Barefoot Embarcadero

Last weekend our family took one of those “Let’s cram as much educational and enriching stuff as possible into 24 hours!” trips to San Francisco – so in between seeing King Tut and the science museum, doing some geocaching, enjoying the SF Symphony, and absolutely loving a trip (seriously - you have to do it someday) to Alcatraz, I snuck out of the hotel for an early-morning run through the city.

Without shoes, of course. Because if there’s anyplace on Earth where you're free to look like an absolute weirdo, it has to be San Francisco. And with that, I was on my way.

I always love seeing buildings in this town with early morning sunlight spilling through them. During the other 22 or so hours of the day, maybe not so much – but sunrise in the big city always carries the feeling of promise for the day ahead.


I made a beeline for Market Street, where it was a straight shot to the Ferry Building in the distance, where I’d pick up the Embarcadero.


This is part of Justin Herman Plaza across the street from the Ferry Building. The large sculpture is called Quebec Libre!, and sits in what’s known as Vaillancourt Fountain, because it’s 1) named after the scupltor, and 2) usually filled with water. On this morning, however, it was completely emptied …


… which made for a cool little picture spot.

(*Random musical trivia tangent of the day: the sculpture in Vaillancort Fountain holds a special place in history for hardcore U2 fans. I’ll tell the story in a weekend post, but feel free to chime in the comments box if you know its significance.)


As I reached my first dock, the morning fog was stubbornly clinging to the low-lying hills, like this one on Yerba Buena Island under the Bay Bridge …


… and to the tops of the buildings, like this thin veil atop the Coit Tower.


The Embarcadero is the main drag for recreational joggers in this part of the city, so I got plenty of astonished looks for not wearing shoes.

Most people were friendly about it – several even ran alongside me for a bit to ask the usual “Doesn’t it hurt? What about broken glass?” type of questions. One younger girl even took off her iPod earbuds to talk with me – that’s something of a compliment among twenty-something females, right?


It had rained earlier in the week, so there were lingering puddles scattered along the waterway – and of course, I ran through every one of them. No matter how many times I do it, I always get a charge out of looking back over my shoulder and seeing this image on the ground behind me.


Sunlight bouncing off the building, tree foliage just beginning to turn, and a wispy layer of fog … have I mentioned that San Francisco is beautiful in the morning?


My turnaround point was at Pier 39, where I moseyed up and down the docks a bit …


… and took a little picture break before heading back toward the hotel.



By my return trip, the sun had finally triumphed over the fog, providing some killer views of the nearby skyline.


Another cool thing I love about San Francisco: the older historic buildings that are dwarfed by skyscrapers on either side, but still stand proudly as a reminder of the early days. They give the city its character, and more than a little bit of class.



A farmer’s market was going on back at the Ferry Building. I got almost zero strange looks here: you have to do a lot better than jogging around barefoot to grab the attention of this hemp-growing, organic-farming, incense-burning, vegan hippie peacenik crowd. Not that I tried.


Given that I was in a farmer’s market in San Francisco, I was surprised that I didn’t see more signs like this. There were only about a dozen; I thought the number would be closer to fifty. Kind of disappointing, really.



From there, I just had a long trip up Market Street to get back to the hotel. The sidewalks on Market are made of red brick, which was almost the perfect texture for urban barefoot running: more traction than concrete, but smoother and less hazardous than the asphalt street. If I’m ever elected the barefoot mayor of a small town somewhere, I’ll lobby to have all the streets made out of brick.


After about six miles of barefoot running, I was back in the plushly-carpeted hotel lobby from which I started. It was a good spot to sit for a minute …


… and take one more foot photo. You’d think I would have got some strange looks for taking pictures of my feet in a hotel lobby, but, you know -

It’s San Francisco.

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Sanuk Donny Shoe Review

“I'm looking for life, love and laughter -
Everything in between and what happens after -
I'm looking for life, looking for love, looking for laughter.”
- Donavon Frankenreiter, “Life, Love, and Laughter” (video after post)

**
You’d be hard pressed to find a footwear company that gives off better vibes than Sanuk.


The company name is a Thai word for happiness and balance. One of their company mottos is “Smile! Pass it on.” And the goal of their business is to make your feet feel like they’re spending a day at the beach.

Sanuk was started in 1997 by a dude named Jeff Kelley, who thought he’d try making sandals out of inner tubes and indoor-outdoor carpet. While that prototype doesn’t sound particularly comfortable, he eventually developed a smooth, stylish, durable flip-flop and started attracting the most chill group of partners and consultants imaginable to promote and advance his product line.

