Running and Rambling

The Barefoot Files: Fort Ord Trail Run

2009-11-10T20:04:00.000-08:00

“Take only pictures, leave only footprints.”
- Popular outdoor expression

I’ve mentioned several times how trail running is something of a final frontier for my progression as a barefoot runner. As recently as a couple of weeks ago, I turned around less than two minutes into an attempted trail run, because the terrain was too painful for my tender soles to bear. I figured it would be months or years until I could build up enough toughness to tolerate trails.

Turns out, I didn’t need to get tougher – only smarter.

When it comes to trails, there’s a wide variety of terrain available, and Monterey County happens to have several options to choose from. So I spent some time thinking about where I’d have the most success ditching the Vibrams for a purely barefoot trail run, and finally settled on one of the areas I know best: the Fort Ord open space between Salinas and Monterey.

Much of this particular section of Fort Ord is elevated above the Salinas Valley, which gives you nice views of the agricultural lands below. However, that’s not why I chose this place …

… I picked it because of the long, frequent stretches of sandy trail interspersed with the otherwise firm soil. In some places the sand is so thick, it’s like running on the beach. I figured if I can’t make it through sections like this, there’s probably no hope for me.

Typically, the trails are some hybrid of sand and stone – and unlike the probably 2,000 other times I’ve run out here, on this occasion, I actually sought out the sand instead of avoiding it.

Of course, there are some sections you just want to stay away from entirely – but luckily, there aren’t too many of them here.

The cool thing about running in shallow sand is how you can look over your shoulder at almost any point and see your own tracks. Of course, I nearly tripped over myself about 10 different times while craning my neck to look behind me while running, which isn’t exactly the safest practice in the world.

There are enough rolling hills out here to make it an honest trail run …

… for example, this is the elevation gained during the first mile and a half away from the parking area, which is visible below.

The top of the ridge is also a good spot to goof around with some self-portraits.

Along the ridgeline, the trail remains wide and relatively smooth …

… and there a lot of nice vantage points for a rest break if you’re not in a big hurry.

You know what’s almost as cool as seeing your bare footprint? Seeing your barefoot shadow. Whenever the sun hits me at the proper angle, I like to spread my toes apart a bit in the swing phase of my stride, just to catch a brief glimpse of the individual toe outlines on the ground below. I never get tired of silly games like this.

Further down the trail, here’s the trickiest part of the run: a single track featuring large gravel sprinkled among some larger pointed rocks. Luckily, this section of this particular trail is relatively short, and the rest of it is manageable – but I slowed to nearly a walk while navigating through this stuff.

It’s worth noting that these “toes in the bottom of the frame” pictures are WAY harder than they should be for me. I have to lean backwards, lift one foot up past my knee, and hold both the airborne foot and the camera steady while balancing on one leg. I know it doesn’t sound that complicated, but my flexibility is absolutely terrible; whenever I try pictures like this, I always feel like I’m auditioning for Cirque du Soleil or something.

It may not seem like it, but stretches like this are the worst for a barefoot runner: an irregular distribution of various sized rocks spread across a very firmly packed surface. The larger gravel is impossible to avoid, and the underlying earth is completely unyielding – you may as well be stabbing me with nails underneath.

Fortunately the trail soon returns to the normal sandstone paths I’m comfortable with, and I’m on my way back to the start.

One of the coolest things about retracing my steps on the return trip is literally retracing my steps. I pass these impressions in the ground and think to myself, “Hey – I left those there!”

This might sound silly – but the bare footprints are also kind of a distinctive mark to leave on the trail for others who will pass this way later on. I like to believe that in the same way that I sometimes get a charge from seeing bobcat or coyote tracks in the soil, maybe some hikers will see these later on and wonder at what kind of crazy animal left them there.

Back at the trailhead after a 5-mile run, I’m content that I’m finally making headway into that last frontier. It’s time for another rest and another snapshot – but this time, the picture isn’t of the frustrated tenderfoot I was before the run; it’s one of an evolving barefoot runner who is happily playing in the dirt again.

All that’s left is to wash my feet, and I’m merrily on my way.

Jinga Shoe Review

2009-11-09T15:43:00.001-08:00

If you had told me that this barefoot shoe series would eventually entail my delving into the world of Brazilian dance wear, I would have never believed it. And yet, that’s precisely where today’s review has led us.
Furthermore, I’m not entirely convinced that Jinga is primarily a footwear company; it’s more like an enterprise that was created to bring about social change while enriching as many lives as possible, who somehow decided to start making footwear along the way. It’s one of the more colorful corporate stories I’ve heard in this whole series, and this is perhaps the company who makes the biggest direct impact on the targeted beneficiaries of its humanitarian outreach.

But first, the name.

There’s a Brazilian colloquialism called ginga which is a descriptive term describing the joyful, intangible aspect of someone’s personality; something that Americans might describe as spirit, energy, charisma, style, or joie de vivre (OK, that one’s French, but you know what I mean) all rolled into one. Ginga is an individual sense of personal expression that makes each one of us unique.

Brazilians believe they have ginga in abundance, which gives them the natural grace and fluid energy they proudly display on soccer fields and dance floors all over the world. Jinga shoes (the company name is spelled differently for easier pronunciation) are seemingly made with that purpose in mind; the company’s FAQ page includes testimonials from salsa instructors and performers describing how ideal the footwear is for many forms of dance. They’re also the footwear of choice for at least two world-famous (at least, according to the website – I’m stretching beyond my realm of expertise here) salsa dance troupes.

And remember what I said about their shoe business being something of an afterthought? That comes from the website as well:

We are a social enterprise. Where regular companies are driven first and foremost by financial targets, our goals are social as well. Our purpose is not just to run a successful business, but also to provide opportunities and social development to disadvantaged young people in Brazil. All our profits are reinvested for social purposes – both within our company, to improve the environmental and social impacts of our products and our supply chain, and also outside our company, providing funding assistance for Julio Otoni, a social project for young people and teenagers in a low income area of Rio de Janeiro.

So Jinga is not just about shoes: it’s about creating and making the most of opportunities, about bringing colour into people’s lives, progression, fun and individuality and trying to get the best out of life for everyone as far as we can make that happen.

Seems like a company you can feel good about supporting, doesn’t it? And if that doesn’t convince you that the company is trying to make the world a smaller, happier place, here’s one more item to consider: in addition to their footwear enterprise, the owners host another business called Jingando Holidays; it offers vacation packages where you get a guided tour of the city, participate in outreach projects benefitting impoverished kids, and take as many hours of dance instruction as you’d like in all the coolest nightspots in Rio.

Considering all that ... can you see why it’s hard for me to stay focused on footwear? So let’s finally take a look at these shoes.

Jinga shoes are purely minimalist footwear, with no heel, no arch, and no cushioning in the outsole. They combine a lightweight synthetic and mesh upper with a super thin and flexible outsole for a shape that feels like a dance slipper, but looks like a classic sneaker*. The color schemes available have a distinctively Brazilian character: vibrant, colorful, and fun. They may not get you through a day at the office, but they’ll be a conversation starter as soon as you’re off the clock.

(*Full disclosure: my wife thinks they look like bowling shoes. Needless to say, it's not the first fashion-related difference of opinion we've ever had. Since it's my review, I'm calling it a sneaker - but feel free to weigh in in the comments. If consensus goes her way, my wife will love you for it, and I'll never hear the end of it. On second thought ... maybe I shouldn't encourage comments so much.)

PVC outsole

The outsole is made of recycled PVC, like the pipes that carry water to your outdoor sprinklers. At its thickest point, the outsole is a mere 4mm thick, giving you superb ground feel. Wavy traction stripes on the bottom provide surprisingly good traction, and the outsole is flexible enough that your foot naturally employs the same toe and forefoot grip that it uses when walking barefoot. However, the outsole material and means of construction are designed to minimize friction, so you can glide smoothly and stay light on your feet during your samba or soltinho routines (I’m learning all kinds of new Brazilian words lately).

The shoes come with a 2mm insole for those who like a little bit of cushioning, but I found that I much prefer them with the insoles removed. Even with the insole, the entire shoe weighs 250g, which places it second only behind Feelmax for lightweight footwear.

The standard demo for minimalist shoes

Ironically, even though they make a nearly perfect minimalist running shoe, the Jinga website does not recommend using the shoes for running. When I questioned one of the owners about this, she admitted that their recommendation was based on a comparison to traditional athletic shoes (and traditional heel-striking runners). I’ve mentioned before how the barefoot running movement has taken several companies by storm, and Jinga is a classic example. They now realize the potential new market they have, and they’re revising the language on their website to indicate that their footwear is perfectly suitable for barefoot or minimalist runners.

I’ve gone running in my Jingas, and experienced no issues with overall durability or traction on the asphalt. The lacing system allows you to dial in your desired snugness, and the lining of the upper is comfortable enough that I can wear them without socks, with no chafing or blister issues. I prefer, however, using these more as an everyday shoe, for casual outings when I want to stay “nearly” barefoot in something that looks like a standard sneaker*. (*Or bowling shoe. Whatever.)

At the moment, Jinga doesn't have any retailers in the US. Although prices on their website are advertised in £, the payment provider does a conversion to American dollars for you, and the 39.99 pounds converts to about 64 US dollars. Jinga already enjoys a fair number of customers from the States and Canada, and they’re looking to get a presence in some North American stores and e-vendors in the next year.

I find myself really pulling for them to succeed. The company’s stated mission is to help everyone bring out their unique ginga, and they do it in a way that is both enriching for people and protective of the planet. If karma has anything to do with it, Jinga is a company that has a lot of dancing days ahead of them.

*footwear provided by Jingando Ltd.
** See other product reviews on sidebar at right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at info@runningandrambling.com.

What Comes Next?

2009-11-06T14:51:00.000-08:00

Today’s entry is a weekend update of sorts, following up on some topics I’ve introduced here in recent weeks - and if it’s OK with you, I’ll get the awkward one out of the way first.

1) On more than one occasion, I’ve mentioned the intriguing story of Tellman Knudsen, who is attempting to run across the country barefoot, ostensibly to raise money for homeless youth. Since I promoted him earlier, I feel obligated now to point out that Tellman’s philanthropy may not be as sincere as advertised.

The article linked above certainly paints a shady portrait, and I’d hate for anyone to contribute to him without knowing the potential downside. I honestly don’t know where the truth in this whole saga lies, or exactly what to make of the guy; on one hand, I’m kind of cheering for him to pull off the barefoot odyssey – on the other, his eccentricity and apparent hucksterism just leave me shaking my head.

2) The next item is the polar opposite in terms of respectability: it’s the next installment of Patagonia’s Footprint Chronicles video series.

Part 2 of the series is called “What Comes Next?” and it’s something of a global roundtable on ecologically responsible manufacturing. The clip is a good 12 minutes long, so I won’t bore you with a detailed recap – rather, I’ll just throw out a few bullet points as a teaser:

* Among the featured interviewees are Patagonia’s Director of Environmental Analysis and VP of Environmental Initiatives, as well as Starbucks’ VP of Global Responsibility. How many corporations even have those positions? The fact that titles like that even exist in some global companies has to be a good sign, I would hope.

* While a rapidly-increasing number of companies eagerly promote their “sustainable” manufacturing processes and green initiatives, a question worth asking is whether or not a truly sustainable business is even possible. Can any company actually contribute more to the planet than it takes away? Do societal contributions like jobs and livelihood offset the negative environmental impact – and if so, does that even matter?

* Finally, the video addresses the elephant in the room with any discussion of green enterprise: what exactly is the role the individual consumer? We live in the most consumptive era of the most consumptive culture in the history of mankind - and our collective demand for so much “stuff” is the unifying factor at the heart at every environmental problem faced by every company today. Since the essence of capitalism is for businesses to meet every imaginable consumer demand, relying on them to promote decreased consumption is something like asking the tobacco industry to sponsor anti-smoking initiatives.

So are companies really the entities most accountable for ecological stewardship? At what point do we assess our personal responsibility? And why do we value all of our stuff so much anyway? There aren’t any simple answers, but these are interesting topics of consideration in the video that follows.

**
The Footprint Chronicles, Part 2: What Comes Next? (click to play):

The Girl of Summer

2009-11-05T16:08:00.000-08:00

(Admin note: this is the follow-up story to the video I posted in my Earth Shoes review. It doesn’t have anything to do with running, but you know how that goes around here. As to the subject matter: I imagine just about everyone has a story about someone who got away; this is mine.)

**

“I can tell you my love for you will still be strong –
After the boys of summer have gone.”
- The Ataris, “The Boys of Summer” (video after post) - original by Don Henley

In the springtime of my freshman year at college, I had my first ever head-over-heels crush on someone who I felt certain was out of my league. She was a California girl, athletic and pretty and smart, and to my shocked delight, she seemed kind of into me for a while. We had a couple of dates, went to some parties, and ran out the clock on our first year of college together.

At the time, my parents lived three states away, and my plan was to return home to them and my younger sister, to have the entire family together for one last summer. (It turned out to be more true than I could have ever known; within the next year, my parents would separate and later divorce, the whole situation grew horribly spiteful, and the four of us have never peacefully gathered since. But obviously, that didn’t factor into my decision to return home at that point.)

The problem was, my girlfriend was staying on campus, which in my mind spelled doom for our relationship. She’d spend her days at the beach or the campus pool, go to parties with her extensive network of friends, and quickly find someone a lot better than me. Like I said, I felt completely out of my league even dating her - and if I were out of sight for even a few days, I’d quickly be out of her mind as well.

