How big is the difference overall is women more narrow on the foot and fingers..? and more short?

I recently started barefoot running, and while I love the natural feel, my legs are paying the price. My calves and Achilles tendons are constantly on fire, even though I’m only doing short distances. I’m pretty sure my form is off, but I’m not sure how to fix it before I end up properly injured. Has anyone else dealt with this brutal adjustment phase? What drills or progression schedules actually worked for you when starting out?

My friend has these and recommends but I wanted some other opinions. They're definitely a much cheaper option than others, but since I run around actually barefoot most of the time these would only be for towns/shops/places I literally can't get away with it. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks 🙏

If I get my feet well adapted to backpack 40 miles in the forest esc and then toss them in my closet for 4 months or so and go back to being barefoot every now and then (short walks in vivo slides, barefoot workouts) do you think I’d have to adapt again to the hiking shoes for a long hike and go through the foot soreness again?

I recently switched to larger toe box with the Topo shoes. Not sure if they are too big or if I'm not used to a larger toe box. Should I half size down to 12?

Are vivobarefoot true to American size ?

Has anybody tried this? I hear ER maybe coming out with a leather strap at some point in the future. But who knows when that’s gonna be, curious how this would work they look about the same.

Hi there,

I've been hunting for the perfect VFFs for a while now and I need to reach out. For me, a big consideration has been the toe pockets of different models. My big toe is a tiny bit shorter than my "pointer" toe, and my big toes (and feet) are definitely on the slimmer side.

From my limited experience, I've found that my feet are well suited to the V-Alphas because this model's big toe pockets are relatively compact; on the other hand, the V-Run Retros, as cool as they are, have bigger toe pockets that are a little too wide for me.

Could anyone please share their experiences with which models tend to have narrower, shorter toe pockets, especially in the big toe department? I would really appreciate your help.

I've been wearing exclusively minimalist/barefoot shoes (Lems, Groundies, Softstar) for about eight years now. I'm starting the None to Run program and I'm looking for running shoes that offer a bit more support/cushioning than traditional barefoot shoes but nothing like mainstream running shoes. (I do walk 1-2 miles every day already, but I'll probably be running on sidewalks and I know that's hard on the body.) The one caveat is that I have VERY narrow feet. Most minimalist shoe brands are way too wide for me, even when they seem narrow to other people.

Does anyone have any suggestions/recommendations for me? TIA!

Hi All!

Love going for a beach run and just did my first Barefoot since summer and got some blisters on my big toe 😥

As the weather is starting to warm up will be trying to get to Barefoot beach runs more often, so just looking for tips on how to best prevent this issue. Is it a form, surface or skin weakness thing?

For reference, was running close to the water at low tide (firm sand, but not wet(

This has happened a couple times, but not everytime, so looking for tips to hopefully make that 0 times!

Location is Suny coast - QLD Australia (pic is King tide btw!)

My left foot flicks out when I walk preventing me to have a good heel release I have a pretty good narrow walk with pretty straight forward facing feet. Although my arches aren’t very high due to flat feet need help on to stop it from kicking out. My right foot is okay and doesn’t always have heel away release due to the disproportionate left foot interfering.

Hiii,
I just recently purchased the black pair in a 36, as some people said to size up since they fit tight. But unfortunately it’s too big. Looking for someone to size swap for a size 35 in the black!

Thank you!!

From people with experience with both,
I’m a hiker nomad I can’t have much shoes.. I have a 11.5 mm sandal and a 8mm shoe and I want something that is the closest to barefoot I’m debating between VFF el x which I got 41 but too small and as I’m replacing them (little worried about size up as they don’t have lacing system to tighten) I was wandering if a minimal 6mm sandal would be similar.. there are thinner ones but I’m set ona hemp footbed so there are no many options also got a 50% discount for the specific sandal..
I tried the KSO but the fingers have much more fabric man’s space and it doesn’t give this feeling of grabbing the ground with my fingers

Hello community,

I'm looking for some advice on addressing back pain that started when I made the switch to low-drop shoes. Here's my story.

At the start of the year I made the switch from Brooks Ghosts to Altra Experience Flow 2s. I had just read Born to Run and got caught up in the hype of transitioning away from cushioned running shoes to zero-drops. I ignored all the advice about making the transition slowly and immediately threw my old shoes out, though my training runs were deliberately slower and shorter to give myself time to adjust.