From Outside magazine

Today, Team Sanuk consists of twelve charismatic athletes, all of whom are either professional surfers or extreme rock climbers. You’ve probably seen their crazy ads in outdoor magazines, which highlight both the products and the company’s unique brand culture. Their spokespeople are also a group who firmly believe in the importance of allowing the foot to perform without restrictions.

Think about it: what two groups of athletes are more reliant on optimal foot performance than surfers or rock climbers? If you want to carve a tight bottom turn or avoid making a barn door out of a dyno, you need as much natural foot strength and flexibility as possible. That same philosophy also determines what these athletes put on their feet after exiting the water or belaying down the rock face.

Doesn't have anything to do with footwear ... but I found this photo on the Sanuk site, and I like it: Team Sanuk member Alana Blanchard. Good vibes, indeed.

Sanuk footwear – referred to as sidewalk surfers – is built with the premise that the foot should function naturally. Or, as their website states: We think that nature has endowed us with a nice set of functional feet...they worked well for eons. Our guess is that the first shoes were designed to protect from the elements, but many societies stuck with sandals. Why? Because they are the closest things to walking barefoot.

One of Sanuk’s advertising tag lines is “They're not shoes, they’re sandals.” There are no rigid boards or shanks, and the thin flexible footbeds enable your feet to bend naturally when you walk. Imagine a lightweight canvas upper sewn onto a thong flip-flop bottom, and you get the idea. They call this approach Barefoot Un-Technology, which allows all the muscles in your feet to work as if they’re bare.

Yet another crazy Sanuk ad

The cool surfer attitude of the company founders is evident in every model in the Sanuk line. Per the company philosophy page, they strive to make products that are as much about funk as they are about function. That eclectic style is clearly apparent in the model I tested, called the Donny.

(I pretty much had to pick that one, didn’t I? Although the name isn’t short for Donald, but Donavon – as in Donavon Frankenreiter, the professional surfer and chill music badass whose music I’ve embedded on this site before. I mean, if you’re offering a barefoot shoe model that’s practically named after me, that promises happiness and balance, and is inspired by a dude who happens to be one of my biggest role models … you have me at hello.)

He can pretty much play guitar anywhere: Donavon Frankenreiter, from the Sanuk website.

The styling of this shoe is remarkably cool, both from a color standpoint and the way it looks like a well-worn beach shoe right out of the box. The canvas upper is very thin and immediately comfortable without any breaking-in period.

The Donny

Sanuk’s soft molded EVA footbed is just thick enough (at 22mm) to provide your feet with killer comfort, but maintains a lot of the ground feel you have from purely barefoot shoes like Vivo Barefoot or Feelmax. Given the beach theme, the footbed reminded me of walking on the firm sand of the ocean’s edge, where there’s a little bit of support underneath, but your feet are still doing most of the work.

On the other side of the footbed, Sanuk makes a rubberized EVA “Happy-U” sole. The traction of it isn’t super – about the same as you would have in a pair of flip-flops – but there’s one point worth a closer look:


Lots of little happy faces! I guess that’s why it’s called Happy U.

Truthfully, a lot of things about this shoe make me happy – an extremely comfortable fit, a ‘very close to barefoot’ feel, and a classic surf dog design. It will definitely be my number one choice for casual outings when I can’t get away with going barefoot, but still want to channel my inner beach bum. If there’s a shoe equivalent of enjoying life, love, and laughter, it would have to be Sanuk.

The Sanuk Donny retails for $60 from Amazon.com.
.


*Product provided by Sanuk
** See other product reviews on sidebar at right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at info@runningandrambling.com.

**
Donavon Frankenreiter, "Life, Love, and Laughter" (click to play):

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Soft Star Coupon Winner!

The official drawing was held this evening at the Running and Rambling household, with my 5-year-old daughter doing the honors of drawing a number out of the hat ...

Trailrat - shoot me an e-mail (info@runningandrambling.com) with your address. You've won!

Thanks to everyone who participated. If you'd like to formally protest the result, I'll refer you to my complaint department:

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The Purge

Before today’s post, two quick reminders about recent product reviews …

First, if you want your name in the hat for a $20 Soft Star coupon, leave a comment on this post right now. I’m assigning numbers and pulling one out of the hat on Monday night.

