Paul’s Montreal Oasis Marathon in Sprint FiveFingers

I bought my first pair in Spring 2009 after reading many articles about running barefoot. My current running shoes (Brook Beast) were okay, but sometimes I had trouble with my knees—especially while running long distances like half marathons. Still, I had already completed several half marathons without serious injuries. Would I be able to run a full marathon? I was not sure yet because running a full marathon implies a lot more training, and by more training comes greater risk of injuries. I must add that my physique is not ideal for running: I weigh 200 pounds and I am a very extreme over-pronator. People who see me running feel pain for me …

So, in the Spring 2009 my dream of running a full marathon was becoming more a project than a dream. I wanted to run the Montreal Oasis marathon, which takes place every September. I knew that my knees may not support a 42.195 kilometers run with my heavy bodyweight and over-pronation. I had read some interesting articles (on wired.com and sportsci.org) about running barefoot, saying that sometimes it’s the traditional running shoe that causes injuries. The evidence presented in these articles seemed very credible, so I tried running barefoot a few times, but despite great feeling it gave me, there were some inconveniences like broken glass, dog poop, bad asphalt, running in the late evening, etc. I felt irritation on the soles of my feet after a few kilometers. Then I heard about the Five Fingers and found a pair of the Sprint model at a local store. I started using them for my short runs and while using them I felt I had a lot more pleasure running compared to when running with “real” shoes. I started to increase the mileage, but after running more than 1 hour I started feeling irritation on my feet and toes. I tried stuff like bodyglide, duct tape, but I still felt pain.

I was losing the faith, when I read on Ted McDonald’s site (Barefoot Ted) that he completed several marathons, and even ultra-marathons with his Five Finger shoes. I thought maybe the problem was the size, because the volume of the foot increases after long runs. So I bought another pair in a larger size (I passed from 43 to 45) and the problem was solved. I continued my training exclusively with my VFFs, even for long runs. I was feeling no pain on the feet or in the knees. Concerning the over-pronation, I still over-pronate in VFFs (I even land a bit on my heels), but it seems it doesn’t do much harm to me, probably because having no cushion or heel elevation reduces the bad effects.

Finally, I completed the Montreal marathon in 4:25 hours, just a few minutes more than my objective. I got some pain in the legs and knees but only after 30K, and I had no trouble running my way through the finish line (note that I don’t use a “walk/run” strategy; I was running nearly all the time). I will certainly run my future races in VFFs or barefoot, but not in shoes with a micro-processor in the heel!

tks,

Paul