Birds of a Feather: Minimalism and Ultrarunning

“Exactly,” said Dumbledore. “Harry’s wand and Voldemort’s wand share cores. Each of them contains a feather from the tail of the same phoenix … ”

“So what happens when a wand meets its brother?” asked Sirius.

“They will not work properly against each other” said Dumbledore.

- From Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

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A couple of introductory notes are in order: first, this post is part of a larger Carnival of Blogging spearheaded by Jason Fitzgerald at Strength Running, who rounded up several writers to write simultaneously on the topic of minimalist running. After you’re finished here, be sure to check out the links to related posts from other bloggers.

And if you’re a new reader sent here from one of the other websites, welcome! While this is ostensibly a blog about running, you never know what you’re gonna find here. Take a look around, make yourself at home, and kick your shoes off. No, seriously – kick your shoes off, because they’re probably doing terrible things to your feet. Unless you’re a minimalist, of course – in which case you’ve definitely got a friend in me.

Despite the introductory passage above, my assignment wasn’t Minimalism and Harry Potter – although don’t put it past me, I might try that someday – but rather, Minimalism and Ultrarunning. Since I practice both of these things extensively, this topic seemed like the easiest contribution for me to make – and I have to confess that I initially thought that the connection between these two subjects would be obvious.

After all, the Shot Heard ‘Round the World in this whole barefoot and minimalist revolution was Christopher McDougall’s landmark Born to Run, which presented a manifesto against the running shoe industry while simultaneously chronicling the adventures of a few world-class ultrarunners alongside the indigenous people of Mexico’s desolate Copper Canyons. (You can see my full review of the book if you’re curious.) It was all right there: minimalism (since the Tarahumara wear leather sandals, it’s not entirely accurate to describe them as barefooters), trail running, and ultramarathoners – so we’re all one big happy family now, right?

Scott Jurek and Arnulfo Quimare; photo by Luis Escobar

Well, not exactly. What I’ve found in the two years I’ve been showing up to ultras in minimalist footwear is that there’s still a fair amount of skepticism out there about whether the worlds of minimalism and ultrarunning should coexist. New barefoot or minimalist practitioners are correctly wary of increasing their distances beyond the local neighborhood 10K. And conventional wisdom in the ultra community seems to say that minimalist running is fine for short distances or easy terrain, but for big mileage on challenging technical trails, you need shoes that are rugged enough to protect your feet from taking a beating.

I can attest that such claims are simply bogus.

I’ve done ultras in moccasins as well as a variety of minimalist shoes currently on the market. Every mile of my training and racing in 2010 was in minimalist footwear, and I’ve had no reason to change that approach in 2011, up to and including a 100-miler this July. While that may sound unusual, I’m not really breaking new ground in this regard, as several ultrarunners have completed 100-milers in Vibram FiveFingers over the past two years. And I’d wager to bet that nearly every single one of them was told at least once along the way – either in training or during the race itself - that their skimpy footwear was insufficient for the task they were undertaking.

Thankfully, I can report that the acceptance of minimalism has increased significantly over the course of a single racing season last year. When I ran the Quicksilver 50M in Soft Star RunAmocs, virtually everyone I encountered on the course – runners and volunteers alike – were somewhat dumbfounded that someone would do such a thing. By the time I did October’s Firetrails 50 in Terra Plana Evos, minimalism was something my fellow runners had heard about, even if they were wary of trying it themselves. This year, I’m predicting that instead of being incredulous or cautioning me about potential dangers, most folks will just wish me well and hope it works out for me.

50 miles in RunAmocs

I suspect that such easy accommodation reflects an essential truth about both minimalists and ultrarunners: at our cores, we have a very common history and a very similar psychological makeup. Like wands from the same phoenix, at some point in our respective development we were instilled with the same magical properties before ultimately forming into seemingly separate disciplines.

