Wow! That’s so awesome, 14 miles! I tried to run 12 miles in them, but it was totally brutal. *sadface* I ended up walking 6 of them. Heh. I guess I still need more practice.

I run in my VFF’s exclusively both road and treadmill. (I only wear “regular” shoes at work.) The longest I have run in them was 14 miles and got a small blister in the midfoot. No more knee pain, shin splints or hip pain and I feel more solid standing. An added benefit of muscle development in the foot is that I can pick stuff up with my toes (can even throw a ball with decent accuracy). Oh, and my calves are ripped!

@RedBeerd – My feet have spread since wearing these shoes. My most recent pair of dress shoes were EEE width! No probs fitting in the KSO’s. They are flexible, probably enough to accomodate most widths. Best bet is to head to Wheatgrass Center and try them on.

The first question people ask (after “What are those?” as they point mouth agape, to which I answer either shoes or “What are those?” as I point at their feet) is if they are comfortable. I say if barefoot is comfortable, then yes. They have no support, no cushion, no corrective anything – which is the point. I recommend them all the time (I should get paid) but recommend starting slow until your foot adjusts. Fit is important, so try them on if you can.

Thanks for the lovely contributions to the blog. In any case, I found this deal a few days ago and posted to Twitter, but forgot to post here. If you’re interested in the Sprint… here yah go. There’s only a few sizes left, but if you can bump your total to over $50.00, I think it’s free shipping!

http://dealnews.com/Vibram-Mens-Fivefingers-Sprint-Shoes-for-50-free-s-h-w-50/315782.html?ref=rss_dealnews_today

I’m a reporter at The Honolulu Advertiser and I’d like to talk to you about barefoot running. Could you please shoot me an email with your contact info?

Mahalo,

Mike Gordon

@Chris – How unfortunate… I’ve had mine for a while and it hasn’t come apart yet. =/

@Les – That’s awesome. I loved Mr. Fukuda @ Wheatgrass Center in Kaimuki. Don’t worry, it took me a few months to get used to running in them… though I’m not sure when I’ll be able to run the marathon in them even though I’ve already run a few in normal shoes.

I got through that first week graced with residual “new shoe smell”. Since then, I “pit” them out in about 2-3 days. I’ve washed them in a front-loading washer with liquid detergent with little success at removing my foot smell. My wife suggested I use Biokleen “Bac-Out”, an environmentally-sensitive enzymatic cleaner found in most natural food stores, like Down to Earth, Kokua Mkt., and Whole Foods. This worked like a charm. I put about 1/4-1/2 tsp in each instep, add a little water, spread to cover, and let it soak for at least 10 minutes. I rinsed out the cleaner and air-dried the shoes, and, voilà!, no sweaty foot smell! This may be not as hard on the materials as vinegar, and you don’t have the vinegar smell. That’s a lot of work for cleaning, but I think this footwear is worth it. I’m getting toe socks in hopes of reducing the amount of foot sweat transfered to the shoe and extending the number of days between cleanings.

On the negative side of my experiences, I recently went on a 2.5 mi. walk with the dog in Volcano (Big Island). This was not a fast-paced walk and mostly on asphalt. By the end of the walk, I was starting to develop a blister on the ball of one foot and felt pounded on the other foot. So, I’m still learning about how my feet work with these shoes. I started my walk on our cinder and dirt road and was surprised to feel that I might have been on the verge of punching a hole through the soles. So, they don’t feel impervious to graveled surfaces. I’ve felt the friction on my Achilles tendon a couple of times, but it’s never developed into a problem.

Sorry for the long post!

Thanks for sharing this post with us about the pros and cons of the Vibram FiveFingers. Seems like these things are getting more and more popular. I have to admit that there aren’t many shoes that I can think of that bring me back to my childhood days. That makes me a little jealous. Anyway, wanted to let you know that I included a link to your post on a post that we did on the best reviews and information on the vibram fivefingers (http://funcfash.com/2009/07/best-reviews-opinions-and-information-on-vibram-fivefingers/). Thanks for sharing the info!