Admittedly, I was acting more than a little bit paranoid … but I knew all this would happen. I knew it.

I reluctantly returned home, and as the weeks went by, all the ominous signs started falling into place: postcards and letters were exchanged less frequently, phone conversations grew shorter and further in between, and our efforts at communication became an increasingly one-way street. By the middle of the summer, we had the dreaded talk that I saw coming from a mile away: she just wasn’t into me anymore. Shortly thereafter, a mutual friend told me that she was seeing someone else, the thought of which gave me chills.

The rejection I felt was absolutely unbearable; my self-esteem plummeted, I moped around all the time, and I felt like an idiot for allowing myself to get so attached to somebody. In other words, I behaved pretty much exactly how you’d expect from someone getting his heart crushed for the first time.

Although it had been released a couple of years earlier, Don Henley’s song was still popular during that summer, and every time I heard it, all I could think about was the girl who dumped me. I could see her in my mind’s eye playing in the sun, having fun with somebody who couldn’t possibly care for her as much as I did. All I wanted was for the school vacation to end, so I could get back to California and somehow try putting our shattered relationship back together.

Not surprisingly, that reconciliation never happened.

However, shortly after returning to campus in the fall, I met a new girl – one just as Californian, but even smarter and prettier and more talented than the one who broke my heart. By the end of the year she was my girlfriend, and by the time we graduated from college we were engaged. More than two decades later, we’re still together, and there’s no question she’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. And if I had still been with the first girl like I thought I wanted, there’s a good chance that none of those things would have happened.

I’m as happy today as I could possibly imagine, and there isn’t a thing I’d change about the way things transpired – and yet, whenever I heard Henley’s song through the years, I’d have an awkward, remorseful flashback to the girl who got away. Fortunately, as most pop songs do, “Boys of Summer” faded more and more with each passing year, to the point where I hardly thought about it – or her - anymore.

Then in 2003, an otherwise cool rock band called The Ataris remade the song, and I started hearing it on the radio all over again. At first, I thought listening to the song would feel like opening an old wound … but I was pleasantly surprised to find that I’m OK with it now. I’m no longer so starry-eyed to think that I could have had a successful relationship with someone who simply wasn’t into me – which I suppose makes me a bit more emotionally mature today than I was as an impetuous 18-year-old college kid.

Granted, it’s not by leaps and bounds … but just enough, I guess.

**

“I thought I knew what love was ... what did I know?
Those days are gone forever – I should just let them go.”
- The Ataris, “Boys of Summer” (click to play):

Earth Footwear Review

2009-11-03T16:49:00.000-08:00

“Out on the road today I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac –
A little voice inside my head said don’t look back, you can never look back.”
- Don Henley, “The Boys of Summer” (video after post)

(*Admin note: I have a whole personal story about this song, which I may or may not share here; if the review gets too long, the music story can wait for its own post someday. We’ll see.)

**

When I first mentioned that I would be reviewing a pair of Earth Shoes, some initial reactions took me by surprise.
Several people made comments to me like “I remember those shoes – they were standard hippie attire back in the 1970s.” Since that decade found me more into toy cars and T-ball games than groovy trips and free love, I understandably missed out on that whole scene. And considering that the Earth Shoes I’m testing are probably the nicest looking office attire I’ve worn all year, I didn’t initially make the connection between these shoes and their tie-dyed, flowers-in-our-hair beatnik ancestors.

So think of the Earth Footwear company as the aging Deadhead who grows to embrace social respectability in his adulthood, while still holding fast to his nonconformist ideals. They allow you look mature on the outside, but stay as counterculture as you want to be on the inside.

Counterculture is actually a pretty fitting word for Earth Footwear’s signature philosophy in shoe design. Instead of the traditional elevated heel and lowered forefoot, they flip that pattern completely around: the heel sits close to the ground, while the forefoot angles upward (at a precisely 3.7 degree angle – more on that later). The sunken heel simulates the feeling of bare feet on soft ground, and provides postural and biomechanical advantages over standard footwear.

Vintage, dude ... don't go trippin'

The design is the brainchild of a Danish yoga instructor named Anne Kalso, who developed what would become her iconic wooden sandal in the late 1960’s. An American tourist, Raymond Jacobs, discovered them in a shop in Copenhagen, and partnered with Kalso to introduce the design to US markets in 1970 – coincidentally, on April 22nd, which was the very first Earth Day. The “reversed shoe” quickly became a popular nonconformist symbol, right up there with long hair, peace symbols, and back-to-nature communes. However, in the same way that the hippie movement lost steam and became marginalized, the popularity of Earth shoes plummeted, and they eventually disappeared from the market in the late 1970s.

Thankfully, the company was later reborn as Earth Footwear, and it continues Kalso’s legacy, while at the same time catering to a much larger demographic than grown-up flower children. Today’s Earth Footwear styles are widely varied, combining the biomechanics of the early models with stylish fashion that is at home in any walk of life you can imagine.

I chose the Zmoc model from Earth’s Kalso-Lite line, so named because of their lightweight construction: the weight of the Zmoc is less than 9 oz, which is equivalent to many lightweight running shoes on the market.

The Earth men's Zmoc

The upper is constructed primarily with lightweight leather, with the exception of the heel area. Here, the shoe is constructed with thin neoprene that prevents any constriction against your Achilles tendon, and allows the shoe to flex laterally in concert with your natural ankle movement. The forefoot area is also very roomy, allowing your toes to spread apart as they would if you were barefoot.

In addition to being angled upward (we’re getting to that, I promise), the midsole is made of a form-fitting Biofoam footbed. This cushioning material molds to the shape of the foot, which helps displace and absorb shock with each step. It’s also an eco-friendly material, using 70% recycled content.

(As you would imagine from a company founded on Earth Day, Earth Footwear takes environmental considerations very seriously. They use high percentages of recycled content for all products and packaging, and are an industry leader in eliminating toxic materials from the production process. 2010 will mark a major milestone for them, as they will introduce an entirely biodegradable midsole called the BioStep [scroll down on link] for every model in their Spring collection. So even though my Zmoc looks like a dress shoe, it’s still got a tree-hugger’s soul. And midsole.)

The bottom of the Zmoc features an outsole with deep grooves in both the forward and lateral directions, allowing good forefoot flexibility. Although traction isn’t usually a prominent feature of dress shoes, the Earth outsole seems to be equivalent to a decent pair of sneakers when it comes to grip.

The 3.7 degree incline

As mentioned earlier, however, the signature feature of Earth footwear is its inclined midsole construction, which now goes by the name Kalso Negative Heel Technology. The toes sit at a 3.7 degree angle above the heels, which subtly shifts your body weight back over your heels, and creates a ground feel as if you were walking on a slightly uphill surface.

Since it’s an unorthodox standing and walking angle for most users, Earth claims that this position provides whole-body benefits – and from a biomechanics standpoint, that claim is accurate. The postural adjustments are almost automatic: a more upright spine and neutral pelvis (not tilted backward), and slight activation of the core muscles in your trunk. You’ll feel your calves stretch, and your lower extremity muscles will make small adjustments to maintain your new center of balance. (A lot of this is very similar to the “unstable platform” theory of MBT shoes – but in a far lighter and much less expensive shoe.)

Where the benefits seem a bit of a stretch is how Earth claims that the negative heel technology increases your metabolism - or, as the home page declares, you’ll burn more calories with every step. The theory is that all those small muscle contractions and adaptations trigger a higher energy demand and caloric consumption than when they’re stuck in regular shoes. While that claim may be technically true, I imagine the actual difference in daily caloric expenditure between using Earth shoes and another brand is so slight as to be insignificant. In other words, you won’t lose weight just by wearing these shoes; if you want to slim down, just go for a run first, then slip into Earth shoes afterward.

Questionable health claims aside, I found my Earth Zmocs to be extremely comfortable, and an excellent lightweight option in place of standard office dress shoes. From a barefooter’s standpoint, there’s not as much pure carryover of barefoot adaptation – primarily in ground feel - as with purely minimalist shoes such as Vivo Barefoot, but the postural changes are fairly similar, with similar biomechanical benefits.

The Earth Zmoc retails for $119 on the Earth website and other online retailers. The black version I tested is also available with multiple sizes discounted to $90 at Amazon.com.

*Product provided by Earth Footwear
**See other product reviews on sidebar at right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at info@runningandrambling.com.

**

Don Henley, “The Boys of Summer” (click to play):

(As for my song story … I’ll hold that until the weekend.)

An Interview with David Helter, GM of ECCO USA

2009-11-01T13:45:00.000-08:00

Last week’s review of the ECCO BIOM was a landmark one for me as a gear reviewer – and no, it’s not because the shoe is the most expensive one I’ve ever tested (that honor is still held by MBT). Rather, it was the first time I've met with a shoe company executive to talk specifically about his product.

Before conducting my field testing on the BIOM, I met personally with David Helter, General Sales Manager for the Performance Division of ECCO USA. Although he’s based in New England, he was making a West Coast business trip, and requested a face-to-face sit-down to talk about running, blogging (believe it or not, he gets around to a lot of websites), and of course, the ECCO BIOM.

It’s very possible that he just needed a rest stop on his drive from San Francisco to LA, and I happened to live in a town that’s close to the freeway. Regardless, it was an opportunity I wasn’t going to dare passing up. In fact, I wrote a new policy into the Running and Rambling bylaws: anytime the General Manager of a global company who makes one of the most talked-about products of the year asks me for a meeting, I say yes.

And then I write about it. This interview exchange was born out of that initial meeting and subsequent e-mails, and is a companion piece of sorts to my BIOM review. There’s a lot of stuff here, such as discussion of ECCO’s price point, the company’s pride in ownership throughout the manufacturing process, and how most of us have already used ECCO products without realizing it. We also touch upon running as therapy, Christopher McDougall and Born to Run, as well as the ever-deepening mystery of all those capital letters that ECCO uses.

In other words, there’s something for everybody. If nothing else, it makes for an interesting glimpse into the life of a major shoe industry executive.

Running and Rambling (R&R): David, give me a quick professional bio: How many years have you been with ECCO? How did you come to work for them in the first place? How did you end up overseeing the athletic shoe side of the store?

David Helter (DH): I have been with ECCO for 5 years, which is a relatively short time in 2 regards. 1) Many of my ECCO colleagues have been with the company 10 years or more (for a company in the US less than 20 years). This type of loyalty and longevity is rare in today’s business world. 2) I have been in the footwear business for almost 35 years. I spent most of my career with other premium brands; Bass, Stride Rite, Reebok and Nine West. I started with ECCO in 2005 as General Manager of the ECCO Kid’s Division. In late 2006, I assumed a dual responsibility for the ECCO Performance as General Manager. My 7 year experience with Reebok, 1987 – 1993, certainly helped ground me in the athletic business.

R&R: Tell me a bit about your exercise background: What activities you enjoy, how long you’ve been a runner, how often you run or what kind of weekly mileage you do, types of races (if any) you enjoy, favorite places to run, etc.

DH: I have always considered myself an athlete although I was not born with any extraordinary athletic skills or talent. But, I prided myself on how hard I worked to achieve the limited athletic success I had. I played football and wrestled in high school and wrestled in college. In those sports running is “punishment.” When you do something wrong, you run laps as punishment! When I graduated from college, I began to run for pleasure. I have been running on and off ever since. I am currently running 15-25 miles per week as my schedule and travel permits. I have recently been running in a few local (NH and MA) 5k races. I am only running an 8:45 pace but am working on getting that down a bit.

As with most runners, I run for enjoyment. I love running anywhere outside and am lucky enough to run all over the country. Although running is a bit of loner sport, it is always fun when I am at a place like Portland, OR or Cambridge, MA where there is a series of river trails and a lot of other runners and cyclists on those trails. Running is also great “therapy.” It is easy to work out problems, block out problems or just meditate when running. I also enjoy golf and some occasional beach volleyball.

R&R: On to the company questions … and let’s start with an odd one: What’s with all the capital letters? Both the names ECCO and BIOM are written in caps every time I see them in brochures or on the company website. What gives? I know BIOM is a shortened form of “biomechanics”, but I can’t figure out why the convention in needed.

DH: I don’t know how the letters got capitalized. The ECCO logo is actually done in small letters, ecco. BIOM in most of our printed materials in also done in small letters. Maybe we, the Sports Team, started to capitalize them to scream about our message. I am meeting with our Global Performance Marketing Manager, Wibke Rolf, today and will have to ask her how and why this happened.

R&R: For many runners (myself included), the tipping point for barefoot running and midfoot running form was Christopher McDougall’s book Born to Run, but I know that the research and design process behind BIOM has been going on for nearly three years. What initially inspired ECCO to think “outside the box”, as it were, and explore the potential of a natural running shoe?

DH: The co-CEO of ECCO, Dieter Kasprzak, was actually inspired by the barefoot runners of Africa. ECCO was making some “me too” running products but not making any in-roads into the premiere running channel. Dieter decided to use his inspiration with barefoot running and leverage 3 distinct pillars to embark on the BIOM project; 1) ECCO expertise in footwear making. 2) Dr. Peter Brueggmann’s and the University of Cologne’s expertise in biomechanics and 3) Torbjorn Sindballe’s professional athletic base as a world class triathlete and human laboratory. BIOM was about 3 years in development.

When we started to present BIOM to the running specialty stores in the US 1 ½ years ago, many of the retailers looked at us like we were crazy. After all, we were speaking of footwear inspired by the human foot and/or barefoot running. It was being made by a company NO ONE considered a “running company.” ECCO was battling the running industry giants like Asics and Nike. It was the most expensive running shoe in the world in a tough economy. And, last but not least, it was flying in the face of the current industry paradigms of extreme cushioning, motion control and stability.

