Disclaimer: May not work for everyone. Just sharing my lived experience as someone who runs with absolutely flat feet.

I've been living with absolutely flat feet and severe Achilles tendonitis for over 3 years and I even have bone spurs now (extra growths of the heel bones) on both ankles.

I've been a barefoot runner for over 5 years now and that fixed my knee pain and strengthened my calves. However, I started jumping rope barefoot on concrete :( about 4 years ago and I did that for a year and it messed up my Achilles! (Don't ask why! I thought I was being a Spartan :D)

So bad, that of late I have been hobbling out of bed in the morning and I'm 45 years old so that's not fun at all.

Recently, I discovered something interesting by chance. If I work out in the gym with heavy weights in the morning, even for something so upper body-ish like just shoulders, I don't limp for the rest of the day.

Basically, one day I limped to a gym as I was travelling and didn't feel like running in a city without pavements (common in India). I did chest that day and while walking back, I realised I wasn't limping anymore.

Read up a little about this effect and one possible explanation is exercise-induced hypoalgesia.

It works so well that on Sunday, I completed a half marathon barefoot and was hobbling so badly the whole day that I just lay in bed. Monday morning the pain was still bad in both feet and I didn't feel like doing anything at all, but I pushed myself to the gym for an upper-body workout (only shoulders). Had to ask someone to drop me to the gym though it's just a 100m away.

Voilà! Achilles pain gone.

And today's Tuesday morning. Just got out of bed. Feeling great, so sharing this with everyone.

Not saying that disappearing pain means the tendon itself has magically healed. I'm sharing this because the difference in how I feel after a proper gym workout has been dramatic and consistent!

Hope this helps!

I’ve had a bad case of intermetatarsal bursitis and am getting cortisone in both feet next week in hopes of healing it, I’ve had it in my right for over 2 months and in my left for about 1.5 years on and off.

Whaf can I do to make sure it never comes back besides just wearing good footwear?

Even though I’ve been wearing mainly barefoot shoes for over 3 years now, I still occasionally wear crocs and Birkenstocks out and about. Even though they’re not zero drop, the wide toe box makes up for it lol heck in my opinion, they have a wider toe box than xeros and vivos. I still rock my Lems and splays most of the time

Obviously I need to rest/ not run or jump for a while (Dr said 6 weeks. Yikes!). But any advice on full body movements/exercises that would kept you on track for a speedy recovery when they give the green light for running and jumping?
It would be really appreciated!

I’m a big fan of Ben Patric (Knees Over Toes Guy) and Conor Harris. I’m going to start scrolling down the rabbit hole for anything in their content that could be helpful.

Thanks in advance !
I have a kiddo that is NOT going to wait for my gimpy behind to catch up. I need all the tricks! 🤣

3rd run in my 1st ever barefoot sandals. I was so happy when I got this because I wasn't able to get a nice barefoot sandals like Luna, Shamma, and Bedrocks sandals. Luckily, I managed to get a pair in my local online shop (sh*pee) and ship here in the Philippines.

I got this Femez Rinjani for only PHP 995 or 16 USD. It is an Indonesian brand. Not sponsored or anything I bought it with my own money also not sure if they ship to other countries. But, hopefully I think so because they have website.

Ist run with this was very painful in the balls of the feet. I managed to get only 3x1 mile and a day of rest and then run again for 5k straight and a day rest and then 3rd run (picture above). 1st impression running in this was I felt very explosive and I managed to reach and average a cadence of 175 steps/min. Average Pace of 5:55min/km with light to moderate uphills and downhills in Conrete. Overall, this is my run and hopefully my barefoot journey will continue to get a stronger feet. Cheers!!🍻

Looking for toe spreader recommendations that aren't just a lump of silicone/plastic, or at least don't result in itchy sweaty toes. Ideally I would like to wear them inside my socks inside my vivos.

I have a home gym so normally I’d just work out barefoot, but the seat on the rower tears up my heels so figured I’d break the VFF’s back out.