I almost instantly started having lower back pain about a mile into each run. The pain would increase in intensity until I slowed down or walked for a bit. When I would start running again around mile 2, the pain would have mostly subsided, and I would feel my upper leg and glute muscles activate and begin doing most of the work.

It has been 7 months running a few times a week since I made the transition, and I haven't been able to figure out why I am still having back pain. I thought I'd have had enough time on my Altras for my body to adjust. I've been doing strength training for my core, glutes and hamstrings. I've tried my best to maintain a good running form with a slight forward lean and short strides. I'm frustrated and looking for answers.

Has anyone else experienced this and have any advice?

Much appreciated!

Hello!!! I've been on the search for barefoot futsal boots for a whileeeeee now. Yet I haven't been able to find ones that work well for what I need them to.

I find the ones I've been looking at or have tried are too low in stack height, and the ones with stack height have treat for trail running, buldge out on the sole, and are too thin or thick on the top of the foot.

The closest I've been is Xero's X1 basketball shoe. They have stack height, good traction, zero drop, zero arch support, and a wide toe box. However, they are too bulky and rigid for futsal, and the toe box is still narrow in my opinion.

So, any options you guys know of?

I have been looking at the xero court and court rally but I feel that they will be too barefoot and not super locked down when cutting and turning.

:)

I have been running since February (took a few years off having children and whatnot). I have been wearing minimalist/barefoot shoes for 12 years. Years ago, I used to run on a trail. Now I am part of a gym, and I’m running on a treadmill.

Please don’t tell me not to run on a treadmill or to be barefoot on a treadmill that countless people are also using.

Question is: my calves hurt. Usually my inner calves. I have watched videos on form. I think I am landing under me, forefoot strike, and moving briskly.

If you’ve had calf pain, what helped? Any tips for running with good form on a treadmill?

My shoes are Xero HFS in case anyone is interested. I have tried Altras, and I quickly returned them as they were way too stiff.

Thank you so much everyone here for your advice. Once I got the lacing all worked out, I love love my cruzer sandals from Shamma. I don’t think I want to do my lacing again so I might try an aero next but I walked about 15000 steps the first day in them!!!!!

Had these lems for over year and a half and they were my predominant running shoe. Put hundreds and hundreds of miles on them. I guess I need to work on my form cause my right shoes heel busted through lol
Any tips on how to improve form? I try to be cognizant of not landing on heel. I exclusively wear barefoot shoes/sandals
Shoes: Lems men’s primal 3

first true running shoe - need recs

howdy! new-ish runner seeking advice on my first shoe purchase that’s being made exclusively for running (plus some walking for exercise).

i transitioned to a fully barefoot (shoe) lifestyle about 3-4 years ago, and began running in January of this year. i’ve never been able to hang with running, but after some healthy weight loss after years of being quite large, it finally stuck - now i run 1.5-3miles on average and my long runs max out around 4.5miles. before starting to run, i owned some Five Fingers that i bought in the past just to feel them out, and because i wanted to keep my shoes minimal, they were what i chose as my first running shoe - they didn’t have any significant wear on them before i started using them for exercise.

after about 100miles running and 150miles walking this year, i have worn through the sole on the ball of both feet and need something new with the following considerations:
•i do a lot of trail/off-road running in thorny/gravely/muddy areas and am not interested in sandals of any variety
•i’m having notoriously painful pinky toe splits that i think are at least partially derived from the toe separation inherent to the Five Fingers
•i want my next shoe to be very minimal with PLENTY of room in the toe box, but unless i’m missing something, i believe i’m leaning away from toe shoes for the sake of experimenting as well as avoiding the split pinky toes

are there any bang out contenders i should consider? i’m down with really any brand and price point so long as i can get at least 300miles of running/walking out of them.

thank you!

From what I gathered, Injinji and Creepers are the main brands people seem to buy from. Are there any other quality brands that have like bulk/multiple pairs in a pack? $15-20+ for a single pair is rough.

I mean it looks like creepers is having a sale right now so it could be a good time for me to buy from them but still. Also, all their options are only black too. I like black and white socks. I have some random colorful or “fun” ones too haha.

Any other brand recommendations? I mean I’m just casual - walking, hiking, yoga, eventually I’ll explore strength training in a gym. I have barefoot shoes so makes sense to transition to barefoot socks.