1 ½ years later, with the rising popularity of McDougall’s book, the heightened interest in barefoot running, much talk about Chi & Pose running methods and the introduction of new concepts like Nike Free, Vibram Five Fingers, Newton Gravity and BIOM, there is a definite industry trend towards the “less is more” philosophy. I predict in 1-2 years every major running brand will be debuting styles in the natural motion category. This is great as it will give BIOM and ECCO credibility in the running community!

R&R: Related question: Have you read McDougall’s book? Any thoughts about his vocal advocacy for barefoot running, or criticisms of the traditional shoe industry?

DH: No, I haven’t read Born to Run. But, I just purchased a copy and it is the next book on my tall stack of ‘to reads.” I’ll talk to you the next time we meet about the book. McDougall and all barefoot runners are definitely viewed as extremist and in some cases “nutty people.” But, as it is clear that the trend away from the current running paradigms of motion control, stability and extreme cushioning are NOT a fad, the point of view towards him and other barefoot runners will begin to soften.

R&R: You’ve been very clear that ECCO is not seeking to convert barefoot runners to the BIOM. I’m also aware that BIOM can be worn by runners who heel strike, because of the PU pad in the heel. Is there any specific style of runner that you feel would benefit the most from using the BIOM? If you’re targeting those runners transitioning from traditional shoes to barefoot, does your long-term success hinge on whether or not those folks ever succeed in becoming barefoot runners (thus eliminating their need for more shoes)?

DH: BIOM was developed for runners of all strike styles, who don’t experience severe pronation. It can serve as a transition shoe for runners who want to move towards less motion control, stability and cushioning. It can serve as a minimalist shoe for barefoot runners running in severe temperatures or surface conditions. For heel strikers, the lower profile and rounded heel construction will help to move heel contact more towards the center of the heel. It will also help transition the runner from heel through midstance to toe-off quicker. For the midfoot and forefoot strikers, the broader forefoot platform and the great flexibility & torsion will allow for more natural motion.

Our long term success with BIOM will hinge mostly on placement of the concept in the right number of premiere running specialty stores across the US. Natural motion is one segment of running footwear. There will probably always be runners in some form of cushioning, motion control and stability footwear. Although most runners could probably condition their feet to run barefoot, I am not sure most runners have the discipline or desire to do so.

R&R: Pro triathlete Torbjorn Sindballe was instrumental in providing performance feedback for development of the BIOM. Since his recent retirement, is he still involved in the R&D process? Is the company recruiting other professionals for product development, or for a “Team ECCO” at high-profile events? Similarly, are there any plans for event sponsorship at road races or triathlons in the U.S.?

DH: Torbjorn was definitely instrumental in developing and testing BIOM. He has become a good friend and I view his retirement as sad and unfortunate. We will continue to partner with him in several ways but his role in testing product will obviously become much more limited. Yes, ECCO is looking to recruit other professionals but I don’t have much progress to report to you on this front.

We have had great success in launching BIOM and telling the story the grass roots level in the US and abroad. We will be at several trade show events like The Running Event in Austin, TX in November and the Tri Expo in San Diego in January. In addition, we will be doing a variety of race expos across the country including major events like the Chicago, NYC & Boston Marathons in addition to some of the Rock N’ Roll series. We are also looking at the triathlon event market closely as BIOM has struck a chord in this exciting and growing market. Sponsorships are very expensive and given our limited market funds we might leave this avenue to the industry giants.

R&R: You’ve mentioned that a trail model of the BIOM is in the works. Do you have a target launch date yet? Can you reveal any structural differences between the trail model and the current BIOM?

DH: BIOM Trail should be ready to launch the end of 2010 or the beginning of 2011. We have already begun to test the trail model. We think the current attributes of the BIOM concept (extreme flexibility/torsion, low profile and anatomical last/shank) will be as efficient in promoting a natural gait on the trail as they are on the road. We have developed a different outsole with more traction and grip. In addition to their function, I think the silhouettes, materials and colors are very cool!

R&R: ECCO is the only major shoe manufacturer to own and manage the entire manufacturing process. Describe how that so-called “cow to consumer” ownership enhances your quality assurance, production efficiency, and/or corporate responsibility.

DH: WOW, this is a BIG question! ECCO is the only company in the athletic industry which manages this type of vertical control of their destination.

We actually used to raise our own cattle for hides. Based on our growth and size, we now buy rawhides from many premiere sources. ECCO is the world’s 5th largest premium tannery. Our leather division, KT Trading Company, sells leathers to Wilson for baseball gloves. We have contracts with Coach and Louis Vitton for premium leather goods. We sell leather to car and aircraft companies for leather interiors. And most important, we sell leathers to many other shoes companies and make ALL our own leathers. Even though ECCO is not the family name, we are a family owned business and ECCO is treated like the family name.

We have won awards and accolades for the cleanness of our tanning process. We have factories in several countries including Denmark, Portugal, Slovakia, Indonesia, Thailand and China. We produce 80% of our own footwear. We only make one kind of construction in our own factories; Direct Injection Process. We control all processes of our factory construction including pattern making, last making, mold making and footwear assembly. So we humbly consider ourselves shoemaking experts in all processes of shoemaking. When it is your company with the “family name” on the product, which the company is entirely responsible for producing you take pride in every step of the process. Using a simple analogy, it is the difference between owning a home and renting a home.

R&R: Let’s talk about the cost issue: No matter how many great things we have to say about the BIOM (and there certainly a lot), a large segment of the population will remain hung up on the price point. Aside from the unique selling points that were covered in the review, what would you say to recreational runners who believe the BIOM is just too cost prohibitive to try? Are you OK with ECCO being seen as a premium product – something like a BMW compared to a Volkswagen – for a narrower segment of the running community? Do you have any ballpark market share in mind to consider the BIOM a success?

DH: Let’s start by saying that the timing was difficult for ECCO to launch the most expensive running shoe in the world, as it would have been to launch the best watch, car or suit. With that said, ECCO has been and always will be a premium brand.

As per the above statement about our company & control of the entire process, we are more interested in being considered the best vs. the biggest. There will always be a segment of the market looking for and rewarding innovation, “the latest and greatest.” There are plenty of less expensive MP3 players than the iPod but the consumer is still driven to Apple as the leader. So, yes, we are OK, even honored if we are seen as premium like BMW to VW. We can always look to broaden market share in additional development in the running market.

And don’t forget, ECCO makes men’s & women’s comfort/casual/dress shoes, children’s shoes and golf shoes. Not many other single brands span this kind of diverse categorization in footwear. We don’t have a ball park market share but for the US, I hope to be in 125-150 stores maximum for distribution of the BIOM concept.

R&R: I know you place great importance on supporting local running stores and helping to maintain their expertise about your product specifically, and overall running biomechanics and shoe industry knowledge in general. However, since the BIOM is sold through a limited number of retailers, many of your potential shoppers will be inclined to buy directly from the BIOM website or other online retailers. If someone is considering the BIOM, what is your recommendation for the preferred route of purchase?

DH: We are going to continue to sell BIOM and tell the BIOM story through the premiere running specialty retail channel. As detailed above, we feel we need 150 premiere partners across the US to meet demand.

We recently placed BIOM on our own website. We did this because we found the tremendous amount of PR and marketing we were receiving on BIOM was generating a lot of consumer interest. We were receiving emails and calls weekly from frustrated consumers who could not find the product in their respective market. Where possible, we try to steer these consumers to the closest BIOM partner. Ultimately, rather than frustrating the customer or losing a sale, we decided to service the consumer as best as we can on our website.

The results have been humbling. In reviewing the sales, we are selling a lot of the yak leather, which only represented 20% of our placement but have been almost 50% of the sales to the consumer. In addition, it is interesting to look at the origin of the sales. 99% of the sales are coming from markets where we have no partners. We are using this selling information to recruit partners in these areas and to guide our current partners in terms of what product to assort and inventory. When we reach critical mass for retail representation, BIOM might best be serviced only through the traditional brick and mortar retail channel where the story can be told and the product experienced. We would prefer everyone have the opportunity to meet face-to-face with a running specialist to experience and buy BIOM.

R&R: Look into your crystal ball: Where do you see the BIOM in 5 or 10 years? Will it be a “classic” model, or is it the kind of thing that will continually be tinkered with and/or revamped over the years? Do you anticipate the interest in barefoot running and natural running to keep growing, or are we at an apex of sorts? If the barefoot running movement goes away, does the BIOM disappear with it? (And while you’re there in the future … will I still be running? Are people still reading my blog?)

DH: ECCO is constantly striving to improve. We are already evolving the BIOM concept and will be launching the next generation, BIOM 2.1 and 2.2, of BIOM in Spring 2010. Let me tell you these are tweaks and truly represent evolution and not revolution. The revolution started with the original BIOM concept! Yes, hopefully BIOM will become classic but can continue to be updated.

Barefoot running and natural motion is not at its apex. This “organic” style is just beginning. To quote Neil Young….”rock and roll (and BIOM) must never die.” Regarding my look into the crystal ball on your running and blog future … sorry my crystal ball just got a little cloudy!

R&R: Well, it didn’t hurt to ask. Thanks very much for your participation with this interview. I appreciate your taking the time to speak with me.

DH: My pleasure. Happy running!

A Monterey Ghost Story

2009-10-29T14:39:00.000-07:00

“The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living”

- Cicero (106-43 BC)

For many years, my trail running group has occasionally done a “cemetery run”, winding our way through fire roads and single track trails in order to reach the tiny graveyard of an old pioneer family long forgotten by time and neglect. Recently, I tried to learn more about the family who eternally rests near my favorite training ground, only to find that very little is known about them.

So in honor of Halloween weekend, I altered the course of my weekly bike ride with my 11-year-old son in order to explore the area better, and tell him about one of the most mysterious and fatefully haunted locations I’ve ever come across. Think of this as our true-life Monterey County ghost story.

Our tale begins on the former … hang on a second. That doesn’t look quite right. Let me just reach down to this dial here …

There, that’s better. Halloween stories should be told in black and white, don’t you think? OK then – our tale begins on the former Fort Ord military area, more than 7,000 acres of land now used as recreational open space by trail runners and mountain bikers alike.

The landscape welcomes us gently, and I use our warm-up period to introduce the story of the Whitcher (seriously, that’s the real name) family who homesteaded on this land in the late 1800s, only to vanish almost without a trace aside from the remote, meager cemetery that hints at their hardships.

To reach the site, we’ll have our work cut out for us; Fort Ord is known for its rolling, rugged terrain, and our destination lies nearly eight miles away across several ridgelines that we’ll go up and over along the way. (If you’re curious, I did a GPS profile of the ride here.) It was easy for us to imagine how difficult it would be for anyone to forge a comfortable existence out here nearly 150 years ago.

The Whitcher family occupied this land for nearly 60 years, primarily residing in a farm house in the nearby Corral de Tierra area, better known to Steinbeck fans as the Pastures of Heaven. They once owned thousands of acres here, and yet – unlike nearly every other owner of an original “rancho” or “adobe” land grant – absolutely nothing that I know of in Monterey County bears their name.

After cresting our second major climb, our route takes us past a locked gate and down a lonely fire road …

… where even the normal sights begin to acquire an ominous veneer. It’s very likely that these trees knew the Whitchers personally - and their reaching branches may be silently straining to tell us about the other fathers and children who passed this way so many years ago.

The tree cover remains fairly dense until we reach a clearing on the outskirts of a long abandoned community (more on that in a minute) – and about 100 yards off the main road, we finally reach our destination.

The humble cemetery that is the resting place for the family of Thomas Rose Whitcher. It’s only about 20’ long by 10’ wide, but holds the gravestones of five people.

The grass grows long in the center of the plot, but the site shows signs of occasional visitation: a wreath on the cross, flowers at its base, and an artificial cluster of berries or grapes on another headstone.

At the base of the cross is the marker for Mary H. Pearson, who at age 36, represents the oldest person in this plot. The remaining stones – with one uncertain exception – start larger but decrease in size according to the age of the deceased.

Ned Eliger Whitcher, November 8, 1862 - April 29, 1879. Ceased breathing.

Floria Elvira Whitcher, July 19, 1866 – February 17, 1875. Returned to God who gave her.

The next gravestone is the most heartbreaking, even 130 years removed:

Harry Whitcher, August 5, 1875 - September 16, 1875. Quit acheing.

If little Harry’s marker was the most heartbreaking, this final one is the most mysterious:

A small, plain, chipped slab, with nothing more than the initials H.W. Is it another infant? An animal? Had the family become too poor to have an official tombstone made? The answer might be in the wind, or in the trees ... but neither of them are talking.

Overlooking the gravesite from a slight rise is a boarded-up barracks from a former Army post. For most of the 20th Century, the East Garrison barracks housed hundreds of servicemen, and this area also contained a schoolhouse, church, and general store. The Army closed the base in the early 1990s, and the land was eventually turned over to developers. A housing project broke ground, but ran out of money in the recent financial meltdown – so now the whole area sits vacant: abandoned barracks, vandalized and dilapidated buildings, streets halfway built and then forgotten. It’s a literal ghost town, all within shouting distance of the enigmatic graveyard.