Second, the coupon code discount (R&R20) for 20% off Vivo Barefoot shoes ends on October 31st, so get going if you want to save a few dollars. I have an additional Vivo Barefoot announcement as well as a second shoe review, but I’m saving those for a later post.

For now, today’s entry should be a brief one …

**

“ … And when it became clear that one side had to go, one side had to be purged. I did what I had to do.”
- Ben Linus, from season 3 of Lost


For as long as I’ve been a runner, I’ve been a packrat with my running shoes.

Once I’ve exceeded its recommended mileage life span, I’ll keep a pair of running shoes around the house for years afterward. Some I use for walking shoes; some are for hiking or mountain biking; others are set aside for yardwork. Some have very specific roles, such as mowing the grass or doing indoor chores, and others are available for general use – they sit in the cabinet by my front door for the times when I just need to throw something on my feet in a hurry before exiting the house.

The result, of course, is that I accumulate a lot of shoes.

However, since undertaking this whole barefoot experiment, I’m finding that the type of shoes I reach for nowadays are very seldom the super-cushiony, pronation- and motion-controlling stability models that I’ve used for decades. Instead, I seek out the minimal amount of shoe necessary for the task at hand.

I’m not yet sure what the endpoint of this barefoot awakening will be, but there’s one thing I know for certain: from this point forward, I’m a firm believer in the “less is more” philosophy of running shoes. Even when I eventually return to the high-mileage, high degree of difficulty trails of my favorite ultra courses, it will be with shoes that are as lightweight and low-profile as I can get away with.

Consequently, I recently realized that I had at least a dozen pair of shoes lying around that I would most likely never care to use again. As Ben Linus would say, it was clear that one side had to go. One side had to be purged.

One-half of the donation

Later that week, I rounded up all the old shoes I could find, stuffed them into two garbage bags, and hauled them over my shoulder like Santa Claus into my local running store's Reuse-A-Shoe bin. Dropping their weight off my body felt remarkably therapeutic, like when a drug addict finally flushes his pills down the toilet, or a porn addict burns his stash of magazines and videotapes (um … so I’m told). A small part of me wanted to seek out a 12-step group somewhere, to help guide me through the transitional uncertainty.

Maybe I’ll see the old shoes in another life, if they get reincarnated as an all-weather track somewhere, or as reused materials in a minimalist shoe a few years from now. Perhaps they’ll be given away intact to people who have far less means and far greater concerns to worry about than what’s covering their feet. Either way, I’m hopeful that somebody can put them to good use – but that somebody almost certainly won’t be me.

My name is Donald, and I’m a barefoot runner.

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Video Instruction

We’ll move forward into the weekend by backtracking a little bit on the whole notion of barefoot running.

More specifically, for as much as I’m practicing and promoting barefoot running, I haven’t described in much detail exactly how your form changes when transitioning from traditional footwear to a “forefoot running” shoe (such as Nike Free, Newton Gravity, or the ECCO BIOM, which will be reviewed later this month), to minimalist footwear (Vibram or Feelmax), to finally ditching the shoes altogether.

It’s a concept that’s much easier to feel and visualize than to describe in writing – and since I can’t take everyone along for a run, I hunted down some videos that should help illustrate the differences in running form.

The first is from the Newton website, with Chief Technological Officer Danny Abshire – himself an experienced ultrarunner – explaining and demonstrating forefoot running, and how Newton’s shoes are designed for this specific style. Although it’s a promotional video for the company’s product, there are a lot of simple instructions here to illustrate some good basic points:



When you’re ready to ditch shoes altogether, there’s no margin for error in using proper form; if you don’t get it right, you’re assuming a high risk of injury. Jason Robillard is a Midwestern runner who has launched a barefoot instructional website, and in this video, he demonstrates proper barefoot form.



If you’re like me, one of the first things you’ll notice above is how slow barefoot running appears, and you’ll wonder whether it’s possible to run at high speeds, especially over rough terrain. So to give you a sense of what’s possible, here’s a video from perhaps the most popular barefoot runner in the world: Barefoot Ted, who has been running without shoes for more than five years and has a coaching service of his own. He’s also an accomplished ultrarunner, having finished several 100-milers in Vibram FiveFingers – including a sub-26 hour finish at Leadville this summer.

In this video, Barefoot Ted dispels the notion that barefoot runners have to be slow and cautious all the time; if you build up to it the right way, your naked feet are capable of supporting some truly remarkable activity:



I don’t know if I’ll ever get to the level of Barefoot Ted’s proficiency (although an ultra in Vibrams is an intriguing possibility), but it’s nice to know that I’m not pushing any envelopes that haven’t already been torn through. If we recognize what kinds of accomplishments are possible, and attentively use the proper means to reach them, there’s virtually no limit to our progression as barefoot runners.

