This is quite interesting... Adidas appear to be taking a brave and bold step into the world of "barefoot shoes" (what a silly expression) with their own Vibram Five Finger-a-likees, the Adidas Adipure:

Photos from Gizmodo

As I see it, this is an interesting development. First, Adidas appears to be making a much bigger statement about the potential impact of minimalist shoes on their market than any of the other major brands have dared do - Nike Frees are NOT minimalist or "like barefoot". I don't care what Nike say. Secondly, Vibrams are currently suing Fila for patent infringement. Has Adidas licensed these patents from Vibram or are they going in guns blazing and hoping to dig themselves out when the pooh when it hits the fan?

I've already got 3 pairs of Vibram Five Fingers (VFF) and really enjoy running in them. I also quite like the look of these new Adidas Adipures and if the planned price is anything to go by, they'll be offering a good alternative to VFFs at a comparable price. The pictures and the Gizmodo review however concern me a bit: they seem to indicate a fair bit of cushioning so I'd like to try these on before coughing up my cash.

I've just been in Orlando, Florida giving a presentation at Collaborate 11 and just happened to come home with 4 news things in my suitcase...

A left and right one of these...

... and a left and right one of these (despite the picture, it comes with a right one too ) ...

I also got a new pair of the Vibram Five Finger Classics I already have - grey and orange - as they were on special as the colour has apparently been discontinued.

Thanks to a favorable exchange rate, I've saved an absolute fortune. Now to give them each a good spin and then I'll write a review on each of them. Both pairs of shoes have had a single 6km run and so far so good, but I want to give them a few more kilometers to get a good feel for them. Watch this space.

A couple of weeks ago, I received the following query in a comment...

Hi,
I'm a Physio based in Guildford. I've been looking into barefoot running for the last 6 months having had repetitive shin splints from running in expensive shoes-and finally found some fivefingers on sale. So I've taken the plunge and ordered some kso's to test the whole barefoot running out of both personal and professional interest. Can I ask, how did you start out? What sort of training plan would you advise?
Thanks,
Joe

I started to write a response to the comment in the comments section of that post and realised it was becoming a rather long response and should probably warrant it's own post so others can find it too. So here it is and sorry about the delay in writing it Joe, it's been a crazy few weeks.

It's been just over a year since I declared I wouldn't run in normal running shoes ever again. Since then I've transitioned to running completely barefoot and built up a fair bit of knowledge and experience and with hindsight on my side, I wouldn't recommend the route I took.

I came into barefoot running by going the minimalist route first, specifically in Vibram Five Fingers, and whilst I took things slowly (only after taking things too fast and feeling a bit tender at times), I still think I didn't spend enough time on working on my form in the early days when running in the Vibrams. As a result I've built up a good base for barefoot running, but I think I've still got some sort of form issues and hence the injury I'm currently sitting with. If I were to do things all over again, I would start completely barefoot, perfect my form and then transition to the Vibrams or other minimalist shoes and I recommend anyone else considering making the transition do the same thing. (Actually, I wouldn't go to the VFF now )

The idea of transitioning to minimalist shoes by going completely barefoot may sound counter-intuitive, but it's not really. Starting out barefoot, rather than in Vibrams or other minimalist shoes, will ensure you have the perfect "coach" by your side, or more precisely under you. Your bare feet will start off very weak, very soft and very sensitive. This weakness and sensitivity will act as the perfect guide to ensuring you don't over do things and they'll allow you to very quickly and easily assess if you're going too far or too fast and if you have any form issues that need ironing out. By starting in the minimalist shoes, you'll have a thin layer of rubber between your soft sensitive feet and the ground. Whilst not significant, it's enough to dull some of the sensations your feet could be experiencing and thus reduce the feedback you get. This in turn will encourage you to go too far, too fast, too soon without ensuring good form and you will get hurt.

Now with that out of the way, I highly recommend you read through and action ALL of Ken Bob Saxton's "How to Run" and build yourself a good barefoot base before slipping on the Vibrams. Ken Bob is probably the most experienced barefoot runner in the western world and he's done a tremendous job of documenting the process of learning to run barefoot correctly. Any attempts I make would pale in comparison and I'm not confident I have enough experience just yet.

Only when you're easily and comfortably running 3 - 5 km completely barefoot do I think you should consider transitioning to the Vibrams or other minimalist shoes, if of course you still want to go this route . This should give you a good base and should ensure your feet and lower legs are trained well for the task with your form as close to perfect as possible.

This may not play well into any racing plans or other short-term dreams you may have, but putting them on hold and starting from rock bottom and building up is absolutely the best thing to do to ensure a long and rewarding, and hopefully injury free, minimalist or barefoot running career.

