Racing Flats Defeat VFFs

Let me start off by saying I'm a big fan of the Vibram Five Fingers models but they need to specifically focus on the running community to develop models for all weather conditions and terrains. If not, they are missing a niche group of folks like myself that live in colder weather regions and can't wear VFFs due to cold weather . . . your toes freeze very quickly. In the alternative, they could develop some type of heated sock.

With that said, I found my perfect running shoe in the Mizuno Wave Universe 3. They are the worlds lightest racing flat (3.6 oz.) . I wore them today with temperatures at 8F (-1F wind chill) in 1-3 inches of snow and they were great. I was even able to add a foot warmer sole which was very thin and did not impact my form or technique. I have to say that Mizuno has done a great job developing such a minimalist shoe. Every time I put the shoe in some one's hand, they can't believe how light this shoe is as it feels like paper. It also provides considerable ground feel and is as close to the VFF experience as I've been able to find.

This will also reduce my barefoot running as I don't see the need to run barefoot when I'm running injury free in my racing flats. I know there are those that truly believe in barefoot running and, at a minimum, I believe it's a good training aid but it's just not practical to run 100% barefoot for many folks, for many reasons. For those that can't run barefoot, for whatever reason, the good news is all the other potential footwear that is available and I'll not add the Mizuno racing flats.

HHH