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Soft Star Roo Moccasin Review (And Coupon Giveaway!)

Have you ever seen really comfortable or attractive children’s clothing – like a cozy pair of pajamas, a cute skirt, or a colorful raincoat - and wished that there was a grown-up version that you could enjoy? If so, you’ll absolutely love Soft Star footwear.

from Soft Star brochure

Soft Star was founded in the 1980s by Tim and Jeanie Oliver, who initially wanted little more than to operate their own business and do something nice for children. As their baby daughter was learning to walk, they were unhappy with most of the hard, stiff toddler shoes on the market, and looked for footwear that was soft and flexible to better support muscle development.

Finding nothing satisfactory, they educated themselves on the shoe crafting trade, and started their own cottage business. Soft Star moccasins were designed for little people to run, jump, and roll around in – and their designs were totally adorable.

Tim Oliver at work; photo from Soft Star website

The Olivers sold their footwear at local festivals and through mail order, and gradually developed a loyal following. Over the years, their cool designs and natural construction have also attracted the attention of many celebrities whose children grow up in Soft Star moccasins. (Children’s styles remain the primary engine of the business, as a look at Soft Star’s press room will quickly confirm.) Fortunately, Soft Star recognized that many grown-ups want the same comfort, style, and natural benefits as their moccasin-wearing kids - so the company began making their footwear for the entire range of adult sizes.

from Soft Star website

Although the company has grown significantly, Soft Star shoes are still hand-crafted at the family workshop in Oregon. There’s no outsourcing, and no mass production; each pair of moccasins is hand-made by one of the nine Soft Star “elves”, making it one of only a handful of shoe manufacturers whose materials and production remain entirely in the United States. Since each pair is individually made, Soft Star also specializes in custom orders for those who have trouble with traditional footwear sizing.

Avoiding the “staging” process of most shoe companies helps keep Soft Star one of the greenest companies around. They also have several eco-friendly processes such as using formaldehyde-free leathers and all-natural materials without chemicals, dyes, or pollutants for manufacturing. Their factory is powered by Oregon’s Blue Sky renewable energy program, and Soft Star’s overall carbon footprint must be one of the smallest of any business around.

But that’s not why you’ll love the shoes. You’ll love them because they’re fun to look at, and they may be the most comfortable thing you’ll ever put on your feet.

Soft Star’s line of adult footwear is basically an expanded version of its children’s moccasins. The materials and color schemes are tailored to more adult tastes, but you don’t have to limit yourself to what’s on the menu. If you want to custom design your colors, they’ll do that for you. (They even have a chart that can match a moccasin to your favorite crayon color – how fun is that?) If you want suede instead of leather, that’s OK too. You can choose 100% vegan options if that’s your desire. And if you want the exact same rainbow-with-elf-fringe design that your toddler wears, they can do that as well.

Soft Star Roo

My model came off the menu, and is one of Soft Star’s most popular styles: the Roo (kind of a fun name, isn’t it?), made of suede with a grippy undersole. Like all Soft Star mocs, it features an insole with plush sheepskin, a naturally homeostatic material that wicks moisture away and keeps your foot at an even temperature in hot or cold weather. There’s an elastic ankle closure that makes them a cinch to put on, but keeps them securely in place during activity.

The insole is attached to a bottom layer of suede, which is then bonded to the T-Rex soling material - a soft black rubberized fabric layer which provides non-slip properties and offers a moisture barrier to allow indoor and outdoor use of the moccasin. The Soft Star site claims that T-Rex material is used in mountain apparel to help climbers keep their grip on tough terrain.

T-Rex fabric on underside

Since there’s no midsole to the moccasin, the underside of the Roo is just a few millimeters thick, so this is a true minimalist shoe that provides all of the ground feel and musculoskeletal advantages of going barefoot – except that you’re swaddled in sheepskin and soft suede. If there’s a more comfortable way of walking naturally, I haven’t seen it yet.

Super soft and flexible

Predictably, the barefoot community has flocked to Soft Star, and several minimalist runners use this footwear for running. (Soft Star actually has an entire page devoted to the benefits of going barefoot, which I'm fairly certain was on their site even before the Great Barefoot Craze of 2009 began. They’re not being trendy; it’s a philosophy they truly believe in.) I’ve tried mine this way, but the sheepskin felt too warm against my bare feet, so I prefer to stick with my Vibrams or Feelmax for running. However, for casual use, these have become my “put them on as soon as I walk in the door after work” footwear – and as winter creeps closer and the temperature gets colder, I’m certain that I’ll be logging a ton of hours in my Roos.