I bought vivos around two years ago. For a long time I was just walking in them and then started short run sessions as well.
I slowly increased the running sessions and it all went fine. Two months ago I went running and I got a pain in the achilles tendon. I was doing some prevention exercises, but anytime I go walking or when trying to run, I get pain in the tendon.

Did anyone else get this issue? How did you treat it?

I don't want to go back to "normal" shoes as I like the feeling with barefoot shoes when running, but if there is no other way, I might have to.

Hey all!

We’ve been working on an iPhone app that makes it easier to measure your own foot length at home, and we're looking for more people to help us Beta test and review it.

The app uses either:

• LiDAR on compatible iPhone Pro models, or
• an A4 sheet of paper + camera on any iPhone.

You take 5 measurements, the app filters out the outliers and gives you an averaged foot length in mm.

We originally developed it to help people find their size in LONO barefoot shoes, but the actual foot measurement is brand-independent. You can simply take the measurement in mm and compare it against the sizing chart of any shoe brand.

👣 We’re looking for Beta testers

What would be especially useful is hearing:

• How accurate your result is compared with manually measuring your foot
• Whether the instructions are easy to follow
• How reliably the LiDAR or A4 method works on your iPhone
• Anything confusing, buggy or annoying
• Ideas for making the utility more useful

As a little thank you to our current Beta testers, we're currently offering a free pair of socks with a LONO shoe purchase while supplies last. You'll find the perk inside the sizing results email.

There’s absolutely no need to buy anything or login to test the app. We're primarily interested in seeing how well the measurement methods perform across different iPhones, feet and real-world conditions.

If you find the utility useful, we'd really appreciate you sharing it with other barefoot, running, hiking, footwear or foot-health communities where you think it could help. The more people who test it, the more we can learn and improve it.

👉 https://apps.apple.com/app/lono-shoe-sizing/id6784482325

If something doesn't work, we'd much rather hear about it while it's still in Beta. 👣

— LONO Movement Team

I’ve been trying to get back into running after many years away, and today decided to do a barefoot jog. It’s been probably 15 years since I ran barefoot seriously but my body REMEMBERED. Im out of shape and overweight, but somehow felt light on my feet. And I don’t know why but running at a heart rate of of 150 (sorry I’m old) barefoot feels easier than 150 with shoes on.

Hi!

Recently got myself a pair of Lone peak 9+ in Wide for running/hiking, and was wondering if i should keep this model or size down by 1/2 a size.

My feet are extremely wide, and measure around 286 and 288 mm in length respectively. Although i know about the thumbs width advice, my hands are big and said rule doesnt always apply, so i want to ask you who actually own it how much space you have from the longest toe to the edge, and what size you would reccomend in this case (i.e. current 47, or 46.5).

I have attached pictures of both feet as well as the inner sole of the largest foot where i have \~1.7-2 cm of toe space.

Them discontinuing this shoe is still one of the biggest fails.
Sadly the ""re-launch"" HFS Original, just isn't the same, they've added a couple of mm to the sole and it doesn't flex in quite the same way. Even the upper on it feels a bit more bulky.
tHE hfs ii'S......aren't even close to the same shoe in the sole, super rigid by comparison. Especially in the midfoot and heel.

Whats everyone's favorites that use to wear the HFS's a lot? / similar feeling shoes

I've tried a lot and sent a lot back...
Still planning to try out -
Feelgrounds Move
Lono Flow (v1 v 2 or S )
and maybe Vapor Glove 7's

To see how these compare. My last remaining pair of HFS's basically look like death with holes in the soles.

Hi guys, testing out the Xero Aquacloud on a trail today in Scotland. Not bad, extreme ground feel which is nice, a lot of fiddling to get them to sit right but overall a decent pair of sandals so far.

Has anyone had these for an extended period of time in a harsher trail environment?

I’m curious about picking up some Panta or Wildsoles next for more refinement.

I’m referring to minimalist shoes particularly.

Background: I’m a 43M, and have not run regularly since high school, and I’ve typically blamed that on my right ankle because it will sometimes have a loud click with each step. I injured it when weight lifting at 17, and it’s not really worsened over the past 25 years but never got better either. I’ve recently lost 25lbs and I’m down to 220lbs and I’m 6’3”. I feel like it’s time to get back into something, but where I live running will always be more accessible and have more safe locations than other exercises.

