Stuff I like: Luna Sandals

If you've read Christopher McDougall's Born to Run, then you're familiar with minimalist running, the Tarahumara Indians of northern Mexico, and Barefoot Ted.  (If you haven't read Born to Run, you really should.  It's one of my favorite running books ever.)  Inspired by the huarache sandals the Tarahumara run in, Barefoot Ted designed Luna Sandals on the same principle, only with some modern touches. The Tarahumara might use an old tire for the sole; Ted uses a Vibram sole.  The Tarahumara use leather straps; Ted uses nylon webbing with a Fastex buckle.  But it's the same idea.

Usually those 1/2-off e-mail offers go straight to the trash, but this one caught my eye.  I had been curious about Luna Sandals for a long time, but the $80 price tag put me off.  For $40, though, I'd give them a shot.  They arrived at a time when I was in a bit of a running lull, so for the first few weeks I had them, I just wore them to walk around.  They quickly became my favorite shoes.  I've always worn flip-flops, but if I'm doing much walking, I don't like them.  I have to sort of flex my toes a funny way to keep them on my feet.  That gets old.  I've also worn several different full-strap sandals (Teva, Merrell).  I like those, but they're always too heavy and have too bulky a sole. 

The Lunas capture the best of both worlds: they're super simple and light, like my favorite flip-flops, and they stay on my feet well, like Tevas, only without any extraneous straps.  I wear them every chance I get.  I would wear them to work if I could.  (In fact, I have seen women at work with shoes almost as stripped down as these.  Why do women get to wear strappy sandals and flip-flops to work and men don't?  Sexism in the workplace!)

Now for the running.  I have worn my Lunas on several runs, all primarily on pavement, the longest being 9 miles.  I have concluded that the only time I would wear these to run is on flat, straight, smooth courses.  The thin sole is perfect; just a little bit of ground feel with adequate protection.  I have run with less on trails, but I think most runners want a thicker sole if a trail has any rocks or roots.  For smooth dirt, they'd be fine.  (They do make a trail version with a thicker sole.)

My problem with running in these is two-fold.  First, if you have any lateral movement at all, you will have a hard time keeping your foot in the footbed.  I noticed this especially when throwing the football around with my boys.  Quick stops or sidesteps had me on the verge of stumbling.  I can imagine that if you run on a winding trail, you would be wishing for more lateral control.  The second problem is more significant.  I love the smooth leather footbed, but on even a slight incline, my foot slides back.  Obviously, the straps keep me from sliding all the way out, as I would with flip-flops.  I tightened the straps as tightly as I thought I comfortably could, but still got some sliding.  Where I usually run, this isn't a big deal, but on a hilly course, the sliding would get really old.  I also slide some if I start quick.

I have continued to run in my Lunas, but as I look toward Isle du Bois, I think I'll start running more in my Vibrams.  For an everyday shoe, I LOVE my Lunas.  But for a running shoe, I don't think they're my first choice.  Also, as much as I love them, I am not sure I can swallow the $80 price tag.  I hope mine don't wear out until I get another 1/2 price offer in my inbox.

Buy Luna Sandals at their web site.  I just went to get the link and saw this:

You can choose between a copper brown suede leather footbed and the MGT footbed. Our new MGT (Monkey Grip Technology) footbed maintains the black, low profile, look of the naked top Lunas while improving traction and durability. For wet and muddy conditions go with the MGT footbed.The leather footbed adds comfort, helps it form to your foot, and absorbs some moisture.

Hmmm....  Sounds like I might need to keep my current pair for daily wear, and order a MGT pair for running. . . . .

Barefoot Running on NPR--again!

Last month, Diane Rehm had a show dedicated to barefoot running (I noted it in my blog here.).  Last night, I happened to hear another show called "To the Best of Our Knowledge", which had a feature on running.  It wasn't all about barefoot running, but most of it was.