That’s also the reason for the chain-link fence around two sides of the burial site: it’s technically part of the Army land turned over to developers, but a consensus was never reached about what to actually do with the site in the context of building a subdivision. There was talk of refurbishing the site, and whispers of relocating it … and then the project stopped, so the decision never had to be made. Now the fence is there as a token gesture of protecting a sacred area that very few people pay attention to anymore.

As my son and I pondered the gravesites in the fading afternoon, the air was growing cold, the wind was beginning to howl, and we still had almost 90 minutes of riding to get home, so it was time to be on our way.

The dying sunlight cast long shadows throughout our return, a somber reminder that time is always running out: on our days, on our precious moments shared with those we love, on our very existence. There’s really nothing like a visit to a graveyard on a cold autumn evening to give you a serious case of the chills.

Our ride back was a lot quieter than the journey out – not necessarily due to being spooked, but more likely because we were tired and cold, and contemplating all that we had just seen.

(But maybe a little bit spooked, too. I certainly wouldn’t rule it out.)

Winding through dense patches of trees, now it seemed as if they were reaching out in hopes of capturing us. They wanted us to stay with them longer – either to tell us more stories, or just to keep them company during the approaching cold night. Whatever the reason, my son and I declined all offers, and just kept on pedaling.

Eventually we reached our sta… oops, wait a minute again … let me switch this back on:

Eventually we reached our starting point, threw on some sweatshirts, and loaded up the bikes to drive home.

I’m not exactly sure whether 10 or 15 years from now my son will think back on this ride with fondness, or just feel creeped out by how his father told him morbid stories while dragging him to an abandoned graveyard on a cold gray evening. However, the story of the Whitcher family has captivated me ever since I discovered it, and I think it’s important that those who came before us – even the most downtrodden, star-crossed, and unfortunate souls among them – live on somehow in the people who come along afterwards.

We honor the dead by remembering them – and if nothing else, this was a ride that I think will stay with us for quite a long time.

ECCO BIOM Running Shoe Review

2009-10-27T17:49:00.000-07:00

Of all the shoes I’m reviewing this fall, none are quite as intriguing as the ECCO BIOM.

Anytime a company brings a $220 running shoe to the market, there’s going to be immediate skepticism over whether the cost is justified. But when you consider how the shoe was conceived, and all of its unique design innovations, and its elusive combination of high comfort and high durability … you could make a compelling case in favor of it. At the very least, you know that ECCO is trying to earn your money honestly.

Most people know ECCO as the 45-year-old Danish company famous for its luxury dress shoes. The brand has sold footwear in US markets for nearly 20 years, and has even produced athletic shoe models for more than seven years. However, it wasn’t until the launch of the BIOM Project that ECCO had a product with enough unique features and major points of difference to distinguish itself from its major running shoe competitors.

The BIOM is designed as a natural running shoe, preserving the natural biomechanics of your foot and ankle as closely as possible. It is NOT intended to convert barefoot runners, or even to compete with minimalist footwear like Vibram or Feelmax. Rather, it represents a paradigm shift in the standard categorization of running shoes, with a fundamental concept inspired by barefoot runners.

ECCO is one of the very few running shoe companies who openly acknowledge that traditional technologies – cushioning, motion control and stability – have been largely ineffective to reduce the injury rates of runners. They saw an opportunity to reinvent the philosophical approach to creating shoes, with a design based not on correcting perceived shortcomings of the foot, but on mimicking the biomechanics of barefoot running.

(Somewhat related tangent #1: The name of the shoe is a shortening of the word “biomechanics”; as for why it’s capitalized, I have no idea – but I’m making some inquiries.)

(Somewhat related tangent #2: This isn’t some knee-jerk reaction by ECCO to capitalize on the Great Barefoot Craze of 2009. The BIOM is the culmination of nearly three years of design and production – so in most respects, the company was way ahead of the current natural motion movement.)

To that end, ECCO launched the BIOM Project with three main resources: 1) the company’s existing and ongoing body of research on natural foot structure, 2) a partnership with Dr. Peter Bruggemann, one of the world’s foremost experts in running biomechanics from the University of Cologne, and 3) collaboration with professional triathlete Torbjorn Sindballe as a real-world test lab. The result was an innovative concept with several unique features, which also meets the demands of a high-performance running shoe.

So what distinguishes this shoe from any others on the market? Here are some of the highlights:

· Instead of using a cookie-cutter straight last or curved last, ECCO created a true anatomic last based on the scanned foot profiles of 2500 runners.

· The anatomic accuracy is enhanced by a direct-injection process of polyurethane (PU) in the midsole. It’s an advanced construction method of bonding the upper to the midsole which also improves the shoe’s durability. The BIOM is the only running shoe on the market that is built using this direct-injection process.

· The entire midsole - and a significant portion of the outsole - of the BIOM is made of PU; there is no EVA in the shoe at all. (In the photos above and below, everything green is PU.) In lab testing, PU has roughly three times the durability of EVA – which means that the midsole breaks down three times more slowly, theoretically giving your shoe a lifespan that is up to three times longer. ECCO’s official claim is that the shoes can last approximately 1.5 times longer than traditional EVA shoes – but that factor alone could help justify the expense of this shoe.

· High-traction rubber outsole components (above photo) are placed strategically to improve grip, but spread minimally to decrease weight.

· The midsole sits lower than traditional running shoes, with a rounded heel construction to diminish rearfoot impact.

· Flex points (above photo) in the outsole mimic barefoot motion.

Furthermore, rather than classifying its models into traditional categorizations, ECCO differentiates the BIOM based on running speed. This makes sense when you consider the differences in your form between sprinting and distance running; as a general rule, when increasing your velocity, you shift more workload to the midfoot and forefoot regions, with less impact through the heel. (The classic example to picture is a group of world-class 100-meter runners; their heels barely touch the ground at all while racing.)

Consequently, the two models available are BIOM A (identified in photo above), intended for runners who frequently run a 6-minute mile pace or faster, and BIOM B, which is intended for the 6-to-10 minute miler. The BIOM A sits lower to the ground, with less slope from heel to forefoot than the BIOM B. Individual specs between the two are as follows:

BIOM A men’s - heel 20mm high, forefoot 12mm
BIOM B men’s - heel 24mm, forefoot 14mm

(a BIOM C, for “occasional” runners, and a trail running version of the BIOM are both in the works for 2010, but not currently available.)

Overall weight of the BIOM A is 10.5 oz, which places it higher than a racing shoe, but lower than the majority of traditional trainers on the market. The dense polyurethane midsole in place of EVA adds some weight, but the tradeoff is increased durability as described above.

In my testing, I tried a BIOM A – not because I’m a sub-6-minute runner, but because I’m coming to the shoe from the background of being a barefoot runner. I wanted the model as flat and close to the ground as possible, which could be a difficult adjustment for someone transitioning from traditional running shoes.

The adjustment period is a critical factor in a newcomer’s success with BIOM, and the company advises a six-week breaking-in period. One of Sinballe’s roles with ECCO was to create a training plan (posted on the website and in BIOM brochures) to ease customers into the shoe naturally.

Another design innovation that mimics barefoot running is a roll bar structure just forward of the heel, which serves as a pivot point to promote midfoot impact instead of heelstrike. If you’re already a midfoot striker, you may barely notice it, but if you’re a regular heel striker, you may initially feel like you’re rolling over the top of the shoe while shifting your weight forward.

Further enhancing the efficient energy transfer from heel to forefoot is a very rigid midsole shank from the heel to the forefoot. The shank opens up in the forefoot to allow the toes to spread slightly, providing a powerful pushoff. The rigid shank plus the dense polyurethane midsole might make the shoe feel slightly stiff during the first few runs, but I noticed that I settled into a nice midfoot strike and smooth transition through the ground contact phase of my running.

One final distinguishing characteristic of the BIOM shoes are the uppers, which are available in two different styles for both the BIOM A and BIOM B: either traditional textile mesh (pictured above), or a breathable yak leather. While the use of yak leather initially raised some eyebrows, it’s really an ideal case of a company using innovation to enhance its social responsibility rather than worsen it.

The yak is a Himalayan pack animal raised for similar purposes as American cattle - primarily labor and milk, and then sacrificed for meat. However, unlike US livestock, yak hides are very thick and oily, and the leather is very difficult and expensive to tan. ECCO spent two years developing an efficient yak tanning process, and now buys most of their supply from Sherpas in the region who otherwise would simply discard it. ECCO is justifiably proud of its efforts to minimize material waste while providing a unique high performance material for its footwear.

As you would expect, there is a difference in ventilation between the open mesh of the textile version and the perforated yak leather, but it’s not as great as you’d imagine. I was fortunate enough to test both versions, and found the yak leather to be remarkably thin, super soft and surprisingly cool. The small sacrifice you make in ventilation with the yak leather is probably compensated by its improved durability compared to the textile upper. Again – if you’re paying a lot of money for these (and trust me, you are), you want them to remain in top shape as long as possible.

Which brings us to the matter of cost. The textile version of the BIOM A retails for $195, and the leather version sells for $220. While select models from other shoe companies (think Newton Gravity, Asics Kinsei, or Nike Air Max 360) are creeping upward into this neighborhood, BIOM has clearly established itself as the most expensive running shoe on the market.

It’s a pricing strategy that ECCO doesn’t apologize for; throughout its history, the company has staked its name on creating premium products at a premium price. They know that there is always a segment of the consumer market who wants the best and is willing to pay for it. I equate this to drivers who prefer driving a BMW when a Volkswagen will run just as far and just as effectively. Think of ECCO as the BMW of the running shoe market: you will undoubtedly get incredible engineering and performance, but whether that justifies the high cost is an individual decision.

Finally, a couple of considerations if you're looking to buy the BIOM …

1) U.S. availability of the shoe is limited to a “premier distribution” of approximately 50 running specialty stores. ECCO places a great deal of significance on supporting independent retailers, and developing their knowledge base and product expertise. It’s great for potential customers who have questions about the BIOM – but the downside is that if you want to try a pair on for a test spin, you might need to travel a ways. A list of vendors can be found on the BIOM Project site.

2) The fit of the shoe is slightly tricky in that it only comes in full sizes, and seems to run slightly big. I wear a size 11 US/44 Euro, which put me right between the BIOM size 45 (for US sizes 11 to 11.5) and size 44 (US size 10-10.5). The 45 was a bit roomy, and I had a better fit with the 44s. If you’re buying from the Internet and have questions about the sizing, it’s probably worth a trip to your nearest vendor to make sure the fit is correct.

Obviously, there’s a lot of information to chew on here … which is probably the way it should be if you’re thinking of spending over $200 for a pair of running shoes. The BIOM is definitely unique compared to any other product on the market, and ECCO deserves credit for rejecting the traditional models of shoe technology and developing an innovative alternative.

(Related post: read my interview with David Helter, GM of ECCO USA, here.

*footwear provided by ECCO USA
*See other product reviews on sidebar at right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at info@runningandrambling.com.

The Barefoot Files: Training Update #6

2009-10-25T15:20:00.000-07:00

“Listen to the talking heart in my chest –

With this gift good Lord I am blessed –
There’s a lump and it’s in my throat –
I’m in love with the wilderness.”
- Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Naked in the Rain” (song after post)
**

In my last report, I indicated that I wasn’t sure where the end point of these training updates lay; this week, I think I’ve reached it.

That’s not to say that my transformation to a barefoot runner is complete, or that there aren’t a lot of new challenges to conquer - it’s just that the practice of logging and reporting every run has become a bit tedious, as I’ll explain more in a minute. But first, let’s put the numbers up here, if just for old times’ sake:

Week 12: 4 barefoot runs

- 20 min (after shod run)
- 45 min
- 70 min
- 35 min

Week 13: 4 barefoot runs

- 50 min (with 30:24 5K)
- 20 min (after shod run)
- 20 min (after shod run)
- 35 min

If each week reads generally like the week before, that’s the way it feels from my standpoint as well. On some days I jog out a mile or two after a longer shod workout, and other days I’ll devote a larger chunk of time to spend entirely without shoes. I feel like I’ve settled into a pretty good groove, where running barefoot is just another facet of my overall training.

Even my family is getting accustomed to the routine. Remember this picture that I took after a neighborhood 3-miler a few weeks ago? Well, now when I come home from a weekend run, my youngest daughter usually meets me on the steps to watch me take my foot picture. Of course, she likes to include herself in the game, too …

… so we’ve got a lot of pictures like this at home.

As mentioned previously, there are still a lot of new horizons for me to explore on this barefoot adventure, and I’m going to continue to do so. I want to get more resilient on dirt and trail surfaces, I’d like to stretch out my barefoot runs to ever longer distances, and I’m itching to develop some speed (see my 5K time above - tantalizingly close to sub-30. Whoo-hoo!). I’ll still report on those developments, as well as particularly memorable runs like my morning on the Embarcadero as the weeks and months roll by.

On that note, a couple of stories stand out from the last couple of weeks:

I’ve mentioned more than once that dirt running is going to be my final frontier as a barefooter; the sharp, irregular terrain is absolutely merciless on my naked feet – which, perversely, makes me all the more intrigued to conquer the challenge.

I started thinking about what kinds of trails would be best for easing myself into things: Someplace flat. Someplace with relatively soft soil. Someplace where the dirt is groomed on a frequent basis. Someplace with a scenic backdrop to help me pass the time.

Someplace, in other words, like a big open agricultural field – which the Salinas Valley just happens to be famous for.

I’ve written before about running and riding through these fields, and I find myself drawn to them ever more frequently over the past several weeks. It’s really a topic that deserves its own post, which I’ll put together in the near future.

