Newlyweds Run Marathon in Toe Shoes on Icelandic Honeymoon

Thought I’d pass a note along to say how great the Five Fingers were on my honeymoon in Iceland last month. My wife and I each brought two pairs — Bikilas and Trek Sports — and we wore little else on our two week trip around the island. We wore them hiking, riding horses, bathing in thermal spas, and just touring the cities. Sarah, my wife, had to answer daily questions about her pink toe-shoes and even model for a picture from some fellow tourists.

I’ve been training in VFFs since January and anticipated running my first marathon in my Bikilas in Chicago this October. But after booking our honeymoon I discovered the Reykjavik marathon was on the second day of our trip! I couldn’t pass up the opportunity — and it proved a great way to see a city for the first time, even if I could hardly walk for three days after.

I encounter people who think it’s not possible to run long distances in ‘caveman’ shoes, but we found them perfect for our races (Sarah ran the 10k), and they worked brilliantly for hiking up trails to see waterfalls too. I felt very in control over all sorts of territory (volcanic rock, trails, moss, snow). My wife owns two pairs but wasn’t a total convert to the VFFs until we passed other hikers with their cumbersome and heavy hiking boots — they were so unnecessarily big!