Vibram Five Fingers

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When Leif Summerfield produced the choice to tackle the Ed Anacker Bridger Ridge Run last year, he had just 1 question: Could he do it?
A runner in high school, Summerfield, 32, had drifted away from the sport immediately after graduation. Having not run in years, the Ridge would be a real challenge. To leading it off, Summerfield wanted to run the notoriously-rugged crest of the Bridgers lightly shod -- in Vibram FiveFingers shoes.
Summerfield surprised additional than a number of people today, such as himself, finishing the run in 5 hours, 30 minutes.
"I didn't expect to do that well," Summerfield said on Tuesday. "It wasn't the Vibram Five Fingers that made me go that rapidly; it was that I was free to run for the first time."
Summerfield turned his attention to "barefoot" running soon after reading "Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, along with the Greatest Race the World Has Never Noticed," by Christopher McDougall. The book explores the running tactics of the Tarahumara Indian tribe of Mexico's Copper Canyon and details McDougall's rediscovery of running following suffering repeated running-related injuries earlier in life. Summerfield stated he read the very first few pages and couldn't put it down.
"I fell in really like with trail running," he said. "The book is really a truly excellent primer on the physiology of barefoot running -- taking shorter strides, strengthening your arches. You feel like you are working much less. It really is far more efficient."
As the science of running (and running shoes) continues to evolve, a growing body of evidence points to the rewards of running barefoot or in minimalist footwear. A study by the Harvard University Skeletal Biology Lab (published at www.barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu) discovered that humans have only been running in standard running shoes because the mid 1970s.
The study noted that the cushioned heel present on several traditional running shoes alters the foot's natural fall. As opposed to a forefoot or midfoot strike, modern running shoes encourage a heel strike which distributes the impact force on the foot and leg in a markedly distinct way.
"For millions of years, it is most likely that runners landed with no single, certain foot strike, and rather landed with a variety of foot strikes which includes forefoot, midfoot and heel strikes, but we suspect that one of the most typical form of foot strike was a forefoot strike," the study discovered. "These kinds of strikes (i.e. landing initial on the lateral ball of the foot) lead to lower impact forces which may possibly result in lower rates of injury."
The study also found that people accustomed to running in standard running shoes and heel striking would likely need considerable conditioning to obtain comparable results as a forefoot or midfoot striker in "barefoot" or minimalist footwear.
Summerfield stated he ran just a couple of miles a week for two months before he felt comfortable growing his runs to longer distances.
"You literally have to retrain your legs and feet to run in the barefoot style," Summerfield stated. "The very first time you put Vibram Five Fingers on you might be most likely going to really feel energized, you're leaning forward and on your toes. And then you quit running and realize your feet are freaking out and also the next couple of days your calves are tied up in knots.
"These are little muscle groups, but they are so important inside the foot's biomechanical style."
Curt Smith of Schnee's Boots & Shoes on Main Street said he doesn't see Vibram Five Fingers or other minimalist running shoes as the single answer for runners, but rather as a training tool.
"The days of long strides and a whole lot of impact on the heel and needing all that Nike Air and all that stuff -- I don't know if that is going to be a huge drive down the road," Smith said. "It is now a focus on getting people today to run appropriate."
Smith stated Vibram's FiveFingers shoe line is being joined by minimalist footwear from brands like New Balance, Merrell and Saucony. He stated newer models of minimalist footwear have the familiar rounded cap of traditional shoes, instead of the individual toe sleeves of FiveFingers.
Smith said the biggest drawback of minimalist footwear is the foot limited protection the shoes offer.
Summerfield agrees.
"I stubbed my toe twice on the Ridge and I remember both places it happened," Summerfield said. "The little toe usually takes the hit. The lack of protection under the arch (is also a liability). If you stretch you arch out and hit a rock it feels like you're going to tear a tendon, but there are actually trail running Vibram Five Fingers now that address those problems."
Despite their limitations, Smith said minimalist footwear has absolutely caught on in Bozeman. He stated the shoes are popular inside the gym, on the trail -- even as water shoes. About the only place you won't see men and women wearing FiveFingers is out on the town, he stated.
No doubt, they're a pretty bold fashion statement.
Smith said he sees the future manufacture of running shoes meeting a middle ground between the ultra-minimal FiveFingers and traditional running shoes, models that put an emphasis on proper running form.
For Summerfield and others that have adopted the "barefoot" running style, that's fantastic news.
"Barefoot running allowed me to rediscover the joy of running and in particular the joy of running inside the mountains," Summerfield stated. "And we live in such a perfect place for it."