Bad news Fellboy. Hope recovery doesn't drag for you.
Seriously considering the VFF when I get back into running, hopefully will prevent further knee trouble. Cheers for all the reports.
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Got the KSO's in black this week and they are ace! Not done any serious fells in them yet (just Billinge Hill so far) and I can really tell a difference - running seems easier and faster in them, and my drive-off on the ascents has more power.
I don't think they've changed my gait or anything because I'm a toe-striker anyway, so I think it's all down to the flexibility of the sole.
Had the same problem as Twister on the descent with holding myself back but I think that was more because I didn't want to land too hard on stones and twigs (you can feel everything), rather than traction.
Getting them on is a bit of a palaver cos I've got weird toes but it's getting easier.
Reactions from friends and family have so far ranged from hysterical laughter and 'I'm not going out in public with you if you're wearing them', to 'God, I wish I'd thought of them first.'
Interested to hear how people are getting on running in aqua shoes...
I caught a glimpse of someone wearing these after the Marlborough Downs Challenge yesterday. I'm very tempted.
Had a pair of FiveFingers Sprint for a couple of months now. Did a four hour plus hill run in them yesterday. Fantastic.
I've built up my barefoot/fivefingers milage to about 4 miles, 2 times a week with the rest of my sessions in roclite 330. I can get away with simple barefoot over most of my runs but there are a few sections of track which would lacerate my feet if I ran at normal pace so I am pleased with the 'brams for this. There is however no other feeling quite like bollocking down a grassy hill barefoot, it's a real back to nature thing!
The downside now is that I will need to find a good "racer" for when studs are a necessity and this presents a small problem. Usually we train in a heavier shoe and race in a lighter one; so what if I train with no shoe? Do you think you could make a studed fivefinger Mr Vibram? :D
I've just ordered a pair (after reading "Born to Run") and can't wait for them to arrive.
I've just started experimenting with barefoot running and am really loving the feeling. Ran short "hill" reps (road bridges over the railway line in Troon) with my club tonight in my socks and my legs were just flying, despite still feeling a bit wabbit after Goatfell last Saturday.
I'm interested in getting a pair of these. A couple of years ago one of my shoes fell apart just after Laddow Rocks in the Crowden Horseshoe race and I carried on without it. It was fine on the flagstones and felt great running through the peat, but I need a lot more protection to be able to cope with rough stony stuff. I've trained barefoot on my local allweather track but that's about the extend of my non-shoe running.
I had a look online last night with the intention of buying, I'm in need of some retail therapy to cheer me up whilst injured and to give me something to look forward to when I'm fit again. I'd just about come to terms with them being £80 or so, then I realised that was only some of the models and the KSO version comes in at just under £100. That's eyewateringly expensive to a tightwad like me and I baulked, thinking I could get a couple of pairs of Walshes instead for that money.
I think I'll pop in to Naked Ape in Sheffield next time I'm up that way and try a pair out before committing, see what the fit and feel is like.
Been interesting others' experiences with them in this thread.
I managed to get my KSO's for £74 inc postage when they were on offer over the bank holiday weekend. I think if you bide your time they will be on offer again soon. I waited 3 months for a pair of inov-8 roclites to be reduced from £70 to £50 on ebay. Well worth waiting around for.
My KSOs were only £80 from Naked Ape and I think their internet price was even lower.
I did my first off road run in them last weekend and apart from a few ‘ouch’ moments early on they were fine. It was a slightly surreal experience to feel the mud squelching between my toes but strangely pleasant and cooling. The terrain included a small road section then woods with mud tracks and packed crushed stone. Plenty of twigs/tree roots/stones around and I stubbed my toe for the first time which I had been dreading; it wasn’t bad though. I’m only wearing them once a week at the mo as I’m still waiting for the blister to heal. I wore a compeed last week but it didn’t last long. The wood section starts with a steep hill and I flew up it way faster than in trainers.
It may be a complete coincidence (or imagined) but my persistent ankle injury is much less noticeable in the KSO than in trainers………….