Overview When Terra Plana asked if I would be willing to test and review a pair of their new EVO running shoes I was thrilled. I had been enjoying wearing the Aqua shoes they gave me almost every day since I received them last year. Now, with a shoe designed specifically for running, I couldn’t [...]

Snow, ice, rocks, the smell of fresh pine, bright blue skies, soaring mountains, and the soft sound of Five Fingers running. Yep, that pretty much sums up my enjoyable Christmas Eve run in the San Gabriel Mountains between Los Angeles and Palm Springs. It was my first opportunity to run in the snow with my Vibram Five Fingers. The run was nothing short of spectacular. Well, except my toes ended up pretty much frozen after 3 miles and 1,300 feet of elevation gain.

Up until recently, running shoes have mainly been classified in terms of motion control, stability, and arch support. Such classification requires a whole vocabulary of words, such as neutral, pronation, and advanced. When Minimal shoes are included in the mix, though, a new classification is called for. Without more than one category for anything less than the regular, large running shoes out there, most people will remain confused and even misguided when it comes to “barefoot” running shoes.

Pretty much the whole running shoe industry is one big (and hugely successful!) marketing spin machine. Pretty incredible. I think they’re playing to an inner voice in folks (me included, until I read Born to Run) that thinks, as humans, we are not adequate. Yet when you stop and think about it, man’s interference with [...]

A growing body of scientific research shows that runners experience less injuries and faster times when they run barefoot or with minimal padding. In fact, research published in Sports Science in 2001 by Michael Warburtin points out that, "Laboratory studies show that the energy cost of running is reduced by about 4% when the feet are not shod." Translate the energy saved into time over a run and you are going to experience a personal record. Add the reduced chance you'll suffer an injury and it's a big win for us runners.

I wore my Vibram Five Fingers again today for a short walk. They were a lot easier to get into this time and my pinky toes seemed to stay put better (hoping they will become less curled in and more straight after wearing VFFs for awhile). I also wore them in the house some. I [...]