Five Fingers lawsuit

[Lukem]

I know we have a lot of minimalist runners here, any thoughts on this?

http://www.runnersworld.com/general-interest/vibram-agrees-to-settle-class-action-lawsuit

 

[mAv]

Never got into the whole Vibram thing, but I think as long as the message was 'could encourage strengthening of leg/feet muscles' - no harm no foul. There are still a lot of folks that subscribe to the minimalist running sensation and truthfully I think there's a reason (even if it's purely logical and not proven)- books like Born to Run obviously encourage it, but I think to each their own. I personally think the argument that we've unnecessarily 'adapted' to support shoes has some merit. I'll still run in a fairly minimalist shoe because it has seemingly helped ward off injury.

 

[Darren Best]

I bought and wore out one pair and walked away after that. They wore out too fast at $95.00 a pop for me to keep buying them.

The problem with people that went from heeled shoes to Five Fingers is they would still walk the same way with a heel strike and nothing would change.

 

[Warren1726]

I honestly think the people who are promoting the "barefoot" running phenomenon are missing one very important factor. The barefoot runners of the world do it on dirt. If all of your running is on dirt than by all means do it, but if you run on concrete the human body I'd not designed for that level of impact. I think most people are inviting injury because of this caveat.

 

[mAv]

There's definitely a need to adjust your running form and understanding your gait that most people seemingly ignored. I think Vibram even recommended running short distances on grass before hitting any solid surfaces to help promote a more forefoot/midfoot strike in natural heel strikers. I went from fully supported, high-drop shoes down to racing flats, but it took me about 2 pairs of progressively more minimalist shoes and a handful of months to come close to being comfortable in zero drop/no support shoes. The only injury issue I had was a severe bout with ITBS after nixing most of my cross training (biking). Have had no issues since.

 

[justinspicher]

The shoes come with an "instruction" book, at least mine did that describes how to progressively work into using them full time. This is just another case of someone not liking a product because it didn't work for them fast enough, likely because they can't follow instructions and so they are going to bad mouth the product to the extreme limits. The worst part of all of this is that the individual won the case and will be paid off.

 

[Warren1726]

There's definitely a need to adjust your running form and understanding your gait that most people seemingly ignored. I think Vibram even recommended running short distances on grass before hitting any solid surfaces to help promote a more forefoot/midfoot strike in natural heel strikers. I went from fully supported, high-drop shoes down to racing flats, but it took me about 2 pairs of progressively more minimalist shoes and a handful of months to come close to being comfortable in zero drop/no support shoes. The only injury issue I had was a severe bout with ITBS after nixing most of my cross training (biking). Have had no issues since.

Right. I'm not saying it can't be done but I think that the majority of people who try it aren't willing to do it the right way like you. I'd also venture that there are people who should not run unsupported. Unfortunately, I think that some advocates think it is the holy grail for everyone.

 

[mAv]

Yeah I would agree- too many people want it right away and don't understand the process. I would definitely attest to the fact that when I started running (and was overweight thanks to beer and pizza) - I would have had no business touching anything but high support shoes. My gait changed significantly after I lost weight and it enabled me to make the change. My wife is very fit, but has not been able to make the transition comfortably after a year and a half of trying, and has just settled on running in what works. People need to be flexible. I would agree with you that it is not the fix for everyone. It's worth trying, though.

 

[CHAD PEZZLE]

Yeah I would agree- too many people want it right away and don't understand the process. I would definitely attest to the fact that when I started running (and was overweight thanks to beer and pizza) - I would have had no business touching anything but high support shoes. My gait changed significantly after I lost weight and it enabled me to make the change. My wife is very fit, but has not been able to make the transition comfortably after a year and a half of trying, and has just settled on running in what works. People need to be flexible. I would agree with you that it is not the fix for everyone. It's worth trying, though.

That's kind of my take on it. I don't have any joint pain or soreness from running, so I've never made the switch. If it ain't broke why try to fix it. But I've had all sorts of people try to convince me to switch, I'm comfortable in my midweight trail shoe, why change?

That born to run book turned a lot of people into minimalist experts, although I enjoyed the book, I didn't toss my shoes in the trash and start wearing sandals like the Tarahumara.

 

[Lukem]

The shoes come with an "instruction" book, at least mine did that describes how to progressively work into using them full time. This is just another case of someone not liking a product because it didn't work for them fast enough, likely because they can't follow instructions and so they are going to bad mouth the product to the extreme limits. The worst part of all of this is that the individual won the case and will be paid off.

I don't think it's quite that extreme, I liken it to the disclaimer on a bottle of Glucosamine and Chondroitin. There really isn't any hard evidence that the product does what the maker claims. Keeping companies responsible for their product is a good thing.

And for the record, I have a pair and have run in them some, and like them.