# A question for the people who wear those new running shoes with all the toes showing **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 2, 2010, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-people-who-wear-those-new-running-shoes-with-all-the-toes-showing/531022 "2010-03-02T18:33:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-people-who-wear-those-new-running-shoes-with-all-the-toes-showing/531022/21 "2010-03-03T02:49:01Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Why? > > I don’t need to see that Planet of the Apes shit. Put some shoes on! I’ll wear whatever I damn well please. I’m sorry that my comfort offends your delicate eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Kayeby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de0a6/32.png) [@Kayeby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kayeby)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-people-who-wear-those-new-running-shoes-with-all-the-toes-showing/531022/22 "2010-03-03T02:56:56Z")
The sprints are definitely comfy, though you end up with weird tan lines. It used to take me several minutes a shoe to get them on, but then my husband showed me how he put his on - slide your foot in on an angle, focusing on getting your 3 largest toes in first. Then use your fingers to maneuver your last 2 toes in. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-people-who-wear-those-new-running-shoes-with-all-the-toes-showing/531022/23 "2010-03-03T03:09:09Z")
Yep, seen 'em around the gym. From a sanitary/safety perspective, they’re just fine with me. They’ve been in the Times [here](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/business/30shoe.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1), so they’re not terribly new. I can always look elsewhere if I don’t wanna see the hairy tops of guy’s feet, but I can’t stop breathing because the Indian guy next to me doesn’t follow American standards of hygiene, eg deodorant. ETA: A guy next to me on the treadmill months ago took off his _hiking boots_ and socks and ran barefoot, until I got a staff person - who thought it was a practical joke of sorts. Weiiiiird shit, I tell you. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-people-who-wear-those-new-running-shoes-with-all-the-toes-showing/531022/24 "2010-03-03T04:38:36Z")
> [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](#): > > I’ll wear whatever I damn well please. I’m sorry that my comfort offends your delicate eyes. First one up against the wall. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-people-who-wear-those-new-running-shoes-with-all-the-toes-showing/531022/25 "2010-03-03T08:33:57Z")
Heh, I couldn’t wear those even if I wanted to. My second and third toes are webbed, like [this](http://en.academic.ru/pictures/enwiki/67/Celldeath.jpg) (warning: picture of a foot [not mine], obnoxiously huge image). If I wear anything that’s supposedly foot-friendly, it’s gotta not have separated toes. Yeah, those shoes are weird-lookin’, but…eh. I can see how they’d be good for running or rock-climbing. Y’know, if your toes are normally proportioned and all that. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-people-who-wear-those-new-running-shoes-with-all-the-toes-showing/531022/26 "2010-03-03T08:39:31Z")
> [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](#): > > I’ll wear whatever I damn well please. I’m sorry that my comfort offends your delicate eyes. It would probably be really comfortable to walk around in a toga or loincloth all the time too. You don’t do that… do you? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-people-who-wear-those-new-running-shoes-with-all-the-toes-showing/531022/27 "2010-03-03T09:23:28Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > ETA: A guy next to me on the treadmill months ago took off his _hiking boots_ and socks and ran barefoot, until I got a staff person - who thought it was a practical joke of sorts. Weiiiiird shit, I tell you. Wow. I’d definitely never want to do the treadmill barefoot. Treadmills can be dangerous places. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-people-who-wear-those-new-running-shoes-with-all-the-toes-showing/531022/28 "2010-03-03T09:23:54Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > ETA: A guy next to me on the treadmill months ago took off his _hiking boots_ and socks and ran barefoot, until I got a staff person - who thought it was a practical joke of sorts. Weiiiiird shit, I tell you. Are you saying that you had a problem with someone running barefoot on the treadmill? Why? Anywhere else in the gym, shoes absolutely are needed (for safety, although if someone drops a weight nothing short of steel-caps are probably going to help). But running barefoot on a treadmill is safe and (IMHO) a matter of personal choice - and many people find that it is a better way to run (not me, yet, but we will see). Si ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-people-who-wear-those-new-running-shoes-with-all-the-toes-showing/531022/29 "2010-03-03T09:35:44Z")
