Entries filed under 'barefoot running'

Chi Running, Barefoot Running; How's Your Search for a Sustainable Running Style?

Chi running, which emphasizes internal alignment and core strength (tai chi principles) in a runner's stride, is a topic The REI Blog addressed in April, and this week New York Times wellness writer Tara Parker-Pope discussed it in an article, "Finding a Sustainable Running Stride." Her report quotes one of chi running's guiding lights, author and running coach Danny Dreyer: "All of the practice in tai chi comes down to always developing a strong core, but relaxing the moving parts, Those are ...

Posted by T.D. Wood on June 28, 2012 5:57 PM & Tagged Running, barefoot running and chi running | permalink | Comments



The 'One Best Way' to Run: Have You Discovered It?

More than 40,000 runners are expected to take part in the New York City Marathon Sunday morning. How many of them will navigate the course using what legendary marathoner Alberto Salazar calls the "one best way" to run? In a New York Times Magazine article, Christopher McDougall, author of the best-seller Born to Run, describes this one best way as "not the fastest, necessarily, but the best: an injury-proof, evolution-tested way to place one foot on the ground and pick it up before the other ...

Posted by T.D. Wood on November 4, 2011 2:19 PM & Tagged barefoot running, minimalist, minimalist footwear and natural motion running | permalink | Comments



Minimalist Running: If You've Switched Your Shoes, Have You Also Switched Your Form?

Does changing to minimalist running footwear minimize wear and tear on a runner's body? Only, according to a recent study, if a runner also changes his or her running style.  As explained in this New York Times article, the nonprofit American Council on Exercise recently sponsored a small study that asked female recreational runners to switch to either barefoot running or the use of minimalist footwear. The outcome? Participants who changed to barefoot running or minimalist shoes but failed to ...

Posted by T.D. Wood on October 7, 2011 1:34 PM & Tagged barefoot running, minimalist, minimalist footwear and natural motion running | permalink | Comments



"Barefoot" Shoes: Even Kids Love 'em

More evidence that minimalist ("barefoot") footwear is not a fringe fad: Kids' styles are a hit at REI. A kids' version of the popular Vibram KSO (Keep Stuff Out) multisport "toe shoe" has been such a consistent seller that REI product manager Russ Fine is adding another kids' style, the Merrell Trail Glove, later this month. "We've only had the Vibram kids' shoe in (selected) stores since March," Fine says, "but the response has been really good." Fine says he plans to double the number of ...

Posted by T.D. Wood on May 9, 2011 7:06 PM & Tagged barefoot running, kids, minimalist shoes, natural motion running, running shoes and toe shoes | permalink | Comments



Vibram "Toe Shoes:" A View from the REI Sales Floor

Have you had the fun of trying on Vibram Fivefingers yet? As a footwear specialist at REI’s flagship store in Seattle, I regularly experience what is (arguably) an even greater joy: watching someone else try to coax stubborn toes into those funky-looking shoes. Over the past two years, we have watched the popularity of Vibram Fivefingers (VFF, for short) explode through the roof. They went from being a quirky, guffaw-inspiring product collecting dust on our shelves to our hottest-selling ...

Posted by Yitka W on April 25, 2011 6:27 PM & Tagged VFF, Vibram FiveFingers, barefoot running, minimalist shoes, rei, seattle and toe shoes | permalink | Comments