How Kyle Steed got into VFFs and Running

By Justin Owings on Dec 18, 2009 | In user stories | 1 comment »

Above is a photo from Kyle Steed taken of his KSO VFFs and some local ground art.

Kyle recently got into Five Fingers, which he aptly calls "the whole VFF movement." Here's what he had to say:

Justin,

Here's a bit about why I got into the whole VFF movement.

I heard an interview on NPR about barefoot running. They were talking about the book "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall. My wife first heard the interview and called me one afternoon to tell me to turn it on and listen. After listening to his story about going to Mexico and witnessing this group of people who ran long distances in no more than thin leather sandals, I was intrigued. The thought that running barefooted, or with Vibrams, could help prevent knee injury and actually help improve your run was what really motivated me to get a pair of my own.

I spent probably a good week or two researching online to find out what model I wanted, as well as reading other articles on Wired.com, The Wall Street Journal and other smaller blogs. I have now logged about 12 miles in my KSO VFFs, and while that may not sound like a lot, it's a beginning. My goal for next year is to enter and complete a half-marathon and possibly a full marathon.

You can keep up with how my runs are going on DailyMile.com.

Thanks.

Kyle also did a nice video about his first run in Vibram Five Fingers. Check it out:

Kyle may be doing future video updates on running in his VFFs, and you can stay on top of that over at his blog kylesteed.com!

About the Author — I founded BirthdayShoes.com in April 2009 on realizing just how much I enjoyed having "free feet" - I mostly wanted to use them for weights, sprints, and plyometrics (I'm not much of a runner!). I'm a Googler by day and minimalist footwear aficionado by night; you can find me 'round Atlanta. If you want to catch up with what I'm doing outside of the site here, follow me on twitter @bdayshoes or @justinno or check out my personal site JustinOwings.com.
Justin Owings+ has written 710 articles and 258 comments.