I imagine someone who just took off their hiking boots and socks will have stinky feet, at the very least. Those shoes are hilarious. I almost want to buy a pair for my SO (I hate running, unless there’s pie on the other side of the street). ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-people-who-wear-those-new-running-shoes-with-all-the-toes-showing/531022/30 "2010-03-03T09:37:37Z")
What about athletes foot, too? (Sidenote, I googled treadmill barefoot and there was someone on yahoo answers who actually had it and was asking if it was OK to walk on a treadmill. Here’s hoping she wasn’t talking about a gym treadmill.) Though I guess it’s only really an issue for the person who’s barefoot, not the shod. Still. Icky. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-people-who-wear-those-new-running-shoes-with-all-the-toes-showing/531022/31 "2010-03-03T15:26:14Z")
> [@Maiira](#): > > Heh, I couldn’t wear those even if I wanted to. My second and third toes are webbed, like [this](http://en.academic.ru/pictures/enwiki/67/Celldeath.jpg) (warning: picture of a foot [not mine], obnoxiously huge image). If I wear anything that’s supposedly foot-friendly, it’s gotta not have separated toes. > > Yeah, those shoes are weird-lookin’, but…eh. I can see how they’d be good for running or rock-climbing. Y’know, if your toes are normally proportioned and all that. There’s also the option of [tabi-style running shoes](http://www.outdoorreview.com/cat/outdoor-equipment/training/womens-running-shoes/nike/PRD_79772_3020crx.aspx)… ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-people-who-wear-those-new-running-shoes-with-all-the-toes-showing/531022/32 "2010-03-03T18:06:36Z")
> [@si\_blakely](#): > > Are you saying that you had a problem with someone running barefoot on the treadmill? Why? Anywhere else in the gym, shoes absolutely are needed (for safety, although if someone drops a weight nothing short of steel-caps are probably going to help). But running barefoot on a treadmill is safe and (IMHO) a matter of personal choice - and many people find that it is a better way to run (not me, yet, but we will see). > > Si I don’t care what you do in the privacy of your own home on a treadmill, but this was a gym. Initially I brushed it off, and then I re-thought: one, he’s putting me at a safety risk, if he gets all tangled up in the belt of the machine, he could possibly spew blood everywhere. Secondly, because he’s putting himself at a risk of ruining the machine, the gym isn’t going to make the guy pay for a new belt, or new treadmill. It’s gonna come out of my membership dues. So that’s why I got someone - not because I was offended, but because he could have hurt himself (and bothered me) and cost the gym (and therefore me) money. ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-people-who-wear-those-new-running-shoes-with-all-the-toes-showing/531022/33 "2010-03-03T18:20:27Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > It would probably be really comfortable to walk around in a toga or loincloth all the time too. You don’t do that… do you? Look, I wear the shoes I do to minimize foot pain. My other clothes don’t cause me nearly as much physical discomfort as my (regular) shoes do. So sometimes I wear the toe-thingies. Deal with it. As much as I’d like to, I don’t rant at every idiot who wears heels about how they are killing their joints. If they want to hobble themselves, that’s their business. ---
**Author:** ![Whiteknight](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whiteknight/32/4962_2.png) [@Whiteknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiteknight)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-people-who-wear-those-new-running-shoes-with-all-the-toes-showing/531022/34 "2010-03-03T18:25:35Z")
I’ve had a pair of these for about two years now. I’ve been lifting in them for that whole time and running in them for about 18 months (up to a half marathon). I’ll never go back to regular shoes if I can help it. I’m faster, less injury prone, and much more comfortable than I ever was in regular running shoes. ---