My grippy Roo moccasins retail for $63 from the Soft Star site, and the children’s versions retail for $34. These individually made, hand-crafted products are assembled with attention to detail and built for durability, so you’ll enjoy them for years to come – unless you’re a kid that grows out of them, of course. For the comfort and utility you get, they’re totally worth the price. They'd also make a great baby or toddler gift for all the little Roos in your life.

In conjunction with this review, Soft Star provided me with a single $20 coupon redeemable on any item from their website, including custom orders (which are usually slightly more expensive than standard models). If you’d like to get a pair of Soft Stars and save yourself 20 bucks, leave your name (first names OK) in the comment box below, and I’ll randomly select a lucky winner on Monday.

*product provided by Soft Star Shoes

*See other product reviews on sidebar at right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at info@runningandrambling.com.

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Disclosure

So … yeah. The FTC thing.

Enough people have asked or e-mailed me about the upcoming Federal Trade Commission guidelines for bloggers that I figured I should make some sort of blanket statement about the product reviews that have become the lifeblood of this blog in recent months.

Basically, the regulation that goes into effect December 1st requires anyone who reviews products online to disclose any connection with advertisers, including the receipt of free products, and whether or not they were paid to make an endorsement.

The rule is well-intentioned; it’s awfully easy for someone to rave on their blog or Facebook page or Twitter feed about the fantastic new diet plan they’re on, or how much they love a new TV show that debuted this fall – but it’s often difficult for readers to know if those opinions are being incentivized. It’s a well-known practice for some companies (weight loss product vendors seem most guilty of this) to create false blogs that appear to be everyday people gushing about what a great supplement they’ve discovered. Product endorsement is also prevalent among celebrities who have millions of followers willing to try whatever items their pop culture idols suggest.

So those are the primary targets of the regulation, but the rule also impacts smaller-scale websites and lesser-known proprietors who operate the Internet equivalent of Five and Dime shops - which brings us back to Running and Rambling.

The person behind this blog is me. I’m not a front for a larger company, and I don’t make any effort to keep product sources secret. The vast majority of gear I receive is provided to me directly by the companies involved. If there’s something specific I’m looking to review, I’ll occasionally reach out to a company on my own, but more frequently they contact me at the e-mail address I include at the end of each review post.

My other source is a connection I’ve (hopefully) been very up front about – my relationship with Wilderness Running Company. They’re an online vendor dedicated to the trail running community, and I have a ton of respect for the way they promote ultrarunning and the outdoor adventure lifestyle. I don’t have a financial stake in the company, but they occasionally send me products to review, usually in conjunction with a special promotion they are offering. They have become my primary choice for online vendors – so if a company sends me a product that is carried by WRC, I’ll link to the WRC page instead of Amazon or REI or ZombieRunner (all of whom I frequently use for links to non-WRC products).

Seriously, they're awesome - go check them out sometime. Be sure to use my coupon code (R&R10) for a 10% discount.

And then, every so often, I actually buy something for the express purpose of reviewing it here. This is my least frequent means of obtaining products, as I’d probably go broke if this were my regular mode of operation.

As far as conflict of interest goes, I’d like to think that I stay fairly objective about the product regardless of its source. I don’t love every product, but I’ll never just say “I hate this thing,” or, “These shoes are terrible.” Rather, I try to point out what kind of user would benefit from the product in question, even if it doesn’t suit my individual needs. Although a product may not knock my socks off, it still might serve a need for somebody else – so I try to indicate where that would be the case.

I’m finding that my website has pretty good reach in cyberspace – especially in Google searches for specific products – so my goal is always to make my review worth the cost of a product sample to the company who has provided it. Considering the cost of mass marketing, and the fact that specialized websites tend to draw an ideally targeted demographic, I like to think that I hold up my end of the bargain fairly well.

Of course, I’ll never purposely write a glowing review of a product just because I received it for free – but to eliminate any hint of deception, it’s not that big of a deal for me to disclose my product sources. From now on, I’ll include that info at the end of each review post.

If you have any feedback or suggestions about this regulation and its impact on individual bloggers, I’d love to hear it. Comment below, or feel free to e-mail me at info@runningandrambling.com.

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