I’ve worn mostly Merrell Trailgloves for daily shoes for years and prefer minimalist shoes. I’ve had to take some breaks here and there with planter fasciitis and Achilles tendinitis, I’d wear a more padded shoe to heal up.

Now I’d like to start running and try to set myself up for success, so the warnings I’ve read about starting and progressing slowly was the plan anyways. But the short version of my question is with that history is it preferred to start out with barefoot/minimalist shoes and train for the barefoot stride from the start? Planning on a couch to 5k type program. If I overdo it and I’m recovering anything wrong with dusting off a pair of cushioned shoes and doing a more regular heal striking run until recovered?

Honestly I think I’ll wind up seeing a PT before it’s over if I were a betting man, but I’d like to start and try to adjust so I can respond to what problems actually develop rather than starting out by showing up and saying “hey I haven’t run much in 20 years, what problems will I have?”

I've run 2 marathons in minimalist sandals and I'm gearing up for a third one right now. I always figured my foot would get less narrow at the top, and my toes would go to a normal length relative to my big toe... but it never happened. I can move my pinky toes independently and splay my toes. Is there more I should be doing?

I absolutely love the Merrell Vapor Glove 6. The 6mm stack height just feels so good for running. My only problem is that I just ran through my pair (literally - only took 3 months to break through the outsole), and the Vapor Glove 6 has been out of production for a bit, and has become a bit harder to find consistently online.

I could try the Vapor Glove 7, but I don’t love the idea of the 7’s having a thicker stack height (8mm vs 6mm). Does anyone have any thoughts on the 7’s vs the 6’s? Or, has anyone found a shoe quite as thin as the Vapor Glove 6?

What is everyone wearing for golfing? I just started golfing (after my husband bugging me to try it lol) and need some shoes recommendations. I have flat feet and a tailors bunion. They have to be zero drop for my flat feet otherwise my feet will go numb. I tried some True Links but the ones where the spikes are hit right on my bunion. I’m in the US Midwest so was hoping for something waterproof but it doesn’t need to be.

I think I just have bad luck with British barefoot shoes (looking at you vivo).

42 was too long, 41 is quite tight. Along with vivo, these feel _really_ tight at the midfoot. Otherwise quite comfortabl. unfortunate, wanted to give these a go.

I have child sized feet and bought the 4 wide merry janes and 4 primal wide (they only come in this width).

I feel they're comically wide and look and feel like flippers. What's your experience?

I have my youth sized Earth runners for reference

Hey! I'm new to Reddit (long time lurker) but have been enjoying and learning a lot from everyone's posts.

I've been in barefoot shoes (mostly Feelgrounds as my daily faves) for about 6 years now, and have been running in Altras for their cushioning but still zero / low drop and wide toe box. I have the Torin 5s but have tried several of the newer models (Torin 6, 7, Escalate 2, Escalate racer) and sent them all back as they are much narrower in the midfoot and even the toe box (which also seems to have bent to have a more curved shape, too). Some models do wide, but are never in stock in women's (I'm a UK size 5).

So my question is: what now?! My current Torins are almost dead and they're impossible to buy now here (UK).

I'm looking for zero / very low drop, wide toe box, and some cushioning as I run on the road and just get so so sore running long distances in minimal. I'd ideally be looking to spend no more than £120, but at this point maybe I'll take anything as I'm at a loss.

Has anyone tried the Innov8 Roadfly Zeros? What about Topo?

Any advice much appreciated!!

UPDATE: HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has taken the time to reply 🙏🏽❤️ I found the Altra Torin 9s in a wide fit, and tried them on. As others suggested, they do seem to have that wider feel of the older Torins. HOWEVER, the volume is significantly lower, so although my toes can splay, there is so much less fabric up the sides that even with the laces as loose as they will go / done in a funky pattern to leave gaps, the upper feels too tight.

I wouldn't say I have particularly high volume feet, so this is really disappointing.

Whitins are next on my list to try

The search continues...