The first segment was an interview with Christopher McDougall, who told stories from Born to Run, and, of course, talked a bit about barefoot running.  Then Gretchen Reynolds talked about health and running, including a response to the interviewer's question about barefoot running.  Then Jason Robillard, a long-time barefoot ultrarunner discussed barefoot running.  Finally, the presenter read selections from Haruki Murakami, a novelist and runner who never mentions running barefoot.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable program for any runner, barefoot or not.  I downloaded the whole show from itunes; you can also stream it and find out more about the interviewees at the website, ttbook.org.

Barefoot Running on NPR

This morning Diane Rehm had Christopher McDougall, Amby Burfoot, and Dr. Stephen Pribut on her show to discuss running.  As you might expect, with McDougall, author of Born to Run (best running book ever), as a guest, much of the show was dedicated to a discussion of barefoot running.  Dr. Pribut's take could be summed up like this: As long as you're moving, not sitting, I don't care what you have on your feet.  Burfoot, long-time editor at Runner's World, defended the running shoe industry--after all, they pay his bills.  Both Pribut and Burfoot would agree that less is more; many running shoes tend to have too much padding.

McDougall and Burfoot got a little feisty at a couple of points.  To McDougall, most running problems can be solved by ditching the modern running shoe.  But he reminded me of the most important thing: it's not whether you are barefoot, in VFFs, sandals, or some other minimalist shoe that matters, but running form that matters.  Since ditching the shoes usually leads to correction in running form, sometimes that's all you need to do.  But you still have to be aware of form.  My achilles has been tight lately, in spite of running exclusively in VFFs.  I need to pay more attention to form.

You can listen to the show at Rehm's website.

By the way, I have gift cards for Luke's Locker I have been saving to get some new VFFs but they never have any!  I'm wearing holes in the soles of mine and I need new ones!

C.C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race: The True Story of the 1928 Coast-to-Coast Run Across America

There are ultrarunners, and then there are ULTRArunners. At the entry level are runners like me, who run the occasional 50 miler with hopes of maybe completing a 100 mile race one day. Then there are the veterans, who regularly race in 50 and 100 mile races. Then there are the runners portrayed in Geoff Williams's account of a 1928 cross country foot race. In an age of dance marathons, flagpole sitting, and wing walking, showman and sports promoter C.C. "Cash and Carry" Pyle came up with the idea to stage a race from Los Angeles to New York. He traveled the country and the world recruiting runners and promoting "C.C. Pyle's first Annual International Transcontinental Foot Race, From Los Angeles to New York." As you might guess, the unwieldy name didn't stick, but the nickname did: The Bunion Derby.

Pyle, a pioneer in sports agency and marketing, managed to gather a field of experienced runners, as well as eager but inadequately prepared hopefuls attracted by the promised $25,000 prize. Some of the runners had run races or exhibition runs of hundreds of miles, some were experienced marathoners and Olympic athletes. Others were not athletes at all, just ambitious men with big dreams.

On March 4, 1928, 199 runners started out in the rain and mud, thousands of miles ahead of them. Williams gathers newspaper accounts, personal memoirs, and historical documents to chronicle the race from its inception to the finish. We learn the back stories of the runners and witness the drama of the race. Runners dropped out along the way, of course, from injury, exhaustion, frustration, mental breakdown, or some combination of all of these.

Williams's account is full of great anecdotes. For instance, two decades before Jackie Robinson integrated baseball, Pyle invited African-Americans to race. The black runners faced some opposition along the way. As a Texan I am sad, but not too surprised, to report that some of the worst encounters were in Texas, where the KKK "were enraged that there were blacks running alongside whites. . . . Somewhere between the border of Texas and the town of Vega, a mob tried to set fire to a car full of people shouting encouraging words to Gardner," an African-American runner. The Klan harassed the four black runners throughout the Texas panhandle.

