There is a revolution taking place in the footwear world,
a sort of “Arab Spring” for feet. The belief is being put forward that the idea
of confining our feet within tight fitting shoes belongs in the past and that
our feet need to be set free and allowed to take their own shape. Dozens of new
minimalist running shoes designed to allow feet to move more naturally and
uninhibited are hitting running stores around the world. For the past 30 years
or so, most training shoes have had a good amount of foam cushioning, a steep
heel-toe ramp angle and, often, some kind of structure or device to control
over pronation (Over-pronation, or flat feet, is a common biomechanical problem
that occurs in the walking process when a person's arch collapses upon weight
bearing).
So what is minimalist, or “minimal-drop”, sometimes
referred to as “barefoot” shoes?
Specifically, the new-fangled shoes have less cushioning and are thus
lower to the ground than traditional everyday trainers, and, of course, the new
shoes are much lighter. Those are the primary criteria that many bio-mechanists
and medical professionals believe allow the foot to move more naturally and,
thus, allow the rest of the body to set up in more efficient running posture
from foot to forehead.
At the forefront of this concept is a company called Five
Fingers, which probably should be called Five Toes, but anyway….. their shoes
resemble a glove for the foot, with each toe being encased individually. They
certainly are eye-catching if nothing else, resulting in people doing a lot of
staring at their feet. Now personally I would love to own a pair of Five
Fingers but unfortunately my 10 toes seem to have 11 minds of their own. They
resemble the starting gates at a horse race, where all the entrants mill around
but none of them want to go into their own starting gate. Fortunately there are
other manufacturers such as Kigo who produce similar products, but use the more
conventional open shoe design. Merrell, New Balance and Vibram or other
well-known brands at the forefront of this technology.
So what, I hear you cry, does this have to do with
someone who has spent the last 39 years unable to stand, let alone walk, or
run? Well, my interest is prickled by
the minimalist nature of these shoes. For me it has always been about the sole,
and the fact that there was always too much of it. I need a shoe to cover my
feet, and keep them warm and dry. Anything more than that increases the bulk,
and the weight, which ultimately leads to an uncomfortable item of clothing.
Two great big lumps at the ends of my legs.
I finished my school years with my shoes in virtually
brand-new condition despite my actively dragging them along the ground in my
wheelchair, as schoolboys are want to do. My first pair of sport shoes, a pair
of Olympics, in a trendy two tone brown colour (!) lasted for over 15 years
until the stitching on the uppers began to come apart. The soles had barely a
mark on them.
Some boots are made for walking, and that is what they
do, but some of those boots just have too much rubber underfoot making them
heavy and cumbersome. The trend some years ago towards ultra-thick soles sent
me into a shoe purchasing decline, but this new change of heart in the industry
has opened the way to purchase lightweight and low profile shoes. Not that I'm
about to do an Imelda Marcus impersonation, but this really is shoe heaven for
me! After years of searching through
racks of huge cumbersome and ungainly footwear we now have the manufacturers
falling over themselves to produce the lowest profile sole combined with the
lightest upper.
So if you are someone, like me, who has no need for bulky
shoes and thick soles, come, let’s hold hands, er… feet, and join the
revolution!
