Dudley and his wife braved the frigid Minnesota winter to participate in a Turkey Day 5k in their Vibram Five Fingers.
After the jump, read Dudley’s report and find out how his Five Fingers performed in the snow!
Couldn’t do that though for the gobble gallop. I raced in my KSO Treks and a pair of heavier injinji socks. My wife also raced wearing a pair of Bikilas. The weather was anything but five finger friendly. The forecast that morning called for 1-3 inches of new snow on top of the 3 inches already on the ground with early morning temperatures in the single digits. City crews cleaned the course early enough to make conditions slightly better. By race time the temperature was 14 degrees above zero with a moderate to strong west (head wind) gusting about 30 mph. Needless to say my feet were not very happy about it all. Spent as much time as I could indoors at the running store and coffee shop that sponsored the event. With 4 minutes till gun time I said okay…okay already and stepped out into the frigid air. I got a lot of pop eyed stares from other racers follow by “oh my gosh your feet must be freezing!” I tell them they’ll warm up once we get moving.
A guy gets on the microphone and says “GALLOP YOU FOOLS!” and we are off. Everyone pushes the start buttons on their watches and the mass of humanity surges forward. I always start out near the middle or front of the pack and break out once my blood is full of oxygen. Dodging runners and slush filled potholes left by street crews I broke free of the main body of runners. I did eventually step in some slush giving my toes a nice ice bath. The KSO Treks don’t hold liquid for long, most of the time the next step just squeezes the water right back out. Just the same at 14 degrees my wet toes were numb for the first mile or so.
As I picked up speed I noticed how well the shoe gripped to slippery cobblestone streets. People around me were slipping and sliding as I passed them by. I felt pretty good so I picked up the pace again just after the turn around and sprinted forward to catch my friend James. He says: “man I am so glad you came up I was really feeling it and needed some motivation” then he asks how the shoes are doing and I say better now. So we paced each other for the next mile. We crossed the finish line in 23 minutes and some change. I really did not expect to break 30 minutes to be honest. I’d put so much into learning to forefoot strike all summer that I never squeezed in any speed work. I guess you can always count on a bit of extra adrenaline on race day to get you through. The KSO Treks worked better than I thought in terms traction, but not so well on warmth. For what they are, Vibram Five Fingers provide better traction and balance than any traditional shoe I have ever worn. I would race in them again.
Dudley, you and your wife are pretty brave to get up early and run on such a chilly holiday morning. It sure would have been easier to have slept in. Congratulations on your fast time! FYI, the feedback we have gotten indicates Flows do well in cold weather.
4 replies on “A Snowy Gobble Gallop in Vibram Five Fingers”
Congrats to you both for braving the cold in your five fingers! Thanks for the insight on how they stack up in the cold. I may have to just give it a try in my Bikilas.
I went out for my first snow run last week during Seattle’s unusual 20 degree weather. I decided to go with the Flows (with 2 pairs of Injinji socks) rather than the Bikilas, but my toes were still really cold. I headed out on a loop that I could turn into a 5, 3.3 or 2.2 miler, depending on how things felt, and I ended up heading back at the 2.2 turnaround, just in case the toes didn’t warm up as well as I’d hoped they would. Good thing, as they were cold to the point of painful by the time I got back. It was fun to be out there, though, however short the jaunt, and to feel like I had a more solid footing than when out walking in my bulky snowy weather shoes. Congrats to Dudley and his wife for braving the frigid cold to get a run in!
Doubling up on socks, especially in the tight fitting VFFs actually will constrict blood flow which is one reason your feet, especially toes, get cold. Just like with gloves vs. mittens you need to leave a buffer around your skin for better circulation. With the toe shoes it’s kind of tuff, probably one good reason to wear some sort of moccasin this time of year (more like a warm mitten).
Impressive! I’ve already had to put my Treks away for the winter and the temps weren’t as cold as where you live. We’ve had temps in the low 20° area and my toes couldn’t take it.I ended up purchasing Inov8 345 GTX to keep my toes warm. I *wistfully sighing* miss my Treks already!