Looky looky what I received in my inbox from a kind lady at Terra Plana (click for full size):

These look great and, whilst not as quirky or as outrageously different as the Vibram Five Fingers, I think the VVFs may be in for quite a challenge. The proof will be in the testing when we can all finally get our hands on these early next year. I'll be particularly interested in how they feel, wear and how well they cope in the one environment where VVFs don't do too well: the cold and wet of winter.

If you take a look at these individual shoe images, you'll see they look a lot like, though not identical to this picture that appeared on Twitpics not too long ago...

Time to get saving: I might have to treat myself to a pair of these for a belated birthday present next year.

My Vibrams recently developed a mind of their own, and were about to grow their own legs, I'm sure of it. They absolutely stank and a lovely cheesy smell followed me whenever I wore them, and even after I'd taken them off and washed my feet (it wasn't me, I promise). Sadly washing them normally (ie in the washing machine) and allowing to dry completely didn't completely relieve them of their smell and they were soon creating a fugg around me again within a run or two. As you can image, the Mrs was not happy at all - "he normally smells so nice".

Thankfully all was not lost. A simple soak over night in a bucket of warm water with about a cup of white spirit vinegar soon cleared the smell. They now have a weak vinegary smell, despite a thorough rinsing, but this is no where near as bad as the stench they used to have. People also can't smell the vinegar from across the room and the wife is happy too The smell of vinegar should wear off relatively quickly, and should hopefully extend the time until the next vinegar bath. Time will tell.

From my quick research, it appears this is quite a common complaint with the topic popping up on numerous forums, though none of the complaints are quite as amusing as this rendition I found by Patrick Donnelly in a Crossfit forum...

Vibram Inc.,

I've been an owner of a pair of FiveFinger Sprints for over a year now, and have slowly grown accustomed to using them for everyday life. In fact, about three weeks ago when I moved to college, I began using them as nearly my only footwear. There's one problem with that: they stink.

They don't just smell, they stink. They omit a foul stench that stalks me throughout the day; an odor so pungent that it surpasses anything any of my senses have ever sensed; a fetor so abrasive to the nostrils that a mere sniff of it could drive a man mad. It's rather unpleasant.

The smell began after two days of rain, where I, riding my bike around campus to get from place to place, had gotten my Vibrams thoroughly soaked. Luckily, there's not much fabric to them, so they dried quickly. After noticing the smell, I washed them, which caused the smell to subside. A week and a half later, the smell had recollected its forces and began to hurl further barrages of odors. Naturally, I washed them again - once again, the smell retreated. Yet, it still was not vanquished. Now the smell is back again, with a vengeance, stronger than ever, dead set on wreaking havoc upon everything in its path! It must be stopped once and for all!

Anyway, yeah. It's stinking up the whole dorm room and even leaking into the halls. How do I fix this for good? I know that when you're completely barefoot, your feet don't acquire a smell because it's difficult for the bacteria to grow when all the sweat evaporates so quickly. The Vibrams seem to be a refugee camp for those exiled bacteria. I can't simply keep washing them, since not only do I lack the laundry to warrant the washes, but I lack the quarters to fund them. That's completely ignoring the fact that the smell is recurring with each wash, and getting stronger each time too.

Any help would be greatly appreciated by myself and by my roommate.

Take care,

Patrick Donnelly

There's no indication if a response was actually received, but there are a lot of other good suggestions for cleaning and keeping your Vibram Five Fingers smelling clean and fresh in the post.

I've just recently stumbled upon a great site dedicated to the world of "feet as they were designed to be—unshod and free" with a big dedication to Vibram Five Fingers - birthdayshoes.com.

If you're feeling apprehensive about going out in your Vibrams (you shouldn't be: I wear mine all the time when I'm not at work or barefoot and have only had 1 comment, from a toddler of all people), take a squizz through this site and see all the pictures people have submitted of them in their VFF. And once you've ventured out, send Justin a pic of your VFFd feet and get your feet on t'internet.

I've not done this yet as I haven't been anywhere interesting in them yet, but I plan to once I get back from my holiday in the Lake Annency region of French Alps next month.

(I have no affiliation with birthdayshoes.com, I just love the whole concept of VFFs and thought I'd share a link and show some link love)

Tim Ferris, the author of The 4-hour Work Week and a very popular blog has just discovered the virtues of Vibram Five Fingers. Welcome to the club Tim. Next step: completely barefoot

Just a short update to say I had a glorious 15 minute drills/run session in my Vibrams on Monday and it felt FANTASTIC. Sadly my feet were quite tired the next morning, so I've not been out in them again since. I think I'll stick with once a week in the Vibrams until such time as I'm getting in some good mileage with shoes on, and then I'll start weaning myself off the shoes and back into the Vibrams.