r/BarefootRunning

I just ordered a pair of Groundies Panama from Prague to the U.S. because they had a pair of black ones with white soles, which aren’t available in the U.S., and they were discounted from $140 (the typical price in the U.S.) to $110. With the discount, the high $40 shipping seemed acceptable to me as it was only an extra $10 over the regular price with shipping for a color I really wanted that’s not available in the U.S.

I confirmed the order, paid the money and shipping, only to receive a message from DHL today that they were holding my order until I paid import duties (tariffs). Imagine my surprise when an additional $37 tariff charge was slapped on top of the $150 for the shoes and shipping. What’s infuriating is this tariff charge is not disclosed until you’ve actually placed the order and it’s already in the country, at which point I have the options to either not pay the tariff, which means the shoes would be shipped back to the seller, then I have to deal with a return and lose the $40 shipping, or pay the tariff.

Just a warning to anyone in the U.S. ordering shoes (or anything else for that matter) from the EU. Thanks to the “stable genius”, this is life in the U.S.

My child (6) has always been either barefoot or in barefoot shoes. I kind of assumed that they would grow up naturally to mid strike when walking and forefoot strike when running. While their walking is what I’d expect, when they run/sprint they heel strike.

I kinda thought that they just wouldn’t heel strike in a run. I don’t really care as I just want them to grow up being barefoot/in minimalist shoes. However, I’m interested to know if anyone in the community has any thoughts on this?

I.e. is this even curious or is this just normal/any other thoughts or insights or things I’m ignorant of.

I'm looking for a product that will help me, but it's nearly impossible to obtain because resellers hoard it in hopes of making a 300% profit on their purchase that was never intended for personal use.

I just hate that this is the system we're all subjected to. Paying $140 for a pair of mesh shoes is already a lot for the average person (especially during a recession in the USA), and upcharging the product to $300 is not morally acceptable. I wish we could put restrictions on resellers beyond limiting the amount of products they can make in one order (because people can easily just make multiple orders/accounts and buy out the inventory). If it were up to me, I would imprison resellers, but I'm just being dramatic because I hate them.

I'm interested in transitioning to running barefoot or in sandals, but a bit lost on how to start. Wearing conventional shoes now (bushidos) and have started by just walking barefoot in the neighborhood every day for the past few weeks.

I feel like most articles and videos on transitioning to barefoot / minimalist footwear assume you run on pavement and mostly flat terrain, but I exclusively run on trails. Some of them are quite technical with lots of rocks and roots, and some have gravel sections which seem impossible to run over.

So, any tips for transitioning while running only on trails? End goal is to be able to run barefoot and have some light sandals that fit in my pack in case I need them, but not really sure how I get there and whether I need some minimal shoes like merrell trail gloves for the transition.

I started using barefoot shoes for walks and the gym, and I was wondering if this type of shoe—since it's called 'barefoot'—should be used with or without socks? What I noticed is that when I use the shoes without socks, my grippers get a little bit stinky. This never happened when using them with socks. Could it be the quality of the shoes? I'm using a cheap, 40-euro pair of barefoot shoes, not Vivobarefoot or other well-known brands.

Seeking advice getting out of my Achilles tendinosis/tendinopathy (not tendonitis) trap. 

To explain further, I had a bad foot injury which took 4 months to heal, and I lost a lot of condition in my foot over that period. I then had to battle through tendinosis in my posterior tibialis and FHL tendons as I built the strength back up. The solution I found was to very gradually build up strength by using static or foot-weight only exercises and then really weak (homemade) elastic bands. If I went too hard (as one would normally do with muscle building), it would just micro-tear / exacerbate and I'd have to rest it for a couple of days before starting again. This did work and I have no problems with those tendons now.

However, when I was trying this approach with the Achilles/calf, using sitting down heel raises, it's been less than straight-forward. I first tried doing 6 reps of full range of motion heel lifts, but that just exacerbated it. Then tried 1 full rep (after a couple of days of rest) and then 1 shortened range rep and that still didn't work. 

