In the post-race euphoria of finishing this year’s icy Shamrock Shuffle, I signed up for September’s half-marathon, my first.  Recently I started noticing some tension and pain in my knees during my runs and became concerned how that pain might escalate over months of training.

A few weeks ago I “ran across” an article called “The Painful Truth About Trainers” with some paradigm-shifting observations on the modern running shoe:

Every year, anywhere from 65 to 80 per cent of all runners suffer an injury…  Despite all their marketing suggestions to the contrary, no manufacturer has ever invented a shoe that is any help at all in injury prevention… There are no evidence-based studies that demonstrate running shoes make you less prone to injury. Not one.

Then there’s the secretive Tarahumara tribe, the best long-distance runners in the world. These are a people who live in basic conditions in Mexico, often in caves without running water, and run with only strips of old tyre or leather thongs strapped to the bottom of their feet. They are virtually barefoot.

I have always had a proclivity towards going barefoot (due in no small part to the logistical difficulties I seem to have in keeping clean socks on hand).  I never understood how the human foot evolved for tens-of-thousands of years and then, in the last couple of decades, we decided we needed a big hunk of rubber under our heel.   So, a couple weeks ago I ordered a pair of Vibram Five Fingers.  Basically, they are gloves for your feet with a thin rubber sole to protect you from sharp, pointy objects.

I LOVE THESE SHOES!

They turn the city into a playground for your feet. I feel the cracks in the sidewalk.  I feel the texture of asphalt.  While helping my girlfriend move last weekend I could feel the edges of steps while while carrying heavy, vision-blocking loads down a narrow and winding staircase.

Each shoe weighs a little more than five ounces so your feet just feel lighter. When running, you have to adopt a more controlled stride as you can’t come crashing down on your heel.  In his review of the shoes, Tim Ferriss says that barefoot running has been described as “lightly kissing the pavement with the balls of your feet.”  The pain in my knees has been non-existent since I started wearing these for running.

The downside of the Vibram Five Fingers is that they easily capture the title of “most ridiculous looking shoe ever”.   In public I feel like Homer Simpson wearing a pink shirt.  When people notice, the reactions range from sideways glances to curiosity to outright laughter…   It’s been a gut check in how much I value social-acceptance over my own comfort.