I was joking about the blacking out, but I did put a pair of shoes on my feet. They weren’t just any shoes I put on. They were the new BIOM B 1.2 Male Mesh Natural Motion Shoes by ECCO. They did feel lighter than most shoes I have worn. After a few laps around the track, I could really notice what felt like a wedge of spongy material under my heels. The effect seemed to cause my heels to strike the ground first instead of my usual mid-foot strike. I tried to adjust my landing to move more forward and ended up getting sore shins. The sole was still too rigid for me. My feet weren’t able to flex and adjust to the ground as much as I am used to. Also my feet got hot causing me to feel hotter than usual. It amazes me how much heat my feet dissipate when I’m barefoot. So you might have guessed, I will not be buying these shoes for myself. This is not to say that I wouldn’t recommend them however.
The Bioms would make a good transition shoe from shod running to barefoot running. A person who is already running with typical running shoes and wanting to become a barefoot runner, would be wise to accomplish the change-over in two phases. The first would be to use the Biom shoes at ever increasing distances or time if they are running in circles (at the track). When they are not running, they should try walking barefoot as much as possible. The next phase would be once they are comfortable enough to use the Biom shoes for most of their running, to run barefoot at ever increasing distances and different surfaces (concrete, grass, packed soil, sand etc.).
The bottom line on the Biom shoes is these would make a good transition shoe, but for me, actually being barefoot is better than anything that tries to simulate it. Don’t mess with perfection!
Biom Review from Barefootrunner.com
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