First, the history part: the underlying basis of the minimalist movement is a “back to nature” mentality (which I wrote about last week) that replicates the way our ancestors ran, in the manner that God created for them rather than using a technique that modern technology imposed upon them. Well, where exactly do you think all those cavemen were running? It wasn’t in asphalt subdivisions or on all-weather stadium tracks – it was in the dirt and grass, on hilltops and in valleys, through forests and across streams and wherever else the deer paths led them. And if you believe the idea of persistence hunting, chances are that those primitive trail runners were covering exceedingly long distances on a regular basis. Minimalism and ultrarunning were born together at the dawn of time, but somehow became separated and estranged by the dawn of the 21st Century.

As for the psychology: the mental approach that brings success in minimalist running is so remarkably similar to the mindset of ultrarunners that the two entities are plainly kindred spirits. Both groups are set apart from the mainstream running community, occasionally even outcast as freaks. Both take on tasks that seem impossible to casual observers. And both need to have healthy doses of determination and perseverance in order to succeed.

Both groups also need to be extremely patient with the process. Consider, for example, one of the best-known pieces of advice about barefoot/minimalist running, attributed to a character featured prominently in Born to Run named Caballo Blanco: Easy, then light, then smooth, then fast. Take care of the first three, and fast will take care of itself. Compare that to a common ultrarunning adage: Start easy, then taper off. Ultrarunners who press for speed too early typically blow up in the later stages of a race, whereas those who stay cool and let the race unfold naturally tend to have their best performances.

In each case, there’s a counterintuitive imperative to set your ego aside, to refrain from forcing your will upon the process, and to let things progress and develop in their own time. You have to have faith that what you’re pursuing is completely attainable, and your means of doing it is perfectly correct - even when virtually all external feedback indicates otherwise.

More than any other factor, the patience angle is probably the one that demonstrates how minimalism and ultrarunning are birds of a feather. Truth be told, if I were still chasing 10K age group awards or road marathon PRs, I probably wouldn’t be a dedicated minimalist runner: the huge initial setbacks in speed and the long process of trying to regain it again would require more time than I’d be willing to commit. Fortunately, I was already an ultrarunner before embracing minimalism, so the prospect of chilling out and making progress in baby steps wasn’t all that daunting.

In the final analysis, that’s the way it’s meant to be with minimalism and ultrarunning: two sibling activities built from the same core, extracting the same qualities and offering the same rewards to both of their practitioners. It’s improper to pit them against each other or to try and exclude one from the other; my hope is that in years to come they will be accepted as members of the same family, free to intermingle and enjoy each other’s company without anybody questioning who really belongs there.

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See the other articles from this Carnival of Blogging:

Pete Larson on Stride Length for Minimalist Runners at Runblogger

David Csonka on Evolutionary Roots of Minimalism at Naturally Engineered

Greg Strosaker on Focusing on Minimalist Form at PreDawn Runner

Matt Wilson on Mistakes to Avoid at Run Luau Run

Jason Fitzgerald at Strength Running, who is the host and organizer.

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High Tides and Low Tides (Part II)

A quick announcement before today’s post: last month I conducted a review and giveaway of Orgain nutritional shakes, which provide the calories and nutrients of a full meal replacement while somehow managing to be completely delicious. I could only pick three winners back then, but everyone has another chance to win a stash of freebies this spring. Every week from now through April 1, Orgain is giving away a month’s supply (three cases) of its organic shakes to one lucky winner through its Facebook page. So head over there and “like” them or whatever else you have to do to enter, and good luck!

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As for today … normally this weekend slot is where I put a Random Shot of Beauty – but since I have a brief follow-up story to an earlier post this week, I’m changing the script a bit and doing a Random Song of Beauty instead.

In this Valentine’s Day post I described how Bob Marley music has been part of the soundtrack of my love affair with my wife over more than 20 years, starting with a poster hanging in my dorm room. I embedded his song “High Tide or Low Tide”, and almost immediately afterward a few people asked if I knew of the Jack Johnson and Ben Harper remake. Not only am I aware of that version, but I’m nervous that it represents a bit of ironic foreshadowing in the life of one of my kids.

If there’s one musician who is more overwhelmingly beloved in our family than Bob Marley, it's Jack Johnson. We listen to his albums repeatedly throughout the course of any given day, and the kids fall to sleep to the sound of his voice by night. It’s quite likely that any member of our family can sing any one of his tunes by heart – which, considering the extent of his repertoire, is no small feat.

