Published by RunningPoint on Tuesday, 02 Aug 2011 11:15 EDT
New Balance has supplied us with some new details about their exciting NB Minimus Zero line that will be released in early 2012. I read through the information that they supplied and picked out the especially interesting parts as quoted below (There are actually 9 points of interest but I focused on the ones that intrigued me most):
It looks to me like Merrell has listened yet again to the people who run in their shoes and have implemented a road specific, flat soled , zero drop shoe into the Barefoot line with the Road Glove for men (top) and the Dash Glove for women (bottom). ***All images via Barefoot Running University (if you couldn't already figure that out)***
Published by RunningPoint on Monday, 25 Jul 2011 14:35 EDT
Soft Star Shoes was one of the first companies that I discovered when I started searching for a truly minimal shoe over a year ago. Their products always caught my interest but as a beginning barefoot runner I just couldn't commit to buying a pair of RunAmocs. They were a bit too radical in appearance, minimalism, and honestly price. Now, as a more seasoned barefoot runner I was excited to see that Soft Star was introducing two new models, the DASH RunAmoc and the Moc3. Soft Star graciously offered to provide me with my choice of either model to review and test and encouraged me to explore their website so that I could make the choice that would fit me best. I was very impressed by the Soft Star Shoes “Elves” (as they call themselves) who were nothing but gracious and helpful while I made my tough decision on which model of shoe to choose. I was finally won over by the Moc3 due to the fact that the shoe was a slip-on and that the sole was a 2mm Vibram specially cut to allow extra flexibility while running.
Published by RunningPoint on Wednesday, 06 Jul 2011 15:56 EDT
I have been interested in trying out some VIVOBAREFOOT shoes for quite some time, but have been wary to blindly order shoes on the internet since there is no place close for me to try their shoes on before I purchase. When VIVOBAREFOOT offered to send me a pair of shoes to test and review I was very excited. I decided that since they were nice enough to send me a free pair of shoes, I should go for a model that I normally would not purchase. I love to run in sandals but the idea of a zero drop, fully molded foam, waterproof running shoe quite frankly piqued my interest so I jumped on the chance to get a pair of the VIVOBAREFOOT Ultra. After a great initial impression, I set out to take the Ultras through the paces of daily life with me which involves standing for 40+ hours a week at work, chasing kids after work and on the weekends, and of course running in the mountains of Western North Carolina.
Published by RunningPoint on Friday, 10 Jun 2011 08:13 EDT
VIVOBAREFOOT was nice enough to send me a pair of their new Ultras "a light-weight barefoot amphibious running shoe" for me to put through the paces. I received them yesterday just before Noon and was off for a run by 12:30, I can't stand to get new running shoes and not run in them within an hour. This gives me a very quick and very early impression of how the shoes will perform without clouding my judgment by standing around in them and going about daily life for a few days before I get to run. My first impression of the Ultras? I'm pleasantly impressed, and I'll tell you why below.
Published by RunningPoint on Tuesday, 22 Mar 2011 09:29 EDT
Justin over at Birthday Shoes has written an epic article about minimal shoes and the pros and cons of different designs with a focus on why the toe shoes, best example being Vibram FiveFingers, exist and are a superior design. After reading, I am a bit more intrigued by the validity of design choice to make shoes with toe pockets and would probably even consider trying a pair on now.
"Our core product is what you already know and hopefully love from Brooks. The core design philosophy is centered around creating the most customized fit, most dynamic stability, and most cushioned ride possible to deliver an incredible floating experience. We will not waiver here…
Our glaring opportunity is to create a new product line designed from the ground up to provide the runner with an incredible feel experience. “Less is more” has become the design philosophy of many brands in the market right now that are chasing the minimal trend. The hard part about that for us is that we don’t feel that “less is more” is a great consumer proposition. It is no doubt an uplifting life philosophy, but a product promise? Runners shouldn’t have to pay more for less technology. We want to build a better, biomechanically sound product in a lighter package that allows the runner to feel more with less.
Published by RunningPoint on Wednesday, 02 Mar 2011 10:45 EST
I realized yesterday while writing my Back to Barefoot article that it may be interesting to some of you to read how and why I started running barefoot. As I have mentioned previously, I have had a pretty long relationship with running. It has most certainly been on again, off again over the years but every time I return to running I always wonder why I ever stopped the last time.
My first experience with running began 11 years ago. I was young and living on my own, and had just gotten my first real desk job. In the past, I had always had an active and physically taxing outdoor job which required no exercise outside of the workplace. The desk job was a total culture shock and I slipped into a pattern of sedentary work and copious amounts of snacking. One morning, I found that my pants were uncomfortably tight and decided that something had to be done. I was at my heaviest, roughly 220 lbs on a 5'-10" frame with my 36 waist 29 inch inseam pants cutting me in half. My father turned to running when I was a small child to shed a few pounds, and I figured if it worked for him why not give it a try. I went to the local mall and found the highest priced pair of Nike running shoes that were on the best sale and bought them (this is a habit that I continued until I started to learn about minimal shoe running, but I don't want to get ahead of myself). I usually set a goal of $50 maximum price price to pay for shoes. I started slow and ended up becoming a daily runner. Over a few years, I shed 50 total pounds and never felt better.