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:
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.
4 replies on “Who says you can’t use Vibram Five Fingers Bikilas in the snow?”
Great story!!!! Glad we don’t that much snow in north Ga.
Last week I “trotted” a 14 K in VFF, decided to celebrate by running the last K barefoot. The frozen dew made my feet stick to the ground.. kinda like the tongue on the frozen pole effect..
People thought that the 49 yo guy running barefoot and laughing out loud to himself needed mental help.
Alan
Carpe Diem
I run in the snow regularly with my KSOs and injinji socks. It works just fine.
Great story and a very rapid transition. nice!
Looks like fun! I love running in snow. I find the VFF Bikilas and Merrell Trail Gloves both have their own character. I got the Trail Gloves 12 days ago and 10 of my last 12 runs have been in them. They are more firm and I have more difficulty landing forefoot due to the shape of the last. They are great in the extreme cold and I absolutely love the extra protection while they remain zero drop. They are also great running intervals and tempo runs on more rugged trails and exploring unfamiliar terrain. The drawback to extra protection is less groundfeel. The VFFs really shine in that area compared to the Trail Gloves and for that reason I enjoy running in the VFFs more provided the terrain is familiar and it’s not too cold. I find traction is okay with the Bikilas and it is not significantly better with the Trail Gloves depending on my running form. I tend to run lighter in the Bikilas and dig deeper divots in the snow with the Trail Gloves.