Photo from jackjohnsonmusic.com

Of all the members in our family fan club, none is more enamored than my 9-year-old daughter. She and I have had many conversations – oftentimes while running together - about the joy of his music, the beauty of his lyrics, and how listening to his songs can simply overwhelm us with positive feelings. It’s no exaggeration to suggest that we’ve bonded over his music, and that it has served as the glue in our relationship on more than one occasion.

So here’s what this story has to do with the previous one: when I first saw the Jack Johnson cover of Bob Marley’s song, I had this strange feeling of a kind of torch being passed. In a not-too-distant place and time, I have visions of my daughter walking into the dorm room of some introverted college knucklehead, seeing a poster of Jack Johnson on the wall, and becoming completely smitten with the kid. And maybe that will lead to something more serious, until one day I realize that she’d rather sing Jack Johnson songs with somebody else besides me.

I know from experience that such things can happen - but when that day eventually comes, I’m not entirely sure that my heart will be able to take it. Until then, all I can do is enjoy the music with her while there’s still time.

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Jack Johnson and Ben Harper, "High Tide or Low Tide" (click to play):

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Searching For Eden

All things considered, I’m kind of surprised that I didn’t hear about something like this a lot sooner.

Last month Outside Magazine profiled Erwan Le Corre (linked after post), founder and principal instructor of MovNat, a fitness program that espouses our need to get back in touch with our primitive nature. Instead of sculpting our beach bodies by running ourselves dizzy at the track or contorting ourselves into various workout machines at the health club, we should build strength and fitness the way cavemen did: climbing trees to get fruit and nuts, lifting and rolling rocks together to build shelter, running through the forest and swimming in the sea to stalk prey, and grappling in hand-to-hand combat to establish our tribal dominance.

Erwin Le Corre; photo from Outside Magazine

It’s certainly a compelling concept - especially to the growing legions of barefoot aficionados, as Le Corre fully endorses running unshod, just as our ancestors did 1 million years before Nikes were invented. And the notion of getting back to basics by simplifying our lives will always be a noble one in the age of gadget-and-information overload. The comprehensive lifestyle adjustment that MovNat teaches – going to sleep when the sun goes down, getting regular exposure to nature, avoiding the processed foods and creature comforts that have come to define us as a society – offers plenty of health benefits that would be advantageous to pretty much anybody who tries it.

What really hooked me, though, was the promotional video that’s featured on the MovNat website (and embedded below), showing Le Corre doing some almost unbelievable physical feats – including some highly challenging and high-intensity barefoot running - in nothing more than a pair of shorts. It’s visually stunning and athletically impressive, and if you’re like me, it makes you want to get outside and use the whole world as your playground.

If you do happen to be like me in that regard, and if you have a healthy amount of time and money at your disposal (in which case you're not as much like me as you think), Le Corre conducts primitive boot camps where you sleep in the woods, follow a strict Paleo diet, and receive coaching in this sort of “caveman parkour.” But while I’m completely envious of LeCorre’s talents and training regimen (except for the part where he’s rolling around with another buff sweaty guy in the sand – I’d prefer to skip that particular lesson), you probably won’t be seeing me at a MovNat camp anytime in the future.

I truly appreciate the back to basics movement - especially how its ramifications have impacted my own favorite activity – but it also occurs to me that such hardcore countercultural fervor does more to tap into and exploit our deep-seated human longings than it does to offer practical solutions to the slings and arrows of our modern-day existence. One of my readers, who happens to be a religious studies PhD, has a very insightful take on this: he uses the barefoot running movement (as well as organic food and microbreweries) to symbolize our spiritual efforts to return to the Garden of Eden and experience what the world was like before everything got screwed up. It's an outward manifestation of our inherent desire to draw closer to our creator and find greater meaning in our everyday lives. His brief post makes for a pretty fascinating read; you should definitely check it out.