For all the personal side stories, including the hilarious misadventures of Pyle, running from ex-wives, the police, and debt collectors while trying to put on this spectactle of a race, Pyle's Amazing Foot Race is all about the race itself. The distances themselves are numbing. Other than the first leg, a mere 17 miles, and maybe one or two others, the legs were all ultramarathon distance, some as much as 50 or 60 miles or more. And then they'd run again the next day! No days off in this race!

Many runners, especially ultramarathoners, will empathize with the perils of the runners, including blisters, lost toenails, sunburn, frostbite, nausea, sore muscles, etc. If you've ever experience these on a run, imagine the worst you've felt, then imagine getting up the next morning to do it again, and again, for weeks! And the conditions ranged from blazing heat and sandstorms to driving rain and blizzards. It's no wonder that after 8 days and 295 miles, half the runners had dropped out.

Williams makes much of the diversity of footwear chosen by the runners, and the impossibility of keeping their feet in good shape. I don't think even avid barefoot runners would endorse running 3422 miles non-stop barefoot, but I was amused by Williams's use of this quote from a New York Times editorial in 1878: "It would be impossible to form any accurate estimate of the enormous amount of human suffering that has been caused by boots and shoes." If you're familiar with Christopher McDougall, the author of Born to Run, you've heard him say similar about modern running shoes.

I do wish Williams had included some summary information, such as a chart of the runners' finishing times, the names and hometowns of the runners, and a map of the course. That information is all in the text, but I would like to have seen it in another form. He does include some small pictures at the start of each chapter, but I would like to have seen more pictures. But wait, he didn't have to! At the end of the Acknowledgements he notes a PBS documentary about the race, which has a web site with all that information! Now to get my hands on that video. . . .

As a result of Pyle's financial mismanagement and poor planning, the end of the race was rather anticlimactic. Many were surprised that he actually came up with prize money! (The next year he put on the race again, this time from the east coast to the west coast, but in the end, the winners walked away empty-handed. Wouldn't that be a let-down!)

Here's a picture of a statue of Andy Payne, the winner of the Bunion Derby. His pace averaged a bit over 10 minutes per mile. That's amazing to me. The statue can be seen on Route 66, in Foyil, Oklahoma, Payne's hometown.

Pyle's Amazing Foot Race is a great read. Runners will enjoy it, especially those who love to run long distances. But the book also presents a colorful picture of life in the U.S. between the wars, and, ironically, captures some of the adventuresome spirit of the early days of the automobile and the mobility that Route 66 came to represent. Highly recommended!

Stuff I Like: Vibram Five Fingers

Last week I ran over 56 miles in my Vibram Five Fingers, including interval training, hills, and a long run of 17.75 miles. I'm not completely ready to give up regular running shoes yet, but I sure do like running in these.

I first read of them in a Runner's World column last year. I saw a pair at Luke's Locker and laughed. Then I talked to a guy running in bare feet at the White Rock Marathon last year. Interesting, but not compelling. Then I read Christopher McDougall's Born to Run. I usually resist getting on any kind of popular bandwagon, but I readily admit to buying into the minimalist running philosophy that he describes in the book.

The idea is, basically, that running shoes tend to cause injury by encouraging improper running form. The cushioning encourages harder heel strike, leading to jarring in the knees. The extra support inhibits natural motion and strengthening in the foot. On this last point, my chiropractor made a good analogy. She said that a back brace is designed for added support, but her patients end up relying on it too much, leading to further injury. So might too much support in a running shoe lead to injury.

I'm no expert in biomechanics, engineering, anatomy, sports injuries, or anything else that matters. But the growing number of people who promote running in VFFs, minimalist shoes (like the Tarahumara huaraches McDougall describes), or barefoot make a lot of sense to me. I do still like having some protection for the soles of my feet, so I'm not sure I'll be running barefoot. I enjoy running in my VFFs, enough that I'm considering running the White Rock Marathon in them.

By the way, they're great for climbing, too!