I wear the New Balance Minimus, myself. 
Posted on 09/19/2011 7:39:20 AM PDT by P8riot
Fox Valley Marathon winner Tim Cunningham crossed the finish line while barefoot in downtown St. Charles on Sunday morning. He didn’t lose his shoes along the way—he ran the entire 26.2 miles without them.
“It was kind of a perfect day to run,” said the Charlottesville, VA resident, whose race time was 2:56:24. “The bridges were a little rough, a little slick at times, but it was good.”
It was the 15th marathon for Cunningham, who spent the past year building up calluses on his feet. He started running barefoot when he could not afford five-toe running shoes; though he can afford the shoes now, he sometimes prefers to race without them, even in wet conditions.
“The rain is great,” said Cunningham, a trained clown who represented the Clowns Without Borders charity during the race. “I usually have to ice my feet after a run, but it’s nice and cold.”
Cunningham was among more than 2,000 runners who participated in the Advocate Dreyer Fox Valley Marathon, the Half Marathon and the Fall Final 20.
(Excerpt) Read more at batavia.patch.com ...
His girlfriend’s Dad was not far behind. He had the added weight of the shotgun.
Occasionally I see people running barefoot and wonder how they avoid glass shards, stones, and other little stuff.
I never jumped on the bandwagon. I’d rather work through the occasional IT Band injury than get a stress fracture that puts me out 6 months. Neutral cushion shoes seem to do me well so no need to try to reinvent the wheel.
Getting close to his time in any kind of shoes (or not) for any distance would be great. That he managed to run faster than a 7-sec mile over 26 miles is really something else!
“Five toe running shoes” ?
I just did the Rock n Roll half in Philly yesterday, perfect weather but I wouldn't run barefoot in Philly. Should probably burn my shoes
I wear the New Balance Minimus, myself.
“Five toe running shoes” ?
Yep, they make them: http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/barefoot-sports/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=five+toed+shoes&utm_content=category+-+shoes&utm_campaign=category+ownership
I’ve never worn them, but I’ve tried very thin-soled Nike Frees. The premise is that these “near barefoot” shoes naturally encourage you to run in a healthier style, striking your forefoot first rather than pounding your heels. Net result is less knee/back injuries.
Try the New Balance Minimus shoes. They have a trail shoe which has almost nothing to it, and then the road shoe which has a bit more of a sole.
http://www.newbalance.com/nb-minimus/
I wear the Vibram 5-toes, but I don’t run. I found them very helpful in rebuilding strength and flexibility after foot surgery. They provide protection from cuts while giving my feet a lot of freedom of movement.
Now that is a real feat running a marathon barefoot. I hate built up athletic shoes and sneakers. I get ones with as low heals as possible. Ye old Converse sneakers were flat with no built up heal. Flat shoes are the best for lots of walking or running
Many years ago in HS I used to do my cross country park workouts barefoot (grass).
One day decided to do speed work on the track barefoot.
1/4 mile, 56 sec. > no skin left on feet.
Might just as well have taken the belt sander with 40 grit to them.
I used to run in indoor track shoes that had barely any rubber on the sole.
6.00 at Shoppers Fair.
When you first start running barefoot or with barefoot style shoes, certain parts of your body will hate you. Your calves, in particular, and the stabilizer muscles around your ankle and knee. Modern shoes essentially do all of the work of those stabilizer muscles, and so you have to build them up. After my first couple runs, I thought my joints hurt, but then I realized that it wasn't the joint, it was the muscle around the joint.
I have an ankle spur on one foot that I develop landing heel strike but so far, that is not a problem.
I am wearing thickly padded Asics however and have have wondered if I should move ASAP to the Nike Free or something like it.
What advice could you give me?
DON’T do what I did, even though strongly warned in advance by barefoot runners: START SLOW.
While doing 5 mile regular runs at 65 years of age, I fell in love with barefoot after a friend switched.
I overdid it, stressed Achilles, then calf, which then took out the knee.
Still can’t run a mile without knee pain....
Start ASAP, because it takes a long time to transition to barefoot shoes. Start with 10% of your runs in the minimal shoes, and the rest with your Asics.
Your joints don’t hurt because your shoes are doing the work for them, keeping your ankle supported. When you switch shoes, that support will go away and you will get sore.
Personally, I love the New Balance shoes so much that I bought the entire line and pretty much threw out every other shoe that I owned. I will warn you, though, the trail shoe is -harsh- on pavement. If you spend most of your time on pavement, I would get the road shoe instead.
I overdid it. Luckily, I have the advantage of youth, which carried me through my stupidity with some soreness and a few skipped runs. I’m acclimated now, and when I put on regular shoes I feel like I have bricks strapped to my feet.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.