More tangibly, I’ve never been convinced that modern luxuries are such a bad thing. I’m completely willing to let my inner adventurer run wild all day and all night on rugged mountain trails during an ultra, but I also like a warm shower and comfortable mattress once it’s over. And while there’s certainly a romantic notion to eschewing the technological advances that have collectively dehumanized us, you’d be hard pressed to make an argument that society would be better off without things like mosquito nets or flush toilets or antibiotics – or for that matter, even cell phones or the Internet. Even if the primitive approaches to diet, activity, and human interaction were sustainable in modern times - and I'd argue that they aren't - that's not nearly reason enough to make me actually enjoy them.

I suppose that makes me a lousy caveman in light of the whole MovNat philosophy, but that doesn’t mean I can’t admire and appreciate the feats that Le Corre is able to accomplish. I’ll probably even incorporate bits of his dogma into some of my workouts – I’d certainly rather climb rocks or trees than lift weights in a gym – while I’m running in moccasins and otherwise channeling my inner Tarahumara. In the final analysis, however, I prefer to enjoy the best of both worlds: exploring a distant Garden of Eden every time I disappear into the trails, but happily returning to modern nirvana as soon as I’m finished.

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Outside Magazine profile: Erwin Le Corre


MovNat - Erwan Le Corre, "The Workout the World Forgot" (click to play):

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In The Limelight

"Living on a lighted stage approaches the unreal -

For those who think and feel ...

Living in the limelight, the universal dream ... "

- Rush, "Limelight" (video after post)

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I briefly contemplated presenting this as a weekend Random Act of Beauty post – except that it’s not entirely random, and it’s not so much beautiful as it is self-indulgent.

Nevertheless, it’s a sight that I consider absolutely sublime:

The Staff Picks bookshelf, in the limelight of the main entrance of our local Borders bookstore. Cast your gaze to the lower shelf, just right of center, where you’ll see a little book called The Running Life, right there on the same table as Chris McDougall’s Born to Run. Think there’s a chance that one of the store managers here might be a runner?

Below the book is one of those hand-written little tags where an employee tells you why this is such a great read. Ours says that the book is written by two local newspaper columnists, has great insight for runners of all abilities, and that it will change your life forever and contribute to world peace … or something like that. It's favorable.

I believe it's fair to admit that I’ve been relatively passive when it comes to promoting and marketing The Running Life. There’s a saying among writers that as soon as the book is completed, you stop being a writer and start being a salesman. Suffice it to say that I’m far more comfortable as a writer than I am as a salesman … come to think of it, I’m far more comfortable at anything than being a salesman. It's the writing that gives me joy; the selling part is almost complete anguish and torture - and that's not nearly as much of an exaggeration as you think.

Consequently, my friend Mike has done most of the heavy lifting on getting this thing distributed and promoted – and getting shelf placement in bookstores is no small accomplishment. I also have to admit that it’s pretty unreal - and pretty freaking cool - to walk into a bookstore and see your own book alongside the best and brightest of the industry.


For example, at what other time in my life will I be able to say I shared equal billing with Lance Armstrong, Dean Karnazes, and Jon Krakauer? But that’s me, baby, mixing it up with the big boys. Sure, I'm like a child among giants here - but if the fine patrons of this particular Borders care to think otherwise, I'm not going to be the one to correct them.

Rest assured that I don’t have any misconceptions about sales of our book rivaling the literary glitterati alongside it. At this point, I honestly don’t care if our book sells 100 copies or 100,000; just knowing that I got to see it on the featured shelf at a major bookstore is all the reward I need. (Good thing, too – because we’re a lot closer to that first number than the second.)

Of course, if you’d like to buy it, I certainly wouldn’t object - in fact, I'd be completely grateful - so you can get it here from Amazon.com, here on Kindle, or directly from our website where it’s a couple of bucks cheaper and you can leave us specific instructions for inscriptions or special orders.

Also, if you’re looking to buy it from a Borders bookstore, you might want to hurry. In that regard, I feel like The Running Life grabbed one of the last passenger slots on the Titanic; that stack of books you see is probably going down with the ship, but at least the journey was nice while it lasted.

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And for no real reason other than being in the mood for it, here's one of the classics.

