beginner's guide to vibram five fingers

What are Vibram FiveFingers and other Minimalist Shoes fans doing "almost barefoot?" Everything.

Vibram FiveFingers and barefoot or minimalist shoes enthusiasts are doing just about everything under the sun while being just a little bit closer to barefoot. From running any race out there (5Ks to 100 mile ultramarathons), to working out, playing, going to work, hang-gliding, sky-diving, or even playing golf.

Part of the mission here at BirthdayShoes has been to document these fan experiences in the words and photos of the wearers of toe shoes, minimalist shoes, or barefoot shoes (or whatever you call these things) — if you've got some great photos of you doing what you do in your Vibram FiveFingers, NB Minimus, huaraches, VIVO BAREFOOTS, or whatever, consider sending them in (learn more) and sharing with the community!

Below you'll find pages and pages of Vibram Five Fingers user photos and stories that display just what you can do when almost-barefoot as with everyone's favorite five-toed shoes. If you want to see the posts below listed out by model, check out the comprehensive list of Vibram Five Fingers fan photo stories here.

Category: User Stories

Jason has Fun with Flows in the Snow!

Looks like Jason is about to do some barefoot snow angels in his Flow Vibram Five Fingers!
Looks like Jason is about to do some barefoot snow angels in his Flow Vibram Five Fingers!
Running in V5F since July and have been using Flow’s lately as the temperature dropped. Went out for a few 3-mile runs during and after the blizzard that hit the east coast before Christmas. My Flow’s did a much better job than I expected. Without any… more »

Ryan Travels the World in Flows, KSOs, and Mocs!

David meditates in his KSO Five Fingers amongst the crowds at the Taj Mahal in Agra, India!
David meditates in his KSO Five Fingers amongst the crowds at the Taj Mahal in Agra, India!
The above photos came in from Ryan, who has been taking his VFF collection on the road (or in the air) as he's traveled to India, Hawaii, and gone on an ocean cruise! Here's a bit more:Greetings, Justin!I've had the pleasure of taking my VFFs to… more »

VFFs for Christmas!

Looks like a lot of people got their Christmas wish granted — a new pair of FiveFingers!
Looks like a lot of people got their Christmas wish granted — a new pair of FiveFingers!
It seems a number of "nice" boys and girls got the Christmas gift of free feet from Santa this year! Above at the top of the collage is Sandra sporting her new Sprint Five Fingers:Here's a photo of my Christmas present VFF's! At first I was morti… more »

Nick Jones podcast on BirthdayShoes

Nick Jones over at Prestige Broadcasting asked me to participate in a podcast covering Vibram FiveFingers and BirthdayShoes.com and I was happy to oblige.You can listen to the podcast here:Thanks for having me on the show, Nick! Enjoyed it g… more »

Chad's Thunder Road Marathon in KSO Treks

Chad Randloph is seen running in the Thunder Road marathon in Charlotte.  He's wearing his KSO Treks plus a couple pairs of Injinji socks for added warmth.  Chad had his best marathon time in three years and eight marathons in this race!  Congrats, Chad!
Chad Randloph is seen running in the Thunder Road marathon in Charlotte. He's wearing his KSO Treks plus a couple pairs of Injinji socks for added warmth. Chad had his best marathon time in three years and eight marathons in this race! Congrats, Chad!
Got an update from Chad Randolph (twitter) who just ran the Thunder Road marathon in Charlotte in his KSO Treks (plus two layers of Injinji socks!).You might recall Chad shared his initial thoughts, which were mixed, on the KSO Treks here.Here's… more »

Will Reminisces on Warmer Times in VFF Sprints

Justin,I was poking through some of my photos on Flickr and came across the attached shot from S more »

Aquathlons and Vibram Five Fingers (KSO Treks and Sprints)

A photo montage from Luis Manuel Cid (Inset in blue wetsuit, KSO Treks) and Luis Armando Santiago (Sprints) at an Aquathlon.  Click the image for a larger version!
A photo montage from Luis Manuel Cid (Inset in blue wetsuit, KSO Treks) and Luis Armando Santiago (Sprints) at an Aquathlon. Click the image for a larger version!
Vibram Five Fingers fan sends in photos of him running in an Aquathlon. more »

How Kyle Steed got into VFFs and Running

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

Hiking at the Great Wall of China in KSO Vibram Five Fingers

David hiked to the Great Wall of China in his Five Finger KSOs.  Here are two VFF-shod views from a scenic section!
David hiked to the Great Wall of China in his Five Finger KSOs. Here are two VFF-shod views from a scenic section!
Traveling to and hiking the Great Wall of China in Vibram Five Fingers KSO. User photos and stories on a trip to the far east. more »

More on FiveFingers Joggling with Joe Salter

As a follow-up to Joe's recent Philly marathon-in-Five-Fingers-joggling finish, Joe sent me a nice v more »

Ronald's 10K Podium Finish in KSO V5s

Ronald has a huge grin on his face as he runs a recent 10K in his KSO Five Fingers.  Who says running isn't fun?
Ronald has a huge grin on his face as he runs a recent 10K in his KSO Five Fingers. Who says running isn't fun?
Hi Justin!Just wanted to share my pic and experience with my VFF KSOs.I've been training in more »

Jawa runs the Rock'N'Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon in KSO V5Fs

