5k in Fivefingers
The question was not: ‘Can I run 5k in my lovely Vibram Fivefingers?’ - I’ve covered well over 5k in them at a stretch, notably a four-and-a-half hour outing on the South Downs Way which consisted of about two-and-a-half hours of running, mainly the first couple of hours, and of a mix of barefoot (maybe an hour in total) and Fivefingers. Much of the trail is packed earth and tufty grass, but some of it is chalk gravel, quite tough on the soon-to-be-tougher bare soles.
No, the question was: ‘Can I run 5k as a race, hard, on the unforgiving road, in my Fivefingers?’ To be honest, I was more than a little apprehensive. And, as a residually shy introvert (aah, he wants attention by being shy and pretending not to want it) I was just as apprehensive of having large numbers of people staring at me from the ground upwards.
A quick summary of what Fivefingers are: a glove-like footcovering, individual toe slots, a millimetre or two of rubber underneath - they are designed to be as close to bare feet functionality as possible, with protection for the sole of the foot from nasty sharp things on the ground. They’re made by Vibram, a company that has specialised in moulded rubber soles for hiking boots for about 70 years.
And a quick summary of how my 5k went: it went really well, thank you for asking. I found myself actually taking physical pleasure in the sensation of running quickly and continuously in the barefoot stylee. There was no pain, no discomfort, no sadness, only happiness. You will be asking, I imagine: ‘But what of SUPPORT? What about CUSHIONING? What about impact guidance, what about articulated toe-offs, what about STABILITY, for crying out loud? Wasn’t it unsafe? Are people allowed to run fast without leading-brand running shoes on, simply in the interests of health and safety?
Well the answer to all those questions is simple: you don’t need all that stuff. You just don’t need it. Believe it or not, humans have evolved over millions of years to move as bipeds, just on their feet, and those feet actually quite like having a say in what the boss upstairs decides when it comes to locomotion. The toes like to flex and grip the ground; the arch likes to compress and recoil freely without hindrance as the runner moves through the stride gait; the cantilever of bones in the foot like to start off the impact-cushioning process that is then taken up by ankle, knee, hip and spine. In a nutshell, allowing natural biomechanical function is a plus, not a minus.
But what about afterwards? Wasn’t I crucified on the cross of my own fashion-victim hubris and superficial desire to be different by having shot knees, snapped ankle ligaments and raw steak for soles?
What interested me about the post-race aftermath was that my glutes were a bit sore. And that was about it. This was my first road race for about three years, and some muscular soreness afterwards is a given - but never have I had sore glutes. (Why? Send your answers on a commnent form below). Then there were two smallish blisters on the balls of my feet - again when I race, I sometimes get blisters, even lose toenails on the long races, so a couple of blisters are a small and expected price to pay for the first race in these shoes.
So given that my physical performance wasn’t really impaired, how did the Fivefingers perform under race conditions? I was wearing the Classic, which, as I have already noted elsewhere, don’t feel like they will stay on your feet if your turnover gets really fast, and as I saw the finishing funnel ahead of me and tried to unleash my trademark sprint, I was forced to leash it again for fear of them flying off and tripping me. Had I been wearing the Sprint model, which has a strap across the instep, I think I would have been able to finish the way I would have wanted.
A question I can’t answer is whether they allowed me to run faster than if I’d had racing flats on. My gut on that is that they didn’t, given that it was my first serious outing in them. I haven’t raced over 5k for three years - I’ve been trying to bring up a child, which impacts on training too - so pacing was an issue, and basic speed and general fitness were variables in the equation. All I can say is that it was great and I’d do it again like shot - if I was given another day off childcare this decade.
Happy running!