The other noteworthy run happened at the end of my weekly 12-mile trail run early one Tuesday morning. All of the weather forecasts form the evening before warned about a fierce winter storm rolling into our area during the night, so when I lumbered out of bed at 4:45 to the sound of only mild rainfall, I considered myself a bit lucky, and headed out to join the regular group run.

Our collective luck held out through about 90 minutes of the run, as the storm never escalated beyond light sprinkling with heavy wind. The skies began to open up about 10 minutes away from our destination, and by the time we finished, the heavy stuff was just beginning to come down.

After reaching my car, the thought occurred to me: When was the last time you ran barefoot in the rain? And since I couldn’t even think of such an occasion, I decided to make one right then.

I kept my running clothes on, stripped off my shoes and socks, and spent the next 20 minutes dancing around in what was now a legitimate full-throttle storm. As the wind howled, and the rain pelted my face, and my feet felt the chill of cool water, there wasn’t anything else I wanted to be doing.

It was crazy and primal and juvenile – but it was one of the most intense experiences I’ve ever enjoyed. Good Lord, I am blessed.

**
Postscript: If I ever had to create a "desert island" collection of my five most enjoyable, most enduringly listenable albums of all time, RHCP's Blood Sugar Sex Magik would have a secure place on that list. It was arguably the band's high-water mark, and although this song wasn't a hit single (and never had an official music video), it stands out as one of the best funky jams ever made by a band famous for its vast repertoire of jam funkiness.

Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Naked in the Rain” (click to play):

*See previous training updates on sidebar at right.

U2 Stops the Traffic

2009-10-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

(Admin note: this is the follow-up post to the trivia question I asked in this post about a certain landmark in San Francisco. The story itself has nothing to do with running, but if you’ve hung around here for any length of time, you know that's never stopped me before.)

*
In November of 1987, U2 hadn’t comfortably settled into their newfound status as the Biggest Band in the World.

Earlier in the year, they released The Joshua Tree, the album that launched them straight into the rock music stratosphere, and were drawing tens of thousands of fans at every sold-out tour stop of the summer. They couldn’t walk down the street anymore without a flash mob and hundreds of photographers stalking their every move. Yet they still loved the youthful spontaneity of their early years, and felt like they were losing touch with fans who couldn’t afford concert tickets.

The documentary film Rattle and Hum was conceived as an effort to share the tour experience with that base, and one day on San Francisco’s Embarcadero, the band gave its fans the ultimate gift of spontaneity: a free lunchtime concert in Justin Herman Plaza.

Photo from U2tour.de

The concert was announced on short notice (less than 24 hours by most reports), but still drew 20,000 people to the foot of Vaillancourt Fountain to hear a nine-song playlist. The crowd spilled into the surrounding streets and brought traffic to a standstill in all directions.

Near the end of the show, Bono (a future Time Magazine Person of the Year, mind you) climbed the lower portion of Armand Vaillancourt’s Quebec Libre! sculpture and spray painted the phrase Rock & Roll Stops The Traffic above the impromptu stage.

Photo from U2tour.de

Afterward, San Francisco’s mayor was outraged, threatening fines and jail time as punishment for such a public display of vandalism. The argument escalated until Vaillancourt himself was contacted to learn if he supported the act.

The sculptor defended Bono's gesture, declaring that from a societal standpoint, graffiti is sometimes a necessary evil for young people who lack the same access to mainstream media that people of higher power and influence enjoy. San Francisco’s mayor knew better than to pick a battle with one of the city’s most popular artists – to say nothing of the Biggest Band in the World – and let the issue rest without further consequence.

Vaillancourt then supported the band in the coolest way possible: the following night, he personally attended U2's Oakland concert, and climbed on stage to write "Stop the madness" in front of 70 000 people.

The scene at Herman Plaza is forever captured in their 1989 movie Rattle and Hum (click to play):

Which is why the song "All Along the Watchtower" was playing in my head throughout last weekend's run.

(So I guess the story is a LITTLE bit about running ... )

Anti-Monkey Butt Powder

2009-10-23T15:53:00.000-07:00

(Admin note: I know I promised a U2 post for this weekend; that one’s coming tomorrow. In the meantime, I’m throwing together a somewhat odd product review that I’ve been extremely delinquent in posting. You’ll quickly see why.)

If there was ever any doubt about my willingness to accept just about any product offer that knocks on my e-mailbox, allow me to present a review of Anti-Monkey Butt Powder.

The Anti Monkey Butt Corporation (seriously – it’s a real corporation) was founded in 2003 by a couple of hardcore dirt bike racers, and their product is designed to eliminate the friction and chafing that cyclists and runners experience during multi-hour activities.

You know what I’m talking about; it goes by a lot of names: Saddle sore. Scarlet cleft. Jungle rot. Or, in this case, monkey butt.

So these two dudes created Anti-Monkey Butt Powder for improved comfort during long activity. They tested various formulas before settling on the right combination of ingredients (which are apparently top secret, as they’re nowhere to be found on the website).

Honestly, I don’t typically have severe problems with chafing, so it’s hard for me to vouch for the effectiveness of AMBP. However, I used it for a handful of mountain bike rides during the summer, and it seemed to decrease the amount of sweating in, um … delicate areas. So I guess I can say it works as advertised.

This clearly isn’t my area of expertise, so I don’t know how AMBP compares to using plain old baby powder, or BodyGlide or other types of saddle creams and balms out there. I will say that they have one of the coolest mascots I’ve seen in a while, and they sent me some stickers that my daughters love.

(Funny tangential story: My 5-year-old daughter continually confuses the names of a couple of products I’ve received – so in the mornings, when I’m in the process of making a monkey shake, she asks me, “Are you making your Monkey Butt Shake, Dad?,” which of course sends her siblings into hysterics. It’s happened enough times that she’s probably mixing the names up on purpose now – but it’s always good for a nice laugh before heading off to work or school.)

I don’t have much more to add here, other than to say that if you suffer from monkey butt, you should definitely consider Anti-Monkey Butt Powder as one of your prevention options. A 6-oz bottle is available for less than five dollars at Amazon.com, so it's a pretty inexpensive product to try.

Or, if you'd like to try it for free, I've also got two unopened single-use packets available for a giveaway to the first person to e-mail me at the address below. (UPDATE: They're already spoken for.)

*Product provided by Anti-Monkey Butt Corporation

** See other product reviews on sidebar at right. If you have a product you'd like reviewed, contact me at info@runningandrambling.com

What a Relief!

2009-10-22T16:03:00.000-07:00

The world of marathoning has been getting a lot of press recently – unfortunately, for nearly all the wrong reasons.

Most serious and tragic was the story this month of three runners who died in the same race – a nearly inexplicable occurrence, especially in the absence of severe heat or other extreme conditions. On a more lighthearted note, there was the “scandalous” disqualification of both the first- and second-place women’s winners of a marathon in Milwaukee: the first for drinking from a forbidden water bottle, and the second for wearing an iPod (yes, really).

Somewhere in between these extremes of tragic and ridiculous is one of the better marathon stories I’ve heard in quite a while, about a senior runner from Michigan who dealt with unusual adversity in just about the most admirable way you could imagine … and was almost immediately penalized for it. His tale (which is 100% true) is the subject of our most recent Monterey Herald column, which follows below.

**
Running Life 10/22/09 “What a Relief!”

When running towards an aid station in the final miles of a marathon, most runners are looking for similar things: fluids, energy gels, some uplifting words from the volunteers, and perhaps a little Vaseline for problem areas.

At this month’s Twin Cities Marathon, Jerry Johncock was looking for a urinary catheter.

According to the Minneapolis-St Paul Star-Tribune (original story is here), Johncock is an 81-year-old who has finished more than 100 marathons since taking up running at age 50. He also suffers periodically from blood clots that block his urinary tract. During the marathon, he recognized the painful condition happening again and stopped to ask for assistance at the mile 22 aid station. He had hydrated well, but his bladder was struggling, and he couldn’t relieve himself. The medical staff at the race told him they didn’t have the necessary equipment to assist him, and recommended that he drop out of the race and go to a hospital for treatment.

Jerry Johncock; photo from Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune

To nearly everyone’s surprise, a spectator in the crowd stepped up to say that he had a catheter in his car that the runner could borrow. The anonymous stranger retrieved it, the first aid worker helped insert it, and … problem solved! Johncock later called the Good Samaritan’s act “a gift from the Lord” in his time of need.

With his bladder freshly drained, Johncock was completely relieved and ready to roll. He ran strong to the finish, and even with the delay was able to win his men’s 80-84 age group (there were only two runners in the category, but still). At the Twin Cities Marathon, that honor carries a cash prize of $225.

Predictably, since nearly no good deed goes unpunished, when race officials heard of the incident they immediately suspended the official race results pending an investigation and consultation with USA Track and Field, the national governing body of road racing. They wanted to determine whether Johncock should be disqualified for violating race rules when he received the assistance.

From Twin Cities Marathon website

According to USATF rules, a competitor who receives assistance from any person aside from official medical staff may be disqualified. There was also a question of whether Johncock re-entered the course at the exact same location where he stepped off the road while using the catheter.

Fortunately, common sense prevailed – although it took four full days to get there – as Johncock’s time was allowed to stand. He collected his money and was declared the official age group winner. When the race director called him with the news, Johncock had no hard feelings – in fact, he said that he plans to return to the race next year.

If that happens, he said he’ll take one additional precaution: "I'll strap a catheter around my waist."

People say that marathon runners have to be tough, and willing to overcome whatever adversity they face on race day - and we've faced enough difficult extremes in marathon racing to appreciate just how challenging those rough moments can be. But in all our years of watching and participating in marathons, the toughness and determination shown by this octogenarian may be one of the most impressive displays we’ve ever heard of.

We know this story reads like satire but it’s absolutely true. It’s also a nice lesson on the positive attributes that years of marathon running can instill in someone. Our congrats go out to Mr Johncock for finishing his race, and we wish him many more in his future - although we hope the next one isn't quite so eventful.

Barefoot Embarcadero

2009-10-20T09:39:00.000-07:00

Last weekend our family took one of those “Let’s cram as much educational and enriching stuff as possible into 24 hours!” trips to San Francisco – so in between seeing King Tut and the science museum, doing some geocaching, enjoying the SF Symphony, and absolutely loving a trip (seriously - you have to do it someday) to Alcatraz, I snuck out of the hotel for an early-morning run through the city.

Without shoes, of course. Because if there’s anyplace on Earth where you're free to look like an absolute weirdo, it has to be San Francisco. And with that, I was on my way.

I always love seeing buildings in this town with early morning sunlight spilling through them. During the other 22 or so hours of the day, maybe not so much – but sunrise in the big city always carries the feeling of promise for the day ahead.

I made a beeline for Market Street, where it was a straight shot to the Ferry Building in the distance, where I’d pick up the Embarcadero.

This is part of Justin Herman Plaza across the street from the Ferry Building. The large sculpture is called Quebec Libre!, and sits in what’s known as Vaillancourt Fountain, because it’s 1) named after the scupltor, and 2) usually filled with water. On this morning, however, it was completely emptied …

… which made for a cool little picture spot.

(*Random musical trivia tangent of the day: the sculpture in Vaillancort Fountain holds a special place in history for hardcore U2 fans. I’ll tell the story in a weekend post, but feel free to chime in the comments box if you know its significance.)

As I reached my first dock, the morning fog was stubbornly clinging to the low-lying hills, like this one on Yerba Buena Island under the Bay Bridge …

… and to the tops of the buildings, like this thin veil atop the Coit Tower.

The Embarcadero is the main drag for recreational joggers in this part of the city, so I got plenty of astonished looks for not wearing shoes.

Most people were friendly about it – several even ran alongside me for a bit to ask the usual “Doesn’t it hurt? What about broken glass?” type of questions. One younger girl even took off her iPod earbuds to talk with me – that’s something of a compliment among twenty-something females, right?

It had rained earlier in the week, so there were lingering puddles scattered along the waterway – and of course, I ran through every one of them. No matter how many times I do it, I always get a charge out of looking back over my shoulder and seeing this image on the ground behind me.

Sunlight bouncing off the building, tree foliage just beginning to turn, and a wispy layer of fog … have I mentioned that San Francisco is beautiful in the morning?

My turnaround point was at Pier 39, where I moseyed up and down the docks a bit …

… and took a little picture break before heading back toward the hotel.

By my return trip, the sun had finally triumphed over the fog, providing some killer views of the nearby skyline.

Another cool thing I love about San Francisco: the older historic buildings that are dwarfed by skyscrapers on either side, but still stand proudly as a reminder of the early days. They give the city its character, and more than a little bit of class.

A farmer’s market was going on back at the Ferry Building. I got almost zero strange looks here: you have to do a lot better than jogging around barefoot to grab the attention of this hemp-growing, organic-farming, incense-burning, vegan hippie peacenik crowd. Not that I tried.

Given that I was in a farmer’s market in San Francisco, I was surprised that I didn’t see more signs like this. There were only about a dozen; I thought the number would be closer to fifty. Kind of disappointing, really.

From there, I just had a long trip up Market Street to get back to the hotel. The sidewalks on Market are made of red brick, which was almost the perfect texture for urban barefoot running: more traction than concrete, but smoother and less hazardous than the asphalt street. If I’m ever elected the barefoot mayor of a small town somewhere, I’ll lobby to have all the streets made out of brick.

After about six miles of barefoot running, I was back in the plushly-carpeted hotel lobby from which I started. It was a good spot to sit for a minute …

… and take one more foot photo. You’d think I would have got some strange looks for taking pictures of my feet in a hotel lobby, but, you know -

It’s San Francisco.

