Minimalist in every way

It seems barefoot shoes aren't just minimalist in construction.....

Last Saturday I managed to crawl out of bed and get down to Endcliffe Park in Sheffield for the weekly Park Run. However as anyone who knows me will tell you I'm not great in the mornings so my key role was drinking coffee and acting a chief cheerleader for the wife who was upholding family pride and taking part.

Anyone who saw me may have thought I'd nodded off as I stared at the floor while clinging on to my coffee but I was awake (just) and watching people's shoes. What do you expect from someone with a trainer addiction?

With approx 250 people taking part there were plenty of shoes to watch as well but I didn't see a single other person wearing barefoots. 

It would seem despite more and more versions coming on to the market the manufacturers still have some way to go to sell them to the wider running community. But what is the underlying reason? 

• Is it simply they aren't marketed widely enough so people aren't aware of them or their benefits?
• Are they still seen as a niche market for people who like to be different?
• Is the need for big padded trainers so inbuilt now that people can't move away from this idea?
• Are barefoot shoes just too expensive for people to take a gamble on?

My personal opinion is its a mixture of all four of these points but from what I've seen over the past year its clear the manufacturers still have a long way to go in selling the concept to the wider public. I can probably count on my fingers the number of other people I've seen wearing barefoot shoes since I bought my first pair.

Minimalist in numbers as well as construction then. 

A new delivery

While the world was eagerly waiting for a VIP delivery in West London last week, 200 miles north in Sheffield I was waiting for a special delivery of my own. My new Merrell Run Trail Gloves.

My issues with the Goretex version of the trail glove are well documented on this blog. However with the demise of my second pair I was in need of a new pair of barefoots and I decided to give Merrell's barefoots one final opportunity to prove to me they can last the distance.

My criteria for a pair of barefoots is challenging. I do some trail running in them so they need to stand up to running in the Peak District in all weather conditions. However I'm by no means a daily runner and my barefoot shoes will need to adapt to spending a large proportion of their time doing long hill and beach hikes, plenty of dog walking and all-round general wear (including plenty of shopping, pubs and coffee stops).

So I chose the Merrell Trail Glove in Apollo / Ice (blue and silver). There's no getting away from it, Merrells shoes look the part. The construction of the trail gloves is quality, they feel like they'll last the distance and I personally think these are the best colour option in the range.

The Vibram soles look identical to my previous Merrell Train Embark and that's no bad thing, they've always been comfortable with good levels of grip. Lets just hope they remain attached to the upper half of the shoes this time.

First impressions after two hours of wearing are positive and they seem comfortable shoe. Which is a relief since these are the third size I've tried and its fair to say the trail glove comes up small. My usual size is a euro 46 and these are a 48. Even now they feel short and my toes slightly touch the end of the toe box. Time will tell whether they prove comfy enough or not. 

The full spec list is available here at www.merrell.com which is also where I ordered them from. It's worth noting they are available at a better price from other websites if you don't need Sasquatch size feet. I couldn't get a size 48 in the blue anywhere else.

Stay tuned for regular updates on Barefoot in Sheffield and of course if you've got any question feel free to ask away in the comments box below and I'll answer them as best I can.

Barefoot Tennis

Today was only the second time in 15 years I've played tennis and obviously with any trainer addict the first issue was what foot wear to roll out.

As regular readers will know minimalist shoes are my first choice for any sporting endeavour. Actually they're my only choice and with no tennis shoes of any sort my Vibram KSO Trek Sport were rolled out. 

When I reviewed the Trek Sports before I said that I was yet to find something they couldn't do. That still stands true. The stop-start nature of tennis combined with playing on a hard surface did prove tough on the feet and joints but the Five Fingers came through with flying colours.

By the end of an hour on court my feet where feeling a bit sore although I think some of that soreness would have been avoided had I worn my Injinji socks.

Ten minutes of the Wimbledon-esque performance was also done in monsoon conditions and the 'fingers' still gripped perfectly on the wet surfaces and never felt uncomfortable despite being soaked through.

There were some quizzical looks from other tennis players but they'll soon get used to the idea you don't need mattresses on the bottom of your feet to play tennis. 

So who knew, Vibram's Trek Sport are great for tennis. Pretty sure we won't see them at Wimbledon next year though. 

The view from the top of Mam Tor

Making the most of both the sun and the Peak District with a walk up to Mam Tor yesterday. As usual the Spryridons performed faultlessly.

They were never anything less than sure footed and super comfortable. 

Looking at some of the heavy duty footwear on show you wonder where people think they're walking. 

It can be a rocky road to barefoot running

Last night i was catching up on some reading on some of the blogs I follow and an old post from Lizzie at Inov-8 got me thinking.

