I’ve just spent some time reading through some posts on Amby Burfoot’s Peak Performance blog on Runner’s World – if you haven’t read his blog, it’s definitely worth a look. His posts are well researched, even-handed, and very science-oriented. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s a Boston Marathon winner and one of the most experienced […]
Choosing a Running Shoe: How My Perspective Has Evolved
June 6, 2010 By 33 Comments
If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you probably realize that I have a bit of a running shoe problem. Not only do I own a lot of running shoes (part of my collection can be seen in the picture to the left), but I actually manage to run in most […]
Saucony Grid Type A4 Racing Flat: Another Minimalist Offering from Saucony
June 5, 2010 By 33 Comments
Image via Wikipedia Saucony has made a strong entry into the lightweight, flattish soled running shoe category with its recent release of the Saucony ProGrid Kinvara. I haven’t worn the Kinvara myself, but word from some friends is that it’s a very nice shoe – lightweight, and well built for midfoot/forefoot runners (you can read […]
Brooks Mach 12 XC Flat – Preview Video from Running Warehouse
June 3, 2010 By 5 Comments
Just found this preview video on Running Warehouse about the soon to arrive Brooks Mach 12 spikeless cross country flat. I know that aesthetics are a terrible reason to choose a shoe, but Brooks has hit a home run with these in my opinion, and it looks like the structural design will meet my preferences […]
Newton Sir Isaac Running Shoe Review: This Heel Striker Can’t Seem to Find His Forefoot
June 2, 2010 By 3 Comments
One of the things that I’ve come to believe in over the past year is that there is no “perfect shoe” that will work for every single person. We are all slightly variable in our anatomy and physiology, and this carries over to things like our running style and which running shoes will work best […]
Fake and Counterfeit Vibram Fivefingers: Please Spread the Word!
June 1, 2010 By 6 Comments
Quick post here to help spread the word that a lot of websites are popping up that are selling fake/counterfeit Vibram Fivefingers shoes (this has been noted recently by Vibram themselves – see letter at bottom of post). If you see a website purporting to be selling the Vibram Fivefingers at a steep discount, in […]
Review of the Nike Free 3.0 as a Transitional Minimalist Shoe
May 29, 2010 By 28 Comments
Nike Free 3.0 – 2nd Generation (Update 5/23/2013: The Nike Free 3.0 is now in version 5, you can read my review of the Nike Free 3.0 v5 here) About a month ago I wrote a series of posts in which I was critical of the newest member of Nike’s Free line of minimalist running […]
Barefoot Running Injuries and the Evolution of Distance Running in Humans
May 28, 2010 By 30 Comments
I just read an interesting article by Matt Fitzgerald titled “The Barefoot Running Injury Epidemic” about the rising tide of barefoot running injuries (article published on Competitor.com). In the article, Fitzgerald indicates that various medical professionals (physical therapists, podiatrists, etc.) are reporting seeing increasing numbers of patients who are suffering injuries thought to be directly […]
Gear Review: Hydrapak Gel Bot – A Runner’s Perspective
May 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Some products require extensive use and testing before rendering a formal review, whereas others simply need to be used once to confirm that they live up to what they claim to do. The Hydrapak Gel Bot falls into the latter category. I initially came across the Gel Bot when a friend asked a question about […]
Brooks Launch and Green Silence: New Color Schemes
May 23, 2010 By 5 Comments
I’ve made no secret of the fact that the Brooks Launch is one of my favorite running shoes (disclaimer – I am a member of BrooksID). They carried me to a PR in the Disney Marathon (maybe just coincidence, but I like to think they played a part!), and my first and only pair so […]
Nike ACG Sneakerboat II – First Impressions
May 23, 2010 By 3 Comments
A few days ago I wrote a post about a new shoe that Nike had released called the Nike Sneakerboat II. It’s basically a water shoe/aqua sock that I thought looked like it might have some potential as a minimalist running shoe. Well, I went ahead and bought a pair of Sneakerboat II’s (only cost […]
Running Injury: Thoughts on the Value of Rotating Shoes
May 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Christopher McDougall began his wildly popular book “Born to Run” by asking a fairly simple question: “How come my foot hurts?” This led him on a quest that ultimately brought him to the conclusion that running shoes were the problem, and that he’d be better off throwing his regular shoes away and running barefoot or […]
The Barefoot & Minimalist Running Debate – A Plea for Moderation
May 20, 2010 By 50 Comments
Image by Charlie. via Flickr I’ve spent the past two days (!) reading through threads on barefoot running and the dangers of running in Vibram Fivefingers at the Podiatry Arena (thanks to a reader for pointing this out to me), and I can’t help but come away frustrated by the level of animosity between the […]
Runner’s World Sports Doc on Barefoot Running
May 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Quick post here to alert you to a nice little article by the Runner’s World Sports Doc, William Roberts, titled “The Mechanics of Barefoot Running.” It’s nice to see a major running publication addressing the positive benefits of barefoot/minimalist running in an objective and scientific way. Although I’m not a barefoot runner myself, I have […]
Brooks Mach 11 Spikeless Cross-Country Racing Flat: On Sale at Running Warehouse
May 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment
I’ve been logging quite a lot of miles recently in a pair of Brooks Mach 11 spikeless Cross-Country racing flats (20+ miles over the past week) in preparation for writing a thorough review (very positive – review coming soon!). They’re very lightweight (around 7 oz each), have a very thin heel (Heel-to-Toe Offset = 6.7 […]