**Author:** ![buncombe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@buncombe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buncombe)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-people-who-wear-those-new-running-shoes-with-all-the-toes-showing/531022/35 "2010-03-03T23:30:18Z")
… And now I can run. I’ve been wearing these for 2 years. Before that time, I wore sneakers to the gym and heels to work. I thought I was the kind of person who hated running, since my shins and soles of my feet would ache like all git-out whenever I tried. Also, I had messed up ankles - it seemed like I’d roll one or the other every couple of months. And my knees - tendonitis in both, pain on a pretty constant basis. Eh, whatever, I was used to it. Then my partner found an article on these ridiculous-looking shoes and emailed it to me. I ignored the article, because - damn! - those are some ugly shoes! Finally, I caved. It was a lovely spring day in NYC, and I was taking a lovely stroll with my partner, and, as usual, my feet were KILLING me. So we walked into a store and lo and behold, there were the Ugly Shoes! I bought them, since I was tired, and it was hot outside, and I had no willpower to resist my partner’s pleading eyes. I walked three blocks. No pain. Another three blocks. Just a wee bit of calf soreness, like… like… my calves were helping me walk. In a couple of months, my calves grew rock-hard, and my knee and foot pain went away. I stopped rolling my ankles. I found that walking around the city in these crazy-ass shoes was my new favorite activity. Last summer, when I was studying for the Bar, I started running to relieve the stress. And found that I loved running. I’m running my first 5k in a month, and I’ve never been in better shape. Haven’t hurt my ankles since I bought these monkey shoes. And I’ve become one of those weirdos you see jogging along with a big shit-eating grin on her face, because - hey! - running’s FUN! They’ve changed my life. No joke. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-people-who-wear-those-new-running-shoes-with-all-the-toes-showing/531022/36 "2010-03-04T01:11:25Z")
I am just waiting for the snow to melt to break out my KSOs. I have had them a while, but this is the year for barefoot running. I have long toes. Monkey toes, so these suit me to a T! ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-people-who-wear-those-new-running-shoes-with-all-the-toes-showing/531022/37 "2010-03-04T01:26:38Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > I don’t care what you do in the privacy of your own home on a treadmill, but this was a gym. Initially I brushed it off, and then I re-thought: one, he’s putting me at a safety risk, if he gets all tangled up in the belt of the machine, he could possibly spew blood everywhere. Secondly, because he’s putting himself at a risk of ruining the machine, the gym isn’t going to make the guy pay for a new belt, or new treadmill. It’s gonna come out of my membership dues. So that’s why I got someone - not because I was offended, but because he could have hurt himself (and bothered me) and cost the gym (and therefore me) money. These all sound like rationalizations to me for something that your gut reaction to was “icky”. How, exactly, do feet get caught in a treadmill in a way that shoes would be safer? The only thing that comes to mind as a likely candidate for getting caught in a treadmill is _shoelaces_. Running barefoot is probably safer (although, admittedly, less sanitary). ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-people-who-wear-those-new-running-shoes-with-all-the-toes-showing/531022/38 "2010-03-04T01:39:43Z")
> [@Syntropy](#): > > I do. It doesn’t hurt a bit; if anything allowing my toes that kind of purchase has helped my stride. I don’t even get shinsplints the way I did before I started wearing them. Sounds interesting. Is there a reason why they work better than other shoes? It seems counter intuitive since they look like they provide less support. Do they help with foot problems? Do you have to watch out for rocks and things. . .there doesn’t seem to be a lot of material between your foot and the pavement. ---
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-people-who-wear-those-new-running-shoes-with-all-the-toes-showing/531022/39 "2010-03-04T02:45:00Z")
Yeah, I’ve been wearing the Vibram’s for about 3 years now (matter of fact I posted about them [right here on The Dope](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=462031) almost two years ago). They only had one style when I got mine, but now I have three pairs. Can’t rave enough about 'em. ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-people-who-wear-those-new-running-shoes-with-all-the-toes-showing/531022/40 "2010-03-04T02:53:16Z")
This really would solve the problem that I have with my toes/toenails impacting the anterior interior of the shoe. (I’ve been looking for an excuse for using anterior interior in a sentence) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-people-who-wear-those-new-running-shoes-with-all-the-toes-showing/531022.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-the-people-who-wear-those-new-running-shoes-with-all-the-toes-showing/531022.md?page=3)