Rush, "Limelight" (click to play):

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New Balance Minimus Road Shoe Review

Remember how New Balance doled out information about its Minimus shoes in very small increments over last summer and fall, only releasing partial photos and snippets of information in an effort to create buzz about the products and initiate a slow boil of customer demand? Well, with the release date nearly upon us – they’re officially available on March 1st – I’m taking a cue from New Balance in the way I review their shoes.

Over the next couple of weeks, I’m hoping to build some excitement around this line of shoes - and trust me, by the time we get to the end, there’s something very cool that’s gonna happen. But it’s going to be a slow boil – at first just generating a small amount of heat with a shoe that I’m basically kind of lukewarm on, before moving onto a model next week that I think might be one of the hottest products of 2011. And we’ll cap it all off with … well, you’ll just have to wait and see when we get there.

New Balance Minimus Road

We’re kicking things off with the Minimus Road version, about which I’ve already sort of tipped my hand a bit. It’s not that it's a bad shoe … it’s just not a minimalist shoe. New Balance categorizes it as a transitional shoe, targeting the same market who would be interested in the Newton Gravity, Brooks Green Silence, or Saucony Kinvara: runners who are seeking barefoot biomechanics without giving up the familiar features of a traditional training shoe.

However, since I scolded Saucony for disingenuous marketing in calling the Kinvara a minimalist shoe, I’d be remiss if I didn’t direct the same criticism toward New Balance with this shoe. Most likely, I’m getting hung up on the name; if something’s called Minimus, I expect it to be, you know … minimal. So maybe they just need a more accurate name. Like Medius, perhaps. Or Transitionus. You get the idea ... but I’m starting to digress.

So here’s what you get with the New Balance Minimus Road version: a transitional trainer with 16mm of midsole in the heel and 12mm in the forefoot, resulting in a nearly-flat 4mm drop. At just 8oz, it’s fairly lightweight compared to traditional trainers, and actually equal to some true minimalist shoes such as the Terra Plana Evo. It’s extremely well-constructed - as you’d expect from New Balance – and has a handful of subtle design elements that give you a feel for the biomechanics of running naturally. We’ll look at those from the top down.

Mesh upper with wide toe box

The Minimus Road’s upper looks like a classic running shoe, and actually brings to mind some of New Balance’s old-school looks from the 1970s. Its mesh upper has decent ventilation, but probably runs a bit hotter than Saucony’s Kinvara, and isn’t nearly as airy as Newton’s Gravity. The toe box is nice and roomy, providing plenty of space for foot splay, which is a great departure from classic running shoes. The heel area is built like a standard trainer (at least on the upper – more on this soon), with a fabric liner and a small amount of padding around the collar.

Traditional heel structure with padded collar

One really cool aspect of the upper is that New Balance designed it to be worn without socks – so the sockliner fabric extends throughout the interior of the shoe, and is sewn directly onto the midsole, without any insole to mess around with (see next photo).


I thought this was a nifty touch as well: Less is more – get it? It’s not only a sweet slogan, but it looks like the shoes are texting me. Just like all the cool kids do.

Below the upper, the Minimus Road has a relatively firm midsole with a very slight arch support built into it. Given the thicknesses of heel and forefoot, there really isn’t any ground feel to speak of, but there also isn’t any of the cushiness that you experience in traditional running shoes (or for that matter, even in some transitional shoes). The midsole will hold form pretty well if you land with a midfoot strike, but will also absorb shock if you regress back to a heelstrike pattern as you fatigue.

Undercut heel area in profile

However, one intriguing aspect of the midsole seems to promote midfoot strike just by its shape. Looking at the heel area from the side, you can see that the midsole material is undercut and doesn’t actually contact the ground along the last few centimeters in the back of the shoe. In practice, this makes it far easier to land more forward on your foot – and if you’re already accustomed to midfoot running, the Minimus is made to order for you.

Ndurance rubber outsole with honeycomb pattern

Underneath the midsole, New Balance uses a proprietary rubber called Ndurance that is cut into a honeycomb pattern, with small cutout areas for decreased weight and increased flexibility. The heel area has a more traditional-looking tread, but the remainder of the outsole is relatively smooth, and honestly doesn’t provide great traction in any sort of off-road use. They also get a little bit slick on wet surfaces, but the only times I found this to be a limitation were on excessively steep roads.