Sanuk Shoe Review

2009-10-19T18:20:00.000-07:00

“I'm looking for life, love and laughter -
Everything in between and what happens after -
I'm looking for life, looking for love, looking for laughter.”
- Donavon Frankenreiter, “Life, Love, and Laughter” (video after post)

**
You’d be hard pressed to find a footwear company that gives off better vibes than Sanuk.

The company name is a Thai word for happiness and balance. One of their company mottos is “Smile! Pass it on.” And the goal of their business is to make your feet feel like they’re spending a day at the beach.

Sanuk was started in 1997 by a dude named Jeff Kelley, who thought he’d try making sandals out of inner tubes and indoor-outdoor carpet. While that prototype doesn’t sound particularly comfortable, he eventually developed a smooth, stylish, durable flip-flop and started attracting the most chill group of partners and consultants imaginable to promote and advance his product line.

From Outside magazine

Today, Team Sanuk consists of twelve charismatic athletes, all of whom are either professional surfers or extreme rock climbers. You’ve probably seen their crazy ads in outdoor magazines, which highlight both the products and the company’s unique brand culture. Their spokespeople are also a group who firmly believe in the importance of allowing the foot to perform without restrictions.

Think about it: what two groups of athletes are more reliant on optimal foot performance than surfers or rock climbers? If you want to carve a tight bottom turn or avoid making a barn door out of a dyno, you need as much natural foot strength and flexibility as possible. That same philosophy also determines what these athletes put on their feet after exiting the water or belaying down the rock face.

Doesn't have anything to do with footwear ... but I found this photo on the Sanuk site, and I like it: Team Sanuk member Alana Blanchard. Good vibes, indeed.

Sanuk footwear – referred to as sidewalk surfers – is built with the premise that the foot should function naturally. Or, as their website states: We think that nature has endowed us with a nice set of functional feet...they worked well for eons. Our guess is that the first shoes were designed to protect from the elements, but many societies stuck with sandals. Why? Because they are the closest things to walking barefoot.

One of Sanuk’s advertising tag lines is “They're not shoes, they’re sandals.” There are no rigid boards or shanks, and the thin flexible footbeds enable your feet to bend naturally when you walk. Imagine a lightweight canvas upper sewn onto a thong flip-flop bottom, and you get the idea. They call this approach Barefoot Un-Technology, which allows all the muscles in your feet to work as if they’re bare.

Yet another crazy Sanuk ad

The cool surfer attitude of the company founders is evident in every model in the Sanuk line. Per the company philosophy page, they strive to make products that are as much about funk as they are about function. That eclectic style is clearly apparent in the model I tested, called the Donny.

(I pretty much had to pick that one, didn’t I? Although the name isn’t short for Donald, but Donavon – as in Donavon Frankenreiter, the professional surfer and chill music badass whose music I’ve embedded on this site before. I mean, if you’re offering a barefoot shoe model that’s practically named after me, that promises happiness and balance, and is inspired by a dude who happens to be one of my biggest role models … you have me at hello.)

He can pretty much play guitar anywhere: Donavon Frankenreiter, from the Sanuk website.

The styling of this shoe is remarkably cool, both from a color standpoint and the way it looks like a well-worn beach shoe right out of the box. The canvas upper is very thin and immediately comfortable without any breaking-in period.

The Donny

Sanuk’s soft molded EVA footbed is just thick enough (at 22mm) to provide your feet with killer comfort, but maintains a lot of the ground feel you have from purely barefoot shoes like Vivo Barefoot or Feelmax. Given the beach theme, the footbed reminded me of walking on the firm sand of the ocean’s edge, where there’s a little bit of support underneath, but your feet are still doing most of the work.

On the other side of the footbed, Sanuk makes a rubberized EVA “Happy-U” sole. The traction of it isn’t super – about the same as you would have in a pair of flip-flops – but there’s one point worth a closer look:

Lots of little happy faces! I guess that’s why it’s called Happy U.

Truthfully, a lot of things about this shoe make me happy – an extremely comfortable fit, a ‘very close to barefoot’ feel, and a classic surf dog design. It will definitely be my number one choice for casual outings when I can’t get away with going barefoot, but still want to channel my inner beach bum. If there’s a shoe equivalent of enjoying life, love, and laughter, it would have to be Sanuk.

The Sanuk Donny retails for $55 from the Sanuk website, and they're also sold at Amazon.com, with nicely discounted prices on select sizes or colors.

*Product provided by Sanuk
** See other product reviews on sidebar at right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at info@runningandrambling.com.

**
Donavon Frankenreiter, "Life, Love, and Laughter" (click to play):

Soft Star Coupon Winner!

2009-10-19T16:28:00.000-07:00

The official drawing was held this evening at the Running and Rambling household, with my 5-year-old daughter doing the honors of drawing a number out of the hat ...

Trailrat - shoot me an e-mail (info@runningandrambling.com) with your address. You've won!

Thanks to everyone who participated. If you'd like to formally protest the result, I'll refer you to my complaint department:

The Purge

2009-10-18T15:37:00.001-07:00

Before today’s post, two quick reminders about recent product reviews …

First, if you want your name in the hat for a $20 Soft Star coupon, leave a comment on this post right now. I’m assigning numbers and pulling one out of the hat on Monday night.

Second, the coupon code discount (R&R20) for 20% off Vivo Barefoot shoes ends on October 31st, so get going if you want to save a few dollars. I have an additional Vivo Barefoot announcement as well as a second shoe review, but I’m saving those for a later post.

For now, today’s entry should be a brief one …

**

“ … And when it became clear that one side had to go, one side had to be purged. I did what I had to do.”
- Ben Linus, from season 3 of Lost

For as long as I’ve been a runner, I’ve been a packrat with my running shoes.

Once I’ve exceeded its recommended mileage life span, I’ll keep a pair of running shoes around the house for years afterward. Some I use for walking shoes; some are for hiking or mountain biking; others are set aside for yardwork. Some have very specific roles, such as mowing the grass or doing indoor chores, and others are available for general use – they sit in the cabinet by my front door for the times when I just need to throw something on my feet in a hurry before exiting the house.

The result, of course, is that I accumulate a lot of shoes.

However, since undertaking this whole barefoot experiment, I’m finding that the type of shoes I reach for nowadays are very seldom the super-cushiony, pronation- and motion-controlling stability models that I’ve used for decades. Instead, I seek out the minimal amount of shoe necessary for the task at hand.

I’m not yet sure what the endpoint of this barefoot awakening will be, but there’s one thing I know for certain: from this point forward, I’m a firm believer in the “less is more” philosophy of running shoes. Even when I eventually return to the high-mileage, high degree of difficulty trails of my favorite ultra courses, it will be with shoes that are as lightweight and low-profile as I can get away with.

Consequently, I recently realized that I had at least a dozen pair of shoes lying around that I would most likely never care to use again. As Ben Linus would say, it was clear that one side had to go. One side had to be purged.

One-half of the donation

Later that week, I rounded up all the old shoes I could find, stuffed them into two garbage bags, and hauled them over my shoulder like Santa Claus into my local running store's Reuse-A-Shoe bin. Dropping their weight off my body felt remarkably therapeutic, like when a drug addict finally flushes his pills down the toilet, or a porn addict burns his stash of magazines and videotapes (um … so I’m told). A small part of me wanted to seek out a 12-step group somewhere, to help guide me through the transitional uncertainty.

Maybe I’ll see the old shoes in another life, if they get reincarnated as an all-weather track somewhere, or as reused materials in a minimalist shoe a few years from now. Perhaps they’ll be given away intact to people who have far less means and far greater concerns to worry about than what’s covering their feet. Either way, I’m hopeful that somebody can put them to good use – but that somebody almost certainly won’t be me.

My name is Donald, and I’m a barefoot runner.

Video Instruction

2009-10-16T20:23:00.000-07:00

We’ll move forward into the weekend by backtracking a little bit on the whole notion of barefoot running.

More specifically, for as much as I’m practicing and promoting barefoot running, I haven’t described in much detail exactly how your form changes when transitioning from traditional footwear to a “forefoot running” shoe (such as Nike Free, Newton Gravity, or the ECCO BIOM, which will be reviewed later this month), to minimalist footwear (Vibram or Feelmax), to finally ditching the shoes altogether.

It’s a concept that’s much easier to feel and visualize than to describe in writing – and since I can’t take everyone along for a run, I hunted down some videos that should help illustrate the differences in running form.

The first is from the Newton website, with Chief Technological Officer Danny Abshire – himself an experienced ultrarunner – explaining and demonstrating forefoot running, and how Newton’s shoes are designed for this specific style. Although it’s a promotional video for the company’s product, there are a lot of simple instructions here to illustrate some good basic points:

When you’re ready to ditch shoes altogether, there’s no margin for error in using proper form; if you don’t get it right, you’re assuming a high risk of injury. Jason Robillard is a Midwestern runner who has launched a barefoot instructional website, and in this video, he demonstrates proper barefoot form.

If you’re like me, one of the first things you’ll notice above is how slow barefoot running appears, and you’ll wonder whether it’s possible to run at high speeds, especially over rough terrain. So to give you a sense of what’s possible, here’s a video from perhaps the most popular barefoot runner in the world: Barefoot Ted, who has been running without shoes for more than five years and has a coaching service of his own. He’s also an accomplished ultrarunner, having finished several 100-milers in Vibram FiveFingers – including a sub-26 hour finish at Leadville this summer.

In this video, Barefoot Ted dispels the notion that barefoot runners have to be slow and cautious all the time; if you build up to it the right way, your naked feet are capable of supporting some truly remarkable activity:

I don’t know if I’ll ever get to the level of Barefoot Ted’s proficiency (although an ultra in Vibrams is an intriguing possibility), but it’s nice to know that I’m not pushing any envelopes that haven’t already been torn through. If we recognize what kinds of accomplishments are possible, and attentively use the proper means to reach them, there’s virtually no limit to our progression as barefoot runners.

Soft Star Shoe Review (And Coupon Giveaway!)

2009-10-14T14:58:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen really comfortable or attractive children’s clothing – like a cozy pair of pajamas, a cute skirt, or a colorful raincoat - and wished that there was a grown-up version that you could enjoy? If so, you’ll absolutely love Soft Star footwear.

from Soft Star brochure

Soft Star was founded in the 1980s by Tim and Jeanie Oliver, who initially wanted little more than to operate their own business and do something nice for children. As their baby daughter was learning to walk, they were unhappy with most of the hard, stiff toddler shoes on the market, and looked for footwear that was soft and flexible to better support muscle development.

Finding nothing satisfactory, they educated themselves on the shoe crafting trade, and started their own cottage business. Soft Star moccasins were designed for little people to run, jump, and roll around in – and their designs were totally adorable.

Tim Oliver at work; photo from Soft Star website

The Olivers sold their footwear at local festivals and through mail order, and gradually developed a loyal following. Over the years, their cool designs and natural construction have also attracted the attention of many celebrities whose children grow up in Soft Star moccasins. (Children’s styles remain the primary engine of the business, as a look at Soft Star’s press room will quickly confirm.) Fortunately, Soft Star recognized that many grown-ups want the same comfort, style, and natural benefits as their moccasin-wearing kids - so the company began making their footwear for the entire range of adult sizes.

from Soft Star website

Although the company has grown significantly, Soft Star shoes are still hand-crafted at the family workshop in Oregon. There’s no outsourcing, and no mass production; each pair of moccasins is hand-made by one of the nine Soft Star “elves”, making it one of only a handful of shoe manufacturers whose materials and production remain entirely in the United States. Since each pair is individually made, Soft Star also specializes in custom orders for those who have trouble with traditional footwear sizing.

Avoiding the “staging” process of most shoe companies helps keep Soft Star one of the greenest companies around. They also have several eco-friendly processes such as using formaldehyde-free leathers and all-natural materials without chemicals, dyes, or pollutants for manufacturing. Their factory is powered by Oregon’s Blue Sky renewable energy program, and Soft Star’s overall carbon footprint must be one of the smallest of any business around.

But that’s not why you’ll love the shoes. You’ll love them because they’re fun to look at, and they may be the most comfortable thing you’ll ever put on your feet.

Soft Star’s line of adult footwear is basically an expanded version of its children’s moccasins. The materials and color schemes are tailored to more adult tastes, but you don’t have to limit yourself to what’s on the menu. If you want to custom design your colors, they’ll do that for you. (They even have a chart that can match a moccasin to your favorite crayon color – how fun is that?) If you want suede instead of leather, that’s OK too. You can choose 100% vegan options if that’s your desire. And if you want the exact same rainbow-with-elf-fringe design that your toddler wears, they can do that as well.

Soft Star Roo

My model came off the menu, and is one of Soft Star’s most popular styles: the Roo (kind of a fun name, isn’t it?), made of suede with a grippy undersole. Like all Soft Star mocs, it features an insole with plush sheepskin, a naturally homeostatic material that wicks moisture away and keeps your foot at an even temperature in hot or cold weather. There’s an elastic ankle closure that makes them a cinch to put on, but keeps them securely in place during activity.

The insole is attached to a bottom layer of suede, which is then bonded to the T-Rex soling material - a soft black rubberized fabric layer which provides non-slip properties and offers a moisture barrier to allow indoor and outdoor use of the moccasin. The Soft Star site claims that T-Rex material is used in mountain apparel to help climbers keep their grip on tough terrain.