Photos from Dr. Jawa's recent half-marathon — the Las Vegas Rock'N'Roll half marathon.  Can you spot Jawa's blue-camo KSO FiveFingers?
Photos from Dr. Jawa's recent half-marathon — the Las Vegas Rock'N'Roll half marathon. Can you spot Jawa's blue-camo KSO FiveFingers?
We've previously heard from (Dr.) Jawa as he not only runs and does post-run headstands in his KSOs more »

Matt's KSO Vibram Five Fingers Birthday Cake

Above is photoed Matt's 40th birthday cake, made by Sweet Lisa's out of Connecticut, depicting a pair of Matt's running shoes—KSO Vibram Five Fingers!
Above is photoed Matt's 40th birthday cake, made by Sweet Lisa's out of Connecticut, depicting a pair of Matt's running shoes—KSO Vibram Five Fingers!
Matt is a VFF runner and blogger at Run Luau Run. As he is about to turn 40 on the 22nd of December, Matt's wife recently threw him a surprise birthday party, complete with the awesome cake pictured above depicting a pair of gray/palm KSO Vibram Five Fingers, made by Sweet Lisas. more »

Ian plays a gig in his KSO Five Fingers

Ian plays his bass guitar at a gig his band performed at a local bar in his Five Finger KSOs.
Ian plays his bass guitar at a gig his band performed at a local bar in his Five Finger KSOs.
Ian sent in the above photos taken before and at a recent gig his band played at a local bar:Jus more »

Paul's Montreal Oasis Marathon in Sprint FiveFingers

Here we see Paul running the Montreal Oasis Marathon in Sprint FiveFingers.  Notice the photographer in the right photo staring at Paul's feet!
Here we see Paul running the Montreal Oasis Marathon in Sprint FiveFingers. Notice the photographer in the right photo staring at Paul's feet!
Paul, photoed above, recently completed his first full marathon, and he did it thanks to his Sprint more »

VFF Turkey Feet Mod - Haley's Thanksgiving 10K Gobble Run

Haley put together a great turkey costume for the Annual Gobble Run (10K) in Tampa!
Haley put together a great turkey costume for the Annual Gobble Run (10K) in Tampa!
Above are photos of what I'm calling the "VFF Turkey Feet Mod" as created and modeled by Haley for a more »

Bien and Ben Run Nittany Valley Half Marathon in Vibram KSOs

Bien (left) met fellow VFF-runner Ben (right) at the starting line of the Nittany Valley Half Marathon.  Both ended up finishing the race at the same time, spreading the good word about Vibram Five Fingers.
Bien (left) met fellow VFF-runner Ben (right) at the starting line of the Nittany Valley Half Marathon. Both ended up finishing the race at the same time, spreading the good word about Vibram Five Fingers.
Above are photos of Bien and Ben taken at the Nittany Valley Half Marathon at Penn State on Here's B more »

Joshua wears VFFs pre-race, runs 5K barefoot

LEFT: Joshua wore his black and orange KSO Five Fingers before taking them off (RIGHT) to run the Jingle Bell 5k.  Note the ankle bells!
LEFT: Joshua wore his black and orange KSO Five Fingers before taking them off (RIGHT) to run the Jingle Bell 5k. Note the ankle bells!
Joshua recently ran the Arthritis Foundation Jingle Bell Run 5k — barefoot — as in, with more »

Feeling Fitness Deep Down In My Sole

Guest article submission by Tim Donahey, NASM CPT As a competitive raw powerlifter, when I'm get more »

Roll Tide at the SEC Championship in VFFs

LEFT: "Here I am wearing my two week old black KSOs right before kickoff of the Southeastern Conference Championship game in Atlanta on Saturday December 5, 2009!" RIGHT: "Here's my black KSOs during the awarding of the SEC Championship Trophy to the game winning Alabama Crimson Tide!"
For some reason I had a feeling there would be at least one person at this past weekend's SEC Champi more »

Bob runs the Cal Poly Midnight 5K in Black KSO VFFs

Bob passes another runner in this 5K.  Note the stark contrast between the form of Bob and the heel-striking fellow to his left.
Bob passes another runner in this 5K. Note the stark contrast between the form of Bob and the heel-striking fellow to his left.
Bob recently completed his first 5K in KSO Five Fingers — the Cal Poly Midnight 5K:Ran [th more »

Ascending the Incline, Manitou Springs, Colorado in VFF KSOs

Steve emailed me about a video he recently put together that shows off a couple pairs of KSO Five Fi more »

Cody Gets Snow between his VFF Classic-Clad Toes

In the mailbag came this note from Cody who decided to trek through snow in his Classic Vibram Five more »

Getting the Family Christmas Tree in KSOs

Alan's KSO Five Fingers make it easy to get down and dirty and harvest a Christmas tree!
Alan sent in the above photos taken recently on a trip to get a Christmas tree:Here is a recent more »

Feelin' the Flow: Chris runs the Richmond Marathon in VFF Flows

Note that midfoot strike — Chris runs the Richmond Marathon in his Vibram Five Finger Flows
Note that midfoot strike — Chris runs the Richmond Marathon in his Vibram Five Finger Flows
The photos above were sent in by Chris, who recently ran the Richmond Marathon in Flow Five Fingers. more »