Cutout areas in outsole, smooth overall tread pattern

Like other transitional shoes, the Minimus Road version targets a very specific demographic: road runners who are looking to move very gradually towards minimalist running, or who just want something a little lighter, flatter, and firmer than what they’re accustomed to. The barefoot-specific design elements definitely distinguish this shoe from traditional running shoes and effectively promote the mechanics of natural running.

Compared to the minimalist footwear market, the number of quality entries in the transitional space is relatively limited; of those, the Minimus is a fairly strong option. However, if you’re looking for a true minimalist shoe from New Balance, you’re going to have to wait for the next review. Trust me – both the shoe and the review are going to be worth waiting for.


*Product provided by New Balance
**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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High Tide or Low Tide

Admin note: I had a product review locked and loaded for today, before noticing the date that this would post, and … D’Oh! Time to come up with a quick (and hopefully, slightly more romantic) Plan B. Look for the review next time.

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“In high seas or in low seas –
I'm gonna be your friend, I'm gonna be your friend.
In high tide or in low tide –
I'll be by your side, I'll be by your side.”
-Bob Marley, “High Tide or Low Tide” (video after post)

This probably isn’t a shocking thing to hear about two native Californians, but my wife’s and my relationship with each other has revolved extensively around Bob Marley music.

One of my first inklings that this could be the Right Girl was when she surprised me with tickets to a Bob Marley Day concert (although truthfully, she didn’t have to do a whole lot of detective work to know I’d bite, since I had a Bob Marley poster in my dorm room), which was a perfect excuse for us to leave campus behind for a whole day with nothing more important to do than hang out together and get to know each other. There were a lot of bands playing that day … but I don’t seem to remember who they were. The girl, I remember.

For the rest of our time in college, we attended more reggae concerts together, and Bob Marley was a constant background music staple in our respective apartments. And when it came time to start planning a wedding, it didn’t take us long to decide which song would be our first dance as husband and wife. (It wasn’t the intro song; it was this one, seen in a rare concert video.)

Over the years, his music has been an ongoing presence in the life of our family. Our children have been raised on it (in a related story, we should have taken it as a sign that our most stubbornly independent kid’s favorite song at age 3 was Get Up, Stand Up), and there’s never been a time when a Bob Marley disc wasn’t in the minivan’s CD changer. And while nothing about all this makes us particularly good parents, it feels like an important responsibility for us to uphold.

On that note, the following song seems like an appropriate one to include here: it celebrates familial love across generations, and it’s a nice representation of the beautiful simplicity of Marley’s music. It also happened to turn up on the soundtrack of our videotaped wedding album - but it’s probably even more applicable to our relationship today than it was when we were newlyweds. There have been more high tides and low tides in the past year than either of us could have imagined – which is why I’m eternally grateful to have my best friend at my side.

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And because music videos weren’t exactly prominent back in Bob’s day – and since I just mentioned the familial theme of this song – a concert version of the tune by Stephen Marley featuring his grandmother (Bob's mother Cedella, before her death in 2008) on backup vocals seems especially fitting.


Stephen Marley, “High Tide or Low Tide” by Bob Marley (click to play):

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Random Shots of Beauty

This is starting to be a recurring theme around here ... but I'm posting a Random Shot of Beauty just before heading out to enjoy another fantastic day. This was taken last weekend:


Rugged geocachers high above Soberanes Point, 6 miles south of Carmel at the northern edge of Big Sur. Our family has made a few similar outings lately, in preparation for a short vacation coming up in the spring. I'll discuss this more over the next few weeks, especially in regards to our family's interest in geocaching, and the gear (footwear and otherwise) that's available for kids for activities like this.

In the meantime, here's the view from the same spot looking south:


See that little strip of road way down there by the point? It's mile 20 of the Big Sur Marathon course. And as much as I love that race, on days like this there's no doubt in my mind that the view is way better from the top.

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