A few weeks ago I was asked if I could post some pictures of the terrain I run on daily. Some weeks its all barefoot and I am looking for smooth asphalt. But mostly it’s out my front door and into the Santa Clara River Reserve. The trails are quite rugged and as a barefooter I can last for 4 to 5 miles with no shoes — especially if I just do the river bottom. However it does take quite a bit concentration and I cannot go fast. I love to go fast, so the bottom line is that I prefer to do my barefooting runs on asphalt and my back country trail running in my Five Finger KSO’s or Huaraches.
All of the pictures in this post were taken while on a 9 mile trail run yesterday (April 14th 2009) in the Santa Clara River Reserve. The run is combination of four trails. Jacob Hamblin, Graveyard, Black Bush, and Barrel Roll.
The details of the run
It starts at my home and runs past the Santa Clara Cemetery, then on to the Jocob Hamblin Trail. It then crosses Highway 91 then onto a gravel access road to the local power plant. Then you take a right up a hill to Graveyard Trail Head. I then followed this trail down to the river bottom, crossed and climbed out and connected to Black Bush. When you get to the apex of the trail it wants to turn and go down in elevation, but you can continue up in elevation and connect to Barrel Roll. I then take Barrel Roll around to the start of the trail head. You then follow an unmarked trail out until you connect to Highway 91, and then back to the Jacob Hamblin Trail, and home.
4 Trail Run - 9 Miles - Vibram Five Fingers KSO's
Santa Clara River - Pepper Dog all amped and ready to go fast. Mile (1) on map.
Dancing on Lava Rocks with Five Finger KSO's. River crossing mile (1) on map.
Nasty sticker bushes in the Santa Clara River bottom. Mile (1) on the map.
Looking East to Santa Clara and St. George. Mile (5) on the map.
Looking West at the top of Barrel Roll Trail. Apex of mile (4) and (5) on the map.
Close-Up of Terrain - Mile (4) on map.
Well anyway I hope that you enjoyed the pictures.
Michael Carroll
Hi I posted a comment on your eailer KSO post, in case you see this one sooner, I’m curious are they for outdoor trail running only or can they enable a barefoot urban running experience on pavement? -Travis
Travis,
Don’t be afraid to go barefoot especially on pavement. You will five finger much better if you can transition to them from barefooting. I often start and end my five finger runs barefoot. Why? Because it imprints the correct running memory into your muscles. Five fingers still allow you to cheat and often allow bad habits from running in cushioned shoes to be carried over. I ran for a year in Solomon trail shoes thinking I was mimicking the barefoot running after reading all of Barefoot Ken and Ted’s posts. Boy was I wrong.
Good luck – Let me know how the experiment goes…
Michael Carroll
Hmm thank you for the advice, before purchasing a pair I will lose my shoes for the next few runs, a little more curiousity if you dont mind. When it comes to blisters I’ve read several posts of people experiencing them under thier big toe, but what about at the back of the ankle? Do you wear yours without socks as I would prefer to, I cant stand socks or shoes really for that matter, too constricting. Thank you again -Travis
Travis,
Good question. Socks and five fingers. Injini’s are the brand that I have tried. If I wear them I find two benefits and only one issue for me. My feet last much longer on rough trails in five fingers and I can go faster. The second benefit is that on cold days it makes the run much nicer. The negative for me — they make my feet feel too hot. Interestingly enough though, is they are one of my favorite socks to wear to church in my loafers. LOL!
Blisters and uncomfortableness on the back of my heal has always been one of my main concerns with any running shoe. I have cut-out and modified shoes to work with my Achilles Tendon before. Fiver fingers? They feel great on the back of the foot. Now my Achilles is significantly stronger than when I ran in non minimal shoes, but I do not like anything rubbing there and FF’s don’t for me. As I have mentioned in my posts about FF’s I feel like I am getting hot spots, like I will have a blister on my big toes, but when I look the skin is intact and whole.
I believe that the the stronger my feet get the fewer blisters I get. Not that I am getting any when I run barefoot, wear FF’s, or BFT Huaraches, or dress shoes. Interestingly I went for a run in my old Solomon’s, insert pulled out, and I had no blisters anywhere. Just for the record — when I was a heal striking, padded shoe wearing fool, I had blisters.
Michael Carroll