T-Rex fabric on underside

Since there’s no midsole to the moccasin, the underside of the Roo is just a few millimeters thick, so this is a true minimalist shoe that provides all of the ground feel and musculoskeletal advantages of going barefoot – except that you’re swaddled in sheepskin and soft suede. If there’s a more comfortable way of walking naturally, I haven’t seen it yet.

Super soft and flexible

Predictably, the barefoot community has flocked to Soft Star, and several minimalist runners use this footwear for running. (Soft Star actually has an entire page devoted to the benefits of going barefoot, which I'm fairly certain was on their site even before the Great Barefoot Craze of 2009 began. They’re not being trendy; it’s a philosophy they truly believe in.) I’ve tried mine this way, but the sheepskin felt too warm against my bare feet, so I prefer to stick with my Vibrams or Feelmax for running. However, for casual use, these have become my “put them on as soon as I walk in the door after work” footwear – and as winter creeps closer and the temperature gets colder, I’m certain that I’ll be logging a ton of hours in my Roos.

My Chocolate Roo moccasins retail for $63 from the Soft Star site, and the children’s versions (scroll down) retail for $34. These individually made, hand-crafted products are assembled with attention to detail and built for durability, so you’ll enjoy them for years to come – unless you’re a kid that grows out of them, of course. For the comfort and utility you get, they’re totally worth the price. They'd also make a great baby or toddler gift for all the little Roos in your life.

In conjunction with this review, Soft Star provided me with a single $20 coupon redeemable on any item from their website, including custom orders (which are usually slightly more expensive than standard models). If you’d like to get a pair of Soft Stars and save yourself 20 bucks, leave your name (first names OK) in the comment box below, and I’ll randomly select a lucky winner on Monday.

*product provided by Soft Star Shoes

*See other product reviews on sidebar at right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at info@runningandrambling.com.

Disclosure

2009-10-13T11:40:00.000-07:00

So … yeah. The FTC thing.

Enough people have asked or e-mailed me about the upcoming Federal Trade Commission guidelines for bloggers that I figured I should make some sort of blanket statement about the product reviews that have become the lifeblood of this blog in recent months.

Basically, the regulation that goes into effect December 1st requires anyone who reviews products online to disclose any connection with advertisers, including the receipt of free products, and whether or not they were paid to make an endorsement.

The rule is well-intentioned; it’s awfully easy for someone to rave on their blog or Facebook page or Twitter feed about the fantastic new diet plan they’re on, or how much they love a new TV show that debuted this fall – but it’s often difficult for readers to know if those opinions are being incentivized. It’s a well-known practice for some companies (weight loss product vendors seem most guilty of this) to create false blogs that appear to be everyday people gushing about what a great supplement they’ve discovered. Product endorsement is also prevalent among celebrities who have millions of followers willing to try whatever items their pop culture idols suggest.

So those are the primary targets of the regulation, but the rule also impacts smaller-scale websites and lesser-known proprietors who operate the Internet equivalent of Five and Dime shops - which brings us back to Running and Rambling.

The person behind this blog is me. I’m not a front for a larger company, and I don’t make any effort to keep product sources secret. The vast majority of gear I receive is provided to me directly by the companies involved. If there’s something specific I’m looking to review, I’ll occasionally reach out to a company on my own, but more frequently they contact me at the e-mail address I include at the end of each review post.

My other source is a connection I’ve (hopefully) been very up front about – my relationship with Wilderness Running Company. They’re an online vendor dedicated to the trail running community, and I have a ton of respect for the way they promote ultrarunning and the outdoor adventure lifestyle. I don’t have a financial stake in the company, but they occasionally send me products to review, usually in conjunction with a special promotion they are offering. They have become my primary choice for online vendors – so if a company sends me a product that is carried by WRC, I’ll link to the WRC page instead of Amazon or REI or ZombieRunner (all of whom I frequently use for links to non-WRC products).

Seriously, they're awesome - go check them out sometime. Be sure to use my coupon code (R&R10) for a 10% discount.

And then, every so often, I actually buy something for the express purpose of reviewing it here. This is my least frequent means of obtaining products, as I’d probably go broke if this were my regular mode of operation.

As far as conflict of interest goes, I’d like to think that I stay fairly objective about the product regardless of its source. I don’t love every product, but I’ll never just say “I hate this thing,” or, “These shoes are terrible.” Rather, I try to point out what kind of user would benefit from the product in question, even if it doesn’t suit my individual needs. Although a product may not knock my socks off, it still might serve a need for somebody else – so I try to indicate where that would be the case.

I’m finding that my website has pretty good reach in cyberspace – especially in Google searches for specific products – so my goal is always to make my review worth the cost of a product sample to the company who has provided it. Considering the cost of mass marketing, and the fact that specialized websites tend to draw an ideally targeted demographic, I like to think that I hold up my end of the bargain fairly well.

Of course, I’ll never purposely write a glowing review of a product just because I received it for free – but to eliminate any hint of deception, it’s not that big of a deal for me to disclose my product sources. From now on, I’ll include that info at the end of each review post.

If you have any feedback or suggestions about this regulation and its impact on individual bloggers, I’d love to hear it. Comment below, or feel free to e-mail me at info@runningandrambling.com.

SOLE Platinum Sandals Review

2009-10-12T14:50:00.000-07:00

This could be an interesting week: the product review train that is Running and Rambling will veer in some unusual directions over the next several days. We'll go from warm-weather footwear (today) to cold-weather necessities (later this week), with one or two random stops along the way (wherever I can fit them in).

The most unusual aspect of today’s post, however, is that I haven’t actually reviewed the product in question. Instead, as often happens when I get myself in a jam, I’m turning to my wife to bail me out.

Actually, the timing was fairly fortuitous; throughout the summer, she had been looking to replace her favorite flip-flop sandals that were discontinued last year. So when SOLE offered to let me test a pair of Platinum Orthopedic Sandals, I pretended that I was really a girl with size 9 feet, and tricked them into sending me a women’s version.

(OK … that’s not really the way it happened; I explained our situation to the company rep, and he was very cool to let me do a writeup based on my wife’s testing and feedback. So with that, we’ll get right to it.)

SOLE (always written in all caps; I have no idea why) is the brainchild of Canadian Mike Baker, the founder and president who first made his mark with do-it-yourself custom insoles, and more recently expanded to the arena of orthopedic sandals.

The orthopedic angle is an important one, as Baker’s product idea was inspired by his own history of injury. SOLE footbeds are designed to create a custom fit for improved comfort, alignment, balance and injury-prevention. The company has sold millions of insoles to NFL and NBA teams, military personnel, and medical professionals. Both the insoles and sandals are approved by the American Podiatric Medical Association.

(However, it will certainly be a point of contention with barefoot practitioners that the company’s website proclaims that without proper cushioning and support, the human foot is inclined to “collapse” and cause pain all the way up the body. Maybe it’s a good thing that my wife was the one doing this review.)

Baker also has a strong social and environmental conscious, supporting several outreach programs promoting youth fitness and targeting the childhood obesity epidemic. SOLE is committed to environmental sustainability, using recycled packaging components, and converting product scraps from its factories into reusable product material. Just this month, they announced a partnership with ReCORK America to produce footwear from recycled wine corks – so next time you drain a bottle, think of it as doing your part to help create a sandal for somebody.

The distinguishing feature of SOLE sandals is how the footbed becomes personalized for each person’s unique foot properties. The wear-moldable footbed conforms to the shape of your foot after repeated uses: the arch height adjusts to your required level, the forefoot takes the shape of the balls of your feet and toes, and the aligning heel cup is contoured to your individual shape. The result is a continuous contact surface across the underside of your feet, leaving no area unsupported. You get the benefit of an orthopedic sandal with the convenience and cool looks of a stylish flip-flop.

At this year's Outdoor Trade Show, SOLE Platinum Sport Flips were awarded the Novel Innovations award for footwear, which recognizes products based on innovative design, ergonomics, environmentally friendly construction, and overall utility value. They have a loyal following among athletes and everyday occupational users, and my wife found them comfortable as well. She also liked their sleek profile in comparison to other brands, and noted a nice selection of colors available from the SOLE webpage.

SOLE Platinum Sport Flips typically retail for $70, with both mens and women’s versions available in several colors from Amazon.com as well as other online vendors and the SOLE website. It's a higher price tag than a basic pair of flips, but if you need the orthopedic support to accompany your carefree fashion, these sandals make an attractive option for warm-weather footwear.

See other product reviews on sidebar at right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at info@runningandrambling.com.

Fiesta Cakes

2009-10-11T09:21:00.000-07:00

If you should ever wonder why I feel compelled to run as much as I do, allow me to present a little story, along with a few exhibits that my wife threw together over the course of about 48 hours last week:

Exhibit A: a gumball machine cake.

Each fall, our elementary school has a Fall Fiesta fundraiser, and one of the most popular attractions is the Cake Walk, where 15 people go around a circle of numbers in musical-chairs fashion until the music stops. A number is pulled out of the bucket, and the person standing on that number wins a cake. Simple as that.

Yes, the gumballs are real

So each year, my wife comes up with some super creative designs for the cake table. And since she's helped organize the Fiesta in years past, she's aware that some parents are either too busy or too forgetful to bring cakes of their own - so she makes one or two extra on their behalf. That's just her way.

Exhibit B: My 8-year-old's favorite design this year

Each of us in our family knows that these cakes don't only look delightful, but they taste amazingly good - so the kids' primary goal at every Fall Fiesta is to win one of Mom's cakes back.

It's really a bunch of cleverly arranged cupcakes

The trouble is, the cakes are so distinctive that they're always among the first to be picked from the table by early winners of the Cake Walk. This year, our 5-year-old did the family proud by winning a cake within the first half-hour of the carnival.

Exhibit C: A cute carousel

She picked out the carousel cake that she helped decorate, and came home the hero of the day. As for the cake - it lasted less than 24 hours at our house before it vanished.

Complete with real animal cookies

These cakes may seem like extraordinary stuff - but to my wife, they're just another good idea that she was able to pull off without a hitch. I could probably write a similar post like this just about any week you choose, featuring either cookies or brownies or my current favorite at this time of year, pumpkin muffins. They're too much for me to resist, so I compensate by working them off as much as possible afterward.

And I keep exercising on a regular basis in the mornings, because I never know what might be waiting for me each night when I get home.

Running in Hard Times

2009-10-08T10:21:00.000-07:00

I used to think I was something of a trendspotter – but recently, a running-related phenomenon had to be pointed out to me not once, but twice before I finally realized there was something worthy of discussion.

Specifically, the relationship between the national economy and the running community has been the topic of two Wall Street Journal articles since May: one describing how the overall number of runners tends to increase during recessions (see the full article here), and another explaining how downsizing and job layoffs have a secondary consequence of making race fields faster (full article here).

It all makes perfect sense, which is why I feel a bit oblivious for missing it. So while I can’t take credit for digging any of this information up, I tried to consolidate the two stories and add a couple observations of my own for our most recent Monterey Herald article, which follows below.

**

Running Life 10/8/09 “Running in Hard Times”

The economy is finally improving! Or maybe it isn’t. It depends on who you talk to, and what indicators you consider. One thing is certain, however: at some point – whether in a few months or a few years – our economy is going to recover, and people will begin to feel a bit more financially secure.

When that time comes, it will be almost universally welcomed – by everyone, that is, except for runners.

There’s a curious running-related corollary to the ebbs and flows of our national economy: namely, hard times tend to produce more and faster runners. It’s a pattern that goes back more than 30 years, to the recession of the mid-1970s – which also happened to see the biggest running boom in modern history. The historical phenomenon is so notable that the Wall Street Journal has dedicated two separate articles this year to the relationship between the economy and the running community.

When disposable income becomes scarce, gym memberships and personal trainers are often the first casualties of personal rebudgeting. By comparison, running looks like a tremendous value: the price of entry is a t-shirt, shorts, and pair of shoes. The club facility is any road, park, or trail you choose. The hours of operation are whatever works with your schedule.

Running is also proven to be a great stress reducer, triggering the release of brain neurotransmitters that make us feel more content. For many people who are struggling financially, running is a great healthy outlet to vent their fears and frustrations - or perhaps just a place to escape them for a little while.

That last point may be especially appealing to people who have been laid off during the current economic meltdown. When full-time workers involuntarily find themselves with nothing but down time, many of them pursue fitness goals that were deferred while climbing the corporate ladder.

Despite their sometimes big-ticket entry fees, nearly every major marathon in America has seen increased numbers of participants in 2009, or filled to capacity in record time. Usually when races grow in size, it’s on the back end of the pack – but over the past year, the quality of the fields has improved significantly as unemployed (or underemployed) runners have more time to spend developing their fitness and speed in preparation for these events.

For example, the gold standard for marathon runners is running a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon. In one study cited by the Wall Street Journal, there was an overall 39% increase in Boston qualifying times at races across the country during 2009 compared to 2008.

There’s even a potential “trickle-UP” effect from the increasing ranks of marathoners, making everybody better by consequence. For the amateurs, laid-off marathon runners help to raise the level of competition within age groups. Among elite athletes, Olympic-caliber collegiate runners may be more inclined to pursue their athletic goals instead of hunting for work in a dismal market. So when the economy tanks, it’s potentially great news for the entire community of runners.

Of course, we’d never recommend quitting a job or blowing your retirement savings as a strategy to help you (or us) run faster – but in stormy times, any glimmer of positive reassurance may serve as a temporary port of shelter. When the economy finally recovers, we’ll be as happy as anyone else – but we’ll also be hoping that some of those newfound converts to our sport can figure out a way to stick around and enjoy running’s benefits in good times as well as bad.

