Vibrams: Fitness Craze or Valid Innovation?

the newest craze in running and fitness—
the Vibram Five Finger running
shoes. Purported to be a more
natural running shoe, the rubbersoled
human feet imitations allow
runners to, according to the website,
“Let [their] foot move naturally”.
This seems like a solid idea on the
surface, however, the shoes have
their detractors. Many see the shoes
as ugly and useless, placing those
that wear and swear by them in the
same category as snake oil salesmen.
The opposition takes not only
the aesthetic side of the argument,
but uses scientific research as well,
utilizing Evolutionary Biologist
Pete Larson’s statement:
“To be honest, I don’t even think
science currently provides particularly
good answers as to what any
individual should wear or not wear
on their feet. I think runners need
not be afraid to experiment, and that
they should take what they are told
in most running stores with a grain
of salt.”
Larson’s stance against barefoot
and near barefoot running comes as
a reaction to the incredibly popular
book Born to Run by Chris McDougall,
a book based on McDougall’s
time spent with the Tarahumara Indians
of Mexico searching for remedies
to running-related foot pain.
McDougall claims throughout the
book that these natives are able to
run hundreds of miles in sandals,
forever disproving the need to wear
what he claims are clunky running
shoes.
Runners have been incorporating
barefoot elements into their training
for years. It is the notion that
one would be best off doing all of
one’s training in barefoot shoes that
has become the focal point of this
debate.
Both sides have relevant anecdotal
data that often comes into
play, such as the barefoot side detailing
that, as evolutionary beings,
humans were meant to be barefoot.
The idea is that our human forebears
would chase animals while barefoot
for hours in order to tire animals out
and eventually catch prey that, at the
outset, was much faster than our ancestors.
The reasoning is that we, as
a people, were built to run barefoot.
The opposition complains that this
view is outdated in that one cannot
simply switch from running shoes to
a barefoot shoe.
Personally, I side with the latter
group in the debate. Although
there are benefits to running short
distances barefoot, in the scope of
one’s running it is a poor decision to
make a big jump to barefoot shoes.
Injuries in running are common; especially
if you wish to run enough
miles to, train for a marathon, or
even a local 5k-road race. It makes
sense to wear shoes that fit your running
style, as opposed to a shoe that
is supposed to herald the best possible
running form.
When it comes down to it, many
people do not need the type of training
that Vibrams provide. The
chance of injury is very high, especially
if you start running higher
mileage. That is not to say that
lighter shoes are the devil. I run in
a pair of Saucony Mirages, a lighter
shoe with less stability. However,
these shoes are a far cry from the
“Barefoot Feel” that Vibrams provide.
Vibrams do have their place on the
running shoe shelf, and if they work
for you, that’s great. I understand
that this type of shoe has valid running
benefits. I guess I might be biased
as a distance runner, so if you
love the look of neoprene and rubber
faux-human feet, be my guest. •