I had thought that I was completely sold on the Vibram Five Fingers (sprint model) after playing in an entire Ultimate Frisbee tournament, two days of fierce competition, the day after my parents had brought them to Shanghai for me.  The grass felt amazing under my feet, a feeling that I have never had in a city that generally forbids walking on grass, let alone barefoot.  I had been wearing Nike Free’s for about six months prior and ran two tough marathons, one being the Great Wall marathon, in them, so my feet were strong and used to the minimalist style shoe.  The thing that really astounded me, from the tournament was that the grip I got from the Five Fingers was BETTER than what I have experienced while wearing cleats.  Even more though is that when cleats stick, ACL’s get torn.  With the Five Fingers I could take off, change directions with a new found quickness and agility because of the confidence that comes with the freedom to PIVOT.

As I said before, I had thought that I was sold on the Vibram’s during that tournament, until today when I got out for my first full-on run on the streets of Shanghai, and I was blown away, again.

I ran for nearly two hours and would have continued, but it was starting to get late.  Immediately when I stepped onto the concrete I had the sensation that I was truly feeling the city for the first time.  There was a new connection that was formed between my senses and the world around me.  The amount of proprioception that my body/brain was receiving was unlike anything I have ever experienced.  Throughout the run I kept thinking about the benefits ADHD sufferers could gain from running barefoot (or nearly barefoot) or just wearing the Five Fingers to school, work, around the house…  After the run I have just been on I have more focus to write than I have had in months, now this could be because of a few factors, but definitely the greatest contributing factor are my new feet.

Yours in running