ok so i splashed the cash and went for the merrells, with the exception of family saying i bought them from morrisons (the yellow and black logo is similar) i’m dead chuffed with them.
they take a bit of getting used to but i love the feeling of finally having shoes wide enough for my feet.
done a little running in them and enjoy the feeling of the floor so directly through the sole. the one thing i have noticed which i have had to get used to is not sinking my heel in when i’m going down hill, there’s tread there but not what i’ve been used to so i’ve had to recalibrate.
i agree they’re a chunk of money and yes they’re minimal but they feel really well made so far and for me extremely comfortable. i still like the five finger thing but for me the merrells seem to have the compromise i’m looking for.
this is going from new balance 900 and something which i hated and some inov 8’s which i’ll keep for cr*p days in winter but are now second place!
the born to run book is good too, as good as feet in the clouds if you like that sort of thing!

I have should have these

these

and these

turning up next week 🙂

currently using pair of NB minimus :

Took some getting used to initially but so far so good – just starting running again, been about 15 years since I ran any distance for ‘fun’ – bit of a struggle to begin with but they force you to start slowly and work at building up the distances and times…

Anyone tried the Terra Plana jobbies? I’m quite tempted by a pair of their Neo M’s, tried a pair on the other day in Clarks, very comfortable! Not sure about my rather bad pronation though, what’s the craic with this and ‘minimalist’ shoes?

Now correct me if I’m wrong, but.. pronation is when your foot rolls inwards between when your heel lands and your weight rolls forwards onto your toes – like when you walk. If you are running in those shoes you’d have to be toe striking, surely – so no issue..?

If you are running in those shoes you’d have to be toe striking, surely – so no issue..?

Mid-foot is the ideal, my dear.

Anyway. I bought some of the Merrell Trail Gloves, was not that impressed with them as for what they are intended they seemed quite built up in the mid-foot area. Sent them back, and just run barefoot, when the terrain permits it, and use Roc-Lites when it doesn’t. Saved £80 in the process…ker-ching!

Anyone tried the Terra Plana jobbies?

Had thought about their mesh style minimal shoe but they’re really expensive aren’t they?

As for toe striking – not sure about that really – I think you’re supposed to run with a mid-foot strike when running barefoot / with sandals? Can’t say I pay a great deal attention to it to be honest – was just recommended that I try a minimal running shoe after having nothing but trouble with my knees and shins when I used to run (in padded and supportive trainers that I had fitted in a London shop years ago).

I’ve found that it forces you to take it slowly and it seems harder to just go too far, too fast and cause myself some damage. I’m doing between 2 and 6 miles a day at the moment and (touch wood) it’s been pain and stress free…

Is it now?

Is it toe striking when your toe touches the ground first but your weight ends up on your whole foot afterwards?

Essentially your midfoot should be the first point of contact, the arch then collapses to cushion the impact, of which should be minimal if you have yo lean on and are lifting your feet, rather than pushing off with them.

I am crap at explaining it so….

[video]http://vimeo.com/12551218[/video]

Great vid. A lot of that is what I’ve already learned myself by googling and experimenting. I do want some decent barefoot shoes tho.

When I say toe, btw, I mean ball of foot really.

Love Merrell shoes (have 4 pairs for various uses currently) and tempted by the Barefoots, but not willing to give these up yet which I’ve had for a couple years now (mine are older and a slightly different blue colourway) –

slainte 😀 rob

See.. I think that a wide natural toe spread would also help a lot. The normal looking barefoot shoes must keep your toes in a bit, but the 5fs must spread them out.. this I think would be a good thing.

According to the born to run book and it makes sense in my head probation and any other form of foot weakness is caused by the muscles in the foot becoming weakened from lack of use due to over supportive footwear! I guess it’s like any part of the body, don’t use it you lose it, I’ve used the merrells for everything except work (they don’t do steel toe caps) and have felt an improvement in my feet in their ability to absorb the ground and it’s foibles more easily. I guess it’s along the lines of people who sit at a desk all day getting a bad back, we weren’t designed to sit at desks, if we did we’d starve!