The Barefoot Files: Training Update #5

2009-10-06T13:43:00.000-07:00

I’ve passed a tipping point of sorts.

Ten weeks into my barefoot running development, I’m now logging more miles in either 1) bare feet, or 2) minimalist shoes like Vibram FiveFingers or Feelmax Osmas than I am in regular footwear. My biggest challenge right now is making those barefoot runs longer, easier, and (sigh) faster. In that regard, I’m making some gradual progress – as this week’s update will show.

Before we proceed, I’ve made a couple of changes to consolidate these reports. First, I’m no longer reporting mileage done in VFFs or Feelmax shoes with my barefoot updates. I’ve already gone on extensively about both these products; just know that I love both of them, I’m continuing to use them regularly – VFFs on trails, Feelmax on roads - and they’ve rapidly become my preferred style of running footwear.

Still loving the VFFs - and the funky dirt lines ... but they're not barefoot anymore.

Also, instead of linking to past updates, I’ve created a new right-hand sidebar where I’ll store highlights of this barefoot crusade, plus regular training updates. Speaking of which …

Week 10: 4 barefoot runs

* 10 min (after shod run)

* 32 min
* 20 min (after shod run)
* 35 min

Kind of an unremarkable week as far as time and mileage go, but on one early morning during this week, an inevitable consideration became very clear: it’s starting to get cold outside.

I headed out the door into 40-degree weather for one of these runs, and my toes felt pretty frosty the whole way - as if I needed another factor to make barefoot running more challenging than it already is. So I posted a question about low temperatures to the Runner’s World forum, and got a couple of interesting responses …

1) The consensus seems to be that running into the mid-30s is perfectly acceptable as long as it’s not raining or snowing, but that temps in the mid-40s with precipitation are much more difficult to handle. So now I’m going around saying, “Sure, it’s cold … but it’s a dry cold,” like that’s going to convince me to be tougher somehow.

2) The other response of note was someone who posted a link to the website of a barefoot winter runner who developed frostbite in some toes, with some others stripped of their skin down to the bone. Not quite the encouragement I was looking for. (And no, I’m not linking to it … trust me, I’m doing you a favor.)

Regardless, I think I might be able to tough out another degree or two, but I have a feeling I’ll be spending a lot more time in my minimalist shoes, or finding a different time of day to run as the weather turns colder.

After an easy 3-miler in the neighborhood

The 32 and 35 minute runs are also noteworthy in that they were done on a 3-mile loop from my house that takes me through the heart of Carmel Valley Village, a half-mile strip of businesses and pedestrian paths that are the primary gathering places for most locals. In other words, my chances of being spotted by someone I know are pretty high.

More specifically, my wife is starting to field the periodic, incredulous “Did I see your husband running barefoot this morning?” questions while shopping at the grocery store or during pickup time at our elementary school. It’s no understatement to say she’s not exactly wild about this whole little experiment of mine: she worries about me turning into a hippie, she has to wash our bedsheets about three times as often because I’m not reliably attentive to washing my dirty feet at night, and now she regularly has people asking if her spouse is insane. Nowadays, I suspect she probably has to think it over for a second before giving her answer.

Week 11: 4 barefoot runs

* 26 minutes (after shod run)

* 45 minutes
* 60 minutes
* 35 minutes

Staying on the “change of seasons” theme: it’s also starting to get dark outside. As if I needed another factor to make barefoot running more challenging than it already is.

Without being able to see the little rocks and surface irregularities on the road, I felt like Luke Skywalker wearing the lightsaber training helmet for the first time: I knew I had to relax and trust my feelings, but every few seconds I suffered some quick, sharp jab that had me wincing in pain. And just like a young Padawan, I very slowly learned to anticipate difficult spots in the road, and took the occasional stings with minimal lapses of composure. Just call me the Barefoot Jedi.

The only photo I could find was from a toy catalog ... but you get the idea.

The other significant milestone from this week was my first 60-minute, entirely barefoot run. Of course, it’s only a positive milestone in regards to the duration; distance-wise, it was probably less than 5 miles, which isn’t necessarily reason to throw a parade. But I have to say that the more time I spend barefoot, the more time I want to spend barefoot. That’s probably why the one-hour run didn’t leave me tired as much as content and eager to do more.

This isn’t quite a point of no return – as I mentioned several weeks ago, my intention isn’t to become a 100% barefoot runner, but to incorporate it on a regular basis with my regular training – but I think I’m hitting my stride quite nicely when it comes to running barefoot on the streets. The cold might test me, the darkness might challenge me, and my wife might institutionalize me, but for the time being, I feel like I’m right where I want to be.

Cool and content after a barefoot hour

It also raises the question of where the logical end point for this series of updates lies, which I’ll ponder for a while between now and the next one.

MBT Tembea Shoe Review

2009-10-05T14:56:00.000-07:00

MBT bills itself as The Anti-shoe – so I’ll start by telling you everything that their shoes are not.

They’re not traditional – in fact, they’re not like anything else on the market. They’re not sleek or flexible or low profile or lightweight. They’re not intended for athletic activity. They’re not cheap. And they certainly won’t make you feel like you’re barefoot.

That last point seems like a contradiction, given that the company’s initials stand for Masai Barefoot Technology - but MBT takes a different approach towards combining the benefits of barefoot walking with the practicality of everyday footwear. Whereas other companies like Feelmax and Vivo Barefoot strip away as much material as possible between your foot and the ground, MBT replicates the postural alignment and musculoskeletal demands of barefoot walking on an augmented, elevated platform. So if you’re looking to feel pebbles on the ground and cracks in the sidewalk while you’re walking, MBTs definitely are not for you.

From MBT website

MBT shoes are primarily intended as a therapeutic device to alleviate back or leg pain for people who are on their feet all day, and there is a loyal contingent of followers - approximately one million customers in more than 20 countries - who swear by their restorative effects. The company’s origins trace back to the early 1990s, when a group of Swiss researchers began studying the biomechanical and physiological effects of walking barefoot. Their studies of African Masai tribesmen convinced them that walking barefoot over unstable surfaces (a key feature, as I’ll explain in a minute) had tremendous impact on resolving back problems, relieving neck tension, easing joint pain, improving muscle tone, and burning more calories compared to using traditional footwear.

Early prototype from MBT website

Striving to provide those benefits for people in urban settings, the researchers created a prototype shoe model in 1996, and founded a company called Swiss Masai in 1998. The prototype provides great insight into the intended style of walking: elimination of the traditional heel-strike in favor of a downward-angled forefoot landing, just as you do when running barefoot.

Modern MBT shoes backfill the heel area with something called the Masai Sensor (the red thing at right; picture from Amazon.com), an elliptical-shaped structure in the midsole which provides the key component to the biomechanics the company promotes: having an unstable platform regardless of whether you’re walking or standing.

All of MBT’s benefits stem from the idea of natural instability; that the highest degree of postural and musculoskeletal advantages from barefoot walking occur on soft grounds like the East African savannah, or Korean paddy fields, or even just your local beach; all of these surfaces trigger small, intuitive, compensatory movements of the lower extremity muscles. However, if you’re walking on hard surfaces, those benefits are diminished – so being on an unstable platform forces those adjustments to take place in your home or business setting just as they would if you were barefoot in the sand.

The result of all this design innovation is MBT footwear – and for something called the Anti-shoe, there’s an awful lot of shoe to wrestle with here. I was somewhat shocked at the overall weight of the shoe – it’s not specified on the website, but Zappos lists the Tembea model I tried at 23 oz – and how generally large it is in comparison to all the other models I’m reviewing.

The MBT Tembea, in black

After wearing “barefoot shoes” for so long, stepping into the MBTs felt like strapping on a pair of platform boots: my standing height in the Tembeas is more than two full inches higher than my barefoot height. Remember how I mentioned in another review that some of my co-workers had mentioned that I looked shorter lately? When I wear my MBTs, they must suspect that I’m on steroids.

The midsole and outsoles are extremely firm, with almost no forefoot flexibility. A TPU and glass fiber shank runs the length of the midsole to create a rigid support surface that rolls over the Masai Sensor as a single unit. A polyurethane midsole component provides the softness that further contributes to the natural instability concept.

I'm pushing as hard as I can - and no flexibility in the forefoot at all.

The uppers are very comfortable, and probably the most stylish (or “business-looking”) of any of the barefoot shoes I’ve tried. The Tembea has a soft, full-grain leather upper, and an antimicrobial 3D mesh sock liner. They aren’t extremely breathable, however, as my toes got fairly warm if I wore these shoes on a hot day.

Walking around in MBTs is actually kind of fun – the feeling in your legs really does mimic walking on sand, or across a soft gymnastics mat, or some other surface where you have to make constant balance adjustments with each step. The rounded heel forces you to use a midfoot strike pattern and eliminates sending impact forces upward into your knees. After using the shoes for a while, your natural instinct is to walk with a slightly flexed knee pattern, and you can feel your foot roll forward very naturally with each step. They’re also effective at triggering an upright spine and forward weight shift as you would have while walking barefoot.

The collection of styles MBT offers is fairly extensive, with looks ranging from dressy to athletic. It’s worth noting, however, that MBT doesn’t recommend actually using their athletic shoes for any sports; the rep I spoke with said they are recommended only for light jogging or walking, as the unstable platform could potentially lead to injury with high-demand athletic activities. Aside from fashion considerations, the sneaker styles of MBTs appear to have more breathable uppers than the nubuck or leather version, which may be an advantage for some folks.

It’s easy to see how these shoes would benefit people who are on their feet all day, especially in a confined position like a cashier or operating room nurse or assembly line worker that prevents a lot of walking around. MBTs are even being prescribed by health-care providers for people who suffer from back pain while standing for long hours at work. Anecdotally, one of our local shoe stores has a group of nurses who tried MBTs, and have started coming back for more.

That’s no small statement, considering the retail price of these shoes, which is admittedly quite steep – it almost seems as if the medical care aspect of MBTs is being used to justify a very high cost of entry. The Tembea model that I wore sells for $235 from Amazon.com (there’s also a brief video animation on that page about the biomechanics of the shoe), which is right in the middle of the price spectrum available from several online retailers. Even the Teva-style sandals that MBT produces sell for $150, which represents the low end of the range. If you’re ready to commit that kind of money, Amazon.com has a pretty good variety of MBTs available in both men’s and women’s styles, as does Zappos.com. Shoes can also be purchased directly from the MBT website.

I’d love to see a future generation of these shoes that are more lightweight and closer to the ground, possibly preserving some of the ground feel I love about minimal shoes. Until then, the MBT presents an intriguing option for those seeking some barefoot biomechanics in a sturdy, stylish package.

See other product reviews on sidebar at right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at info@runningandrambling.com.

Bridging the Gap

2009-10-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

My original intent for this post was to embed Part 2 of Patagonia’s current Footprint Chronicles series, called What Comes Next?, which speaks primarily to the notion of whether any manufacturer can truly call itself “sustainable”, and briefly discusses what an overwhelmingly consumptive culture we have become all over the world – especially in the United States.

Sadly, the episode isn’t embeddable yet, so I’m going to postpone that particular video until a later day (although you can watch it on the Patagonia site linked above if you really can’t wait). In the meantime, since I’ve propped myself up onto something of a social responsibility soapbox this week, I’m posting a few other videos in a similar vein, which speak to some issues I’ve mentioned before in previous posts. Each one is only a few minutes long, so they shouldn’t take too much time out of your weekend.

The clips all come from Patagonia’s previous Footprint Chronicles offerings, which began in 2007 for the purpose of examining various aspects of responsible manufacturing and consumerism. There are literally dozens of videos to choose from on the website (and on YouTube), and it’s this series more than anything else that gives me a ton of respect and appreciation for the company.

Remember how I said that you can find positive information about a company from its website, but were pretty much out of luck trying to learn about their shortcomings? Patagonia stands out as the exception: they’re not only willing to put themselves under the microscope, but they then take the additional – and unthinkable, to most companies – step of discussing their problems in public, on the Internet, for all the world to see.

This first clip is a perfect example: Patagonia’s Footwear General Manager, Craig Throne, appraises the positives and negatives of the company’s manufacturing process – things they are doing well, as well as things they aim to improve. It was filmed at the beginning of the Footprint Chronicles project, as a sort of “where we are now” in preparation for the revelations that would come in future installments:

The next clip is in response to the question of how a company can utilize Chinese labor forces in a humane and respectful manner. Stella Footwear is a partner company that employs over 50,000 people at its Dongguan City facility to make several brands of shoes, including Patagonia. Business Director Buddy Huang is an American-born Chinese who speaks to the importance the company places on providing a healthy work environment and a middle-class standard of living for all of its workers:

And what if a company claims to take care of its workers, but really doesn’t? That’s where something called social audits come into play. Patagonia’s partner companies are routinely visited and inspected by independent organizations to ensure they are adhering to Patagonia’s standards of conduct. Nicole Bassett, Patagonia's Social Responsibility Manager (how many corporations even have a position like that?), describes the importance of the social audits, and Alex Kaufman from Global Solutions, the third-party auditing group, describes how these audits are conducted in the apparel industry:

These videos certainly aren’t incontrovertible proof that every facet of Patagonia’s manufacturing process is 100% ethically sound, but it certainly shows a willingness to put itself out there for public scrutiny. In light of the difficulties I described yesterday regarding the knowledge gap between corporate business practices and consumer awareness, it’s nice to know that at least one company out there is working to bridge that gap as much as possible.