively speaking) in a full marathon.  I begin to feel the difference in lighter shoes around mile 21-22.  I've also been experimenting with the Saucony Kinvara's and do well for about 10 miles max.  Have completed a 20k and 1/2 marathon in them and really felt the pounding towards the end.  I am naturally a forefoot striker and am relatively new to distance running or "racing".  I've averaged 70 miles/per week for almost 2 years now, so find encouragement from your insights. My injuries seem to occur with adding distance too quickly, running too fast on trails (twisted my ankle 3 times, pretty significantly), and wearing shoes that are too "plush".  I'm hoping the minimalist approach will lead to my ability to buy cheaper shoes and replace them less often while strenghtening feet/ankles/legs while I'm at it. 

Interestingly, I grew up in central FL, so did 90% of my childhood neighborhood play barefoot, never bought more than one pair of "tennis shoes" per year (wore them until they were riddled with holes), and if I ever did jog (high school/college), did so in shoes used for pick-up basketball.  My first ever pair of running shoes were purchased 3 years ago and I couldn't believe how heavy and horrible they felt- $120 for this?!!  Buying shoes for running has been a challenging adventure- although a couple of pairs have begun to work for me, I've contemplated several times just going back to the $30-50 crosstrainers off the rack and running them until my feet wear through.   

[Erik Stafford]

This is all very helpful insight.  One thing I've noticed with my own running experiences is running at different paces (interval,easy,threshold, etc...) the better any shoe starts to feel because the stride becomes more efficient.  Most everyone can force themselves to run in shoes or no shoes and adapt a way to run in time (how much time depends on running experience, fitness, bio-mechanics, so clear cut answer - the calves/achillies/arches will be the indicators).  Everyone has their reasons ($$, feel, bio-mechanics, colors, performance, social reasons, motivation, etc... to run in minimals), but in the end whatever keeps you injury free should be the #1 goal. One thing is for sure about minimal running, it's growing and people are getting a wide variety of what they want or need out of it.