You see over the last few weeks I've been suffering from some hamstring problems. Nothing horrendous, just tightness and mild discomfort when I walk and a pain when I run. I was annoyed that it was stopping me running but also confused. Since I started running again in January I've not suffered any real injuries in fact my running has been literally revitalised by the use of barefoot shoes.

For a quick history lesson, up until three years ago I used to run two to three times a week. Then I started to suffer from shin splints. Now anyone who has had shin splints will tell you how painful they can be. I quite literally couldn't run up my drive without excruciating pain.

Eventually I gave up, combining a torn tendon with the shin splints my body persuaded me running just wasn't my sport.

Then in January my wife saw an article about how barefoot shoes can help resolve running related injuries through better form.  I'd already been wearing barefoots for about six months but not for running and that weekend I went for my first tentative run in over three years .

Apart from a few tight muscles there have been no problems and I generally do a couple of trail runs a week and having been doing so since January. And this is where my annoyance comes back in, why now, when nothing's changed should my hamstring start to play up?

Its all too easy to think of our bodies as a machine, if it can do a certain activity one day then it should be able to do it everyday. My mind worked overtime trying to work out what I had done differently.

What I hadn't taken in to account is that we aren't machines. There will always be injuries, there will always be times when your body resists. The important thing is to know how to deal with these setbacks.

I knew the basics of what I was doing were right, my warm-up was fine, my running form was getting better and my fitness improving with every run. I rested the hamstring for a few days, no running, no jumping around and it started to feel better. So then when I took my running buddy for his evening walk I raced him across the park (he always wins) and the hamstring was fine.

Lizzie's post made me remember that after three years of running there were always going to be ups and downs. It was never going to be instant or perfect. 

Sometimes you just have to trust what has worked for you previously, accept there will be downs as well as ups and most importantly, keep the faith.

If you missed it you can read Lizzie's post on the Inov-8 blog here.... 

Become A Natural: No one said it would be easy…

Updated review of Merrell's Barefoot Train Embark

It's not good news for my Merrells.

Back in April I reviewed my Merrell Barefoot Train Embark Gore-tex with mixed results. I loved them because they had the potential to be the all round shoe I was looking for but my first pair fell apart after six months. 

Now, right on cue, after a further six months the replacement Merrels have both started to show signs of not being able to handle the pace. 

The first pair of Train Embarks fell apart around the outside of the toe box after a walk on the beach. Merrell agreed to replace them and the replacement pair have been used continuously through the winter for hiking, dog walking and general wear duties. 

However after a walk in the local park this weekend I noticed the 'new' Merrells were starting to split in the same place as the previous pair. While the damage may not look too much at the moment it renders the Gore-Tex useless as they now let water in. Also from past experience the rubber coating peels off pretty quickly once it starts.

The walk that tipped the Merrells over the edge certainly wasn't rigorous, a gentle stroll with the wife and dog in the local park consisting of paved footpaths and grass. The Merrells did get wet however and I have a suspicion this may be the key factor.

When I say wet I'm only talking about standing in a puddle. Taking the dog down to the edge of a stream meant standing in about 2-3 inches of water for a few seconds.

This may not seem like much but the previous pair were also six months old when they disintegrated after getting wet on the beach. Their damage was much more significant but they also got much wetter. However surely a Gore-tex shoe should be able to withstand getting wet on occasions. 

My suspicion is after six months of use the materials and joints around the toes loosen up and allow water in which then means the coatings fall apart. These are my original pair's damage.

A Gore-tex equipped trail shoe should definitely be able to stand up to moderate use including getting wet on occasions. I can't help but feel that Merrell's decision to discontinue the Train Embark has something to do with the fact they just don't live up to the company's sturdy reputation. 

As can be seen from the pictures below, the sole of these shoes were by no means at the end of the usable life yet the shoe fell apart.

I'm as disappointed as anyone, if the Train Embarks had lived up to their potential I'm convinced they would have been the perfect minimalist shoe for me, comfortable, perfect for hiking and light weight. However they seem to have a fundamental flaw. 

There are major design errors that mean this shoe is simply not up to the job. Now the only decision is whether to replace the Train Embarks with another pair of Merrells or whether to go for a different brand. 

Has anyone else had problem's with Merrell's barefoot range? If so leave me a comment below, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

Silence isn't always golden

Unfortunately the blog's had to take a bit of a back seat lately, injury, moving house and a full agenda at work have taken all my time but what the last few weeks have given me is time to pull together some further thoughts on barefoot and plenty more time in my minimalist shoes. These start with an update on my Merrell Train Embark which you can read here.