The really annoying thing is that I hadn't even injured my Achilles/calf initially, but during the healing period for my foot, my SEM consultant told me to aggressively (statically) stretch my calves to aid healing, and that I shouldn't worry about overstretching it as it won't do any harm. Turns out I have a high pain threshold, and I definitely did f**k it up by over stretching it, before then falling into the tendinopathy trap as it healed. It was only after this that I discovered dynamic stretching off t'internet, which works much better for me.

Has anyone gone through this themselves, or know of a really gentle way to strengthen the Achilles/calf?

Edit: Just to clarify, I have seen a physio a couple of times, who's a foot specialist and pretty good, but she's a bit of a drive away and I've had some other health issues which has got in the way so thought I would tap into the hive mind here.

I see all these Vivo, Xero, Vibram barefoot shoes, but I wonder if companies like Nike or Adidas offer barefoot shoes with wide toebox? I tried to do a quick google search, with no luck.

I am not new to running (have completed marathons and ultramarathons) but 100% new to "barefoot running". Looking into getting a pair of sandals and am torn between the more affordable Xero Genesis and the less affordable Earth Runners Circadians. Most runs will be on pavement or light trails (central Florida). Any recommendations between the two?

Additionally, any advice for transitioning into this world with existing knee issues?
Thanks for any insight and advice!

Hi all, looking for advice. This will be my second marathon, but first one in barefoot/minimalist shoes. I have spent the last six months wearing Vivos for daily wear and work, and recently started running 3-5 mile distances in them.

Overall the runs feel fine, though I’m not sure about the durability of these shoes for marathon training.

Any recommendations for minimalist shoes for marathon training?

I don't know if this is the right subreddit for this. But I have Eddie Bauer no flop flips and they are amazing for festivals in the woods (walking miles in a week). My feet are apparently sensitive. I am partially flat footed, pretty sure I have bunions and if the fabric over my feet isn't soft fabric, it rubs my feet raw. A pair of hiking sandals I got that went over all my toes, rubbed my pinky toe raw because it was so smooshed. I bought some bedrock cairn sandals for walking around at Hershey park and my festival and the beach and in general this summer as I'm pregnant (2nd trimester most of these events) and I went to Hershey park in my normal flip flops and was in so much pain. But the bedrock cairns feel like they are too hard for my needs?

Any recommendations? I'd love barefoot sandals tbh because I love being barefoot but I need something that won't destroy my feet and also give me some support while doing all these things. I plan to wear them after too. I really love the eddie bauer no flop flips that I have - they worked perfectly. But they don't seem to make them anymore. 😭

I've always tried to be "barefoot forward", preferring to be barefoot inside and outside when possible, and wearing thin soled shoes like Vivo or Merrell Vapor Glove otherwise. The historical evolution story resonated with me, and have never had any issues or pain walking and hiking this way.

But I'm starting to get into running now, and I'm not as sure about that. I've noticed more foot, ankle, and calf pain after my runs than I'm accustomed to, and do in fact feel better when wearing some "normal" Asics running shoes.

I've seen the argument that barefoot running is also better for you and the real time ground feedback helps improve your form, but what are the caveats or asterisks around that? Does it only apply when running on grass? Only short or long distances? When not running for speed? Optimizing for health? Etc

Basically, I can't help but notice that we recently saw a marathon miracle with two runners finishing under 2 hours, both wearing very, very cushioned Adidas shoes. Is the argument that they could have gone even faster if they were barefoot? I think this is the truest example of "merit" based running with enormous sums of money being invested in the shoe development. If Adidas thinks they could win with a high tech minimal shoe, I have to think they'd try.

So what gives? Under what conditions is barefoot or minimal running best? What is it optimizing for, if not speed?

edit: Thanks everyone for the excellent comments! It's too overwhelming to respond to all of them, but I've read every one.

Here me out. Real bare foot indigenous folks dont heel strike at all. Heel strike is only "normal" these day is because of shoes and the constant sitting on a chair or elevated seating. Once you remove these two aspects everyone stops heel striking due to the human body progressing back to its innate mechanics.