Running the Streets

The folks in Nike’s running department waxed slick and technical when describing its stable of new and upcoming products. As I sat in the dim room at Cloud Place in Boston with other media types last April, I was engrossed in the geeky details of superior shoe and apparel construction presented by designers. I heard about floating heel support, biomechanics, Cooper’s ligament and gender-specific cold zones. It was fascinating and informative, but Nike’s got stiff competition in the running shoe and apparel market. What I wanted to know was, at this price point, which of these Nike pieces are worth it for runners of the non-elite variety? After three months of testing a few items, I’ve got answers. I’ll give different answers in different posts.

Feet

Nike Free Run+

• $85

What this is: This shoe appeals to consumers who like barefoot running in theory, not really in practice, although I’m sure there are real barefooters who would put this shoe in their training mix. For those of us who’ve tried barefoot running, like it, but prefer some cushioning and protection from the mean streets, this shoe meets those needs. In fact, this incarnation of the Free provides a little more framework than past versions but still preserves freedom.

The cushy sole is scored deep with fingers to help the foot “articulate,” i.e. let the foot flex and do its natural thing. It’s impossibly light, airy and comfortable, and the lack of uber-structure forces your leg muscles to work harder. Because men and women’s feet are different, construction is gender-specific.

I’ve worn these to run, walk, strength train, and as regular kicks, and performance has been great (plus I get compliments on their cuteness). It’s Nike+ ready, if you track your progress that way.

There are a lot of high-tech specifics, but the translation is: this shoe rocks in striking a balance between freedom and forgiveness.

Pass up or play: PLAY

More: The media preview also trotted out evolved versions of other Nike+ shoes: LunarEclipse, LunarElite, LunarFly, LunarGlide, and LunarSwift. The Nike folks do a mess load of consumer testing, trying to nail how to “get inside their heads but also inside their hearts.” One question that comes up often is one of my biggest gripes about shoes: Why do running shoes have to be so ugly? I paid $135 for my last pair of road shoes. Performs amazingly, but blander than homemade soap. Nike gets a big A+ on these lines for going bananas with color and breaking away from the standard-issue running-shoe look. Athletes have an emotional connection with their footwear, and Nike seems to get this.

Nike Dri-FIT Elite No-Show Running Socks

• $12

What this is: Pretty straightforward, these are synthetic no-show running socks. The Elite no-show isn’t new, but it’s new to me. Apparently, these only come in men’s, so I’m not sure why they ended up in my testing bag along with all my other women’s Nike apparel.

It has a tad extra cushion for the big toe. It comes in a white or black color combo, and I love the deep orange (go Longhorns). Unfortunately, that’s all I love about these. My biggest gripe about no-show socks are their propensity to slip down my heel and into my shoe. I have to buy brands at this same price point to get no-shows that stay put, and they do. These socks seem constructed in the same way, so my trail-walk with them seemed promising. They didn’t hold up even for a simple hike. I typically wear no socks or higher ankle socks on trails, but I can’t think of a reason for these socks to have tanked the way they did. I stopped several times to adjust and stretch them. I finally gave up and just dealt with socks bunched up in the back of my shoe. Totally annoying.

I read the comments section for this sock on the Nike site, and there’s only one commenter who agrees with me. Still, the socks were the right size for my foot, but it could be the man’s sock/woman’s foot thing.

Pass up or play: PASS UP

Christopher McDougall, the man who put a spotlight on barefoot running and the Tarahumara tribe of Mexico earlier this year, will give a free lecture, answer questions and sign copies of his book, Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen, at the Cooper Aerobics Center. Details:

When: Noon-2 p.m. Tuesday Nov. 10
Where: Cooper Clinic Auditorium, 12200 Preston Road, Dallas (Click here for a map)
More: This is free, but it’s limited to the first 100 guests. Call 972-233-4832 ext. 4329 by Nov. 9 to reserve a spot.

Thanks to DMN editor Mike Merschel for the tip.

This blog sure has been all about the bare foot lately. Thanks to the commenters in my previous post who’ve read the story already. For those of you who haven’t, here you go:

• Barefoot running offers new challenge

(My foot after my first barefoot run; later, with a blood blister. Ew!)

Next, some interview highlights from my awesome sources that didn’t make it into the story:

Josh Stevenson, adventure racer from Christchurch, New Zealand

Q. What’s the worst barefooting injury or situation you’ve been in?
A. Stepping on dog poo would have to be the worst problem.

Q. What do your feet look like?
A. My feet are in the best shape they have ever been as you wear the dead skin off, and one of the important parts of bare foot running is looking after your feet … using products like glycerol bp to stop the feet from cracking and using medicated methylated spirits for drying certain parts out as to harden them up as required. (more…)

The nice folks at Vibram sent me a pair of FiveFinger Sprints the other day after hearing that I’m doing a story on barefoot running. I haven’t tried them out yet (rain! work! laziness!), but when I do I promise to give it to you straight. How weird do they feel? How is running different in FiveFingers vs. my cushy Asics? Will I get used to the toes? Will passers-by point and laugh? Will my husband cross the street? We shall see.

My story on barefoot running will be in The Dallas Morning News on Tuesday, Oct. 20, in the GuideLive section. Stories on this latest wave of the barefoot fascination have been written this year, and this one isn’t any more focused than that. It’s a general overview for folks who are like, “Barefoot what? Why?” I’ll post it here when it’s ready.

I’ve been following the barefoot running trend for a while, and I’m intrigued. Maybe it’s because I’ve always been a shoes-off kind of girl to begin with, and because my toes can function like most people’s fingers. I’ve always taken pleasure in tugging at the grass with them while sitting outside, or in raking the dirt with them, trying to decide if I think the granules feel rough or smooth. My bare feet have aided in my laziness, too. Dropped a pair of underwear while carrying an armload of clean laundry from the dryer to the bedroom? No problem, that’s what toes are for.

But running — I’m not so sure. I’ve technically run barefoot before, by default because I needed to run and happen to not have shoes on at the moment. I admit, it feels pretty fantastic. A completely different sensation than never realizing there’s this stuff called “ground” beneath the sole of those perfectly-engineered running shoes. My feet sort of register it like that delicious excitement a kid gets when she’s left alone with a box of donuts, television or the cute next-door neighbor boy after being over-protected all the time. Freedom.

So I saw this Active.com story on Twitter today about running barefoot and became re-intrigued. My whole life, running shoes have been the norm if you want to, well, run. Which is why it’s never dawned on me that running-shoes-for-running is a pretty recent phenomenon. I’d also never thought about the fact that the human foot has quite a few more years of structural engineering to help its owners run than do Nike or even (blasphemy!) Asics. Thing is, I’m not so sure that just because the human foot has been around a while, that means it’s made for the kind of running we do today, which is pretty recent, too.

Besides running nude-footed or with fancy FiveFingers, apparently you can also wear minimalist hurache sandals if you’re worried about glass or hot pavement (shown in the vid above — what’s up with the rooster and the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in the background?). Which, I have to say, I would totally wear whenever.

Will I give barefoot-running a try? Hmmm. I’m doing good to train the “regular” way for the Rockledge Rumble. But who knows? I might just get a wild hair soon and accidentally-on-purpose forget my over-protecting shoes.