Who says you can't use Vibram Five Fingers Bikilas in the snow?

By Britt on Jan 24, 2011 | In User Stories | 4 comments »

Mark recently made the switch to running in Vibram Five Fingers Bikilas with great success. He even decided to give them a try in a race on the snow. Here is Mark's story:

My first "race" of the year went well. It was just a little under 5 miles - 3 miles road, the rest snow covered trails. Before the race started I couldn't feel my toes. Once we got going I didn't even feel the snow. I have been running my long runs on trails in Bikilas, but not in the snow. I was surprised how good the traction was. There was about 4 inches of fresh powder on top of packed snow.

This was also my first actual race in Vibrams. I made the switch to them around October. I kept getting injured every time I ramped up in normal shoes. It seemed as though as soon as I went over 20 miles/week I would injure myself, usually tendinitis. After a 10 mile race last May I could barely walk. I went to several podiatrists got the normal story about orthotics which I got. Luckily, insurance covered them because I think they made it worse.

My friend kept telling me to try Vibrams. Then, of course, I read "Born to Run". I remember the first time I put them on just to go to the gym. I couldn't run due to the tendinitis but it was pouring and my car was parked a few blocks away. So I ran to my car. Then I noticed I didn't feel a thing. I got to the gym and hopped on the treadmill and ran a mile at around a 8 min pace. My legs felt amazing. Well, except for the next day when it felt like I got hit across the calves with a bat. I slowly continued to work in Vibram runs until I was just using the Bikilas. I have been running for a few months now with just the Bikilas with no pain at all, other than the normal muscle soreness. I picked up a pair of Saucony Kinvaras this past week to help with the cold of early morning runs when it is 19 degrees and I switch back and forth between the Kinvaras and Bikilas.

Any who, I am looking forward to a lot more races in Vibrams. I am also dying to get my hands, errr feet, on a new pair of the Merrel trail gloves to try out.

Mark

Thanks for sharing this with us Mark! Let us know how you like the Kinvaras.

About the Author — Hailing from College Station, Texas (Home to Texas A&M!), I grew up running cross country. Believe it or not, I gave Justin the name for this site back in early 2009 but I didn't jump on the toe shoes bandwagon until a year later.
Britt has written 162 articles and 67 comments.