Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Should I release my inner Tarahumara?

What Hattori's aspire to be
Today's run (street): 2.5 miles

I received an offer to test a pair of  huarache running sandals whose design is based on the shoes worn by the Tarahumara runners in Mexico. My first reaction was "Why not?" since I'm a fan of minimal shoes. I would like to try these shoes that got so much play in the book "Born to Run" but I am definitely not a sandals kind of guy. I would never have made it as a gladiator. I'm still deciding and if I go for it I'll write up my experiences on this blog and on Runner's Tech Review.

This morning I got back out on the road and probably had one of the best running experiences a person will have today. It's not that I ran especially well (though I didn't do badly), it was the cooling breeze and temperatures that were still in the low 70's. It is supposed to get oppressively hot so if you were hoping to run today you probably should have done it by now. Perhaps it would be a little more pleasant if you were running in sandals.
Posted by The Emerging Runner at 6:37 AM
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4 comments:

  1. carlaJuly 12, 2011 at 11:14 AM

    hm..on the one hand, why not? but i guess there is a risk of injury (chafing, at least.) you've been training in minimalist shoes, tho, so maybe the transition would be ok.

    i switched over to newtons about a year-and-a-half ago. but i've always run forefoot, so it made sense (despite the cost, which i hope goes down eventually after the hype wears off.) recently, i spent a week running in 'earth' sandals (negative heel drop) b/c i'd been dealing w/heel bursitis for awhile. wondered whether it was the shoes rubbing against the heels. anyway, i did notice some calf soreness after wearing the sandals. so, at least for me, there was some difference btwn sandals and shoes.

    well, i'm curious how it goes if you decide in the affirmative. and, thinking about trying out the hattoris now, after reading your review. good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Emerging RunnerJuly 12, 2011 at 2:27 PM

    Hi Carla. I've decided to go for it. What the heck, right?

    If you are a part time barefoot runner then you'll have no problems transitioning to the Hattori's if you want to do that. You may also want to consider the Saucony Mirage that feels somewhat (to me) like a Newton but at decidedly lower cost.

    I'll be posting on my experience with the huarches on the blog. If I like them, you'll probably like them more :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJuly 13, 2011 at 4:39 PM

    Vibrams are about as close to barefoot as I will go. I feel like the strings from the sandals would eat away at your foot during the run...Let us know what you think and maybe they are worth all the hype!

    ReplyDelete
  4. The Emerging RunnerJuly 14, 2011 at 12:47 PM

    I will definately share my impressions. I have the same concerns about the strings. I'm no fan of flip flops...

    ReplyDelete

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