Beishoesblog

　　Dr. Daniel Howell (far right) goes for a jog around campus with Dr. David Dinsmore and Dr. Kimberly Mitchell.

　　Dr. Daniel Howell, associate professor of Biology, spent his summer promoting his book, “The Barefoot Book: 50 Great Reasons to Kick Off Your Shoes.”

　　“It wasn’t like a traditional book tour,” said Howell, who drove the entire trip himself, covering 21 states in 21 days and 5,412 miles, doing various TV interviews, book signings and presentations. He also did the tour just as his book prescribed — with his shoes off. At the time of this interview in early August, Howell had remained shoeless since May 15.

　　“Oddly enough,” said Howell, “My most successful events were at running-shoe stores.”

　　Howell began his barefoot enthusiasm five years ago, due to a number of injuries he had been incurring from running with shoes on. He had begun running as an adolescent, but stopped in his mid-20s. It wasn’t until his mid-30s when he returned to the sport as an effort to “get back in shape.”

　　“I started trail running again, and got a lot of injuries — mostly twisting my ankles because of the rocks and the roots,” said Howell. “Five years ago, there wasn’t much information on barefoot running, but I looked around on the Internet and came across two people in particular who were doing some barefoot running.”

　　He decided to give it a try, and found that he really liked it. Not only has he left his footwear behind, but also his running-related injuries. Since going barefoot, Howell hasn’t rolled, twisted or sprained an ankle for more than 2,000 miles.

　　Howell said he had already been inclined to believe that shoes were not all that healthy, nor did he find them comfortable. Further research led him to the conclusion that shoes are the leading cause of running injuries and most other foot problems; problems such as hammer toe, fallen arches and hallux valgus (bunions) are all caused by footwear, he said.

　　Howell was shocked to discover that the more costly the shoe, the higher the chances are per mile that its user will get injured. The more “bells and whistles” put into a shoe, the further the runner is taken from the natural way the feet are designed to operate.

　　“God was competent when he designed [the foot],” he said. The foot’s nerve endings are meant to send messages to your brain about, for example, how hard you should land while running. Wearing shoes renders the foot “blind and deaf,” he said. This leads to joint pain and fallen arches, among other problems.

　　“I also discovered that [shoes] not only change the way you run, but they change the way you walk and stand. Those changes are all negative and unnatural changes,” said Howell.

　　Students began asking him questions about barefoot running, barefoot hiking and being barefoot in general, which compelled him to do more research. He noticed that his research notes began to take on the form of individual book chapters.

　　Recognizing this, “The Barefoot Book” came to be. Hunter House, his first choice for publishing, accepted the manuscript in 2008. The book was published in July 2010.

　　Howell is most pleased by the fact that the book has been well received by the medical, academic and barefoot communities.

　　“I take it as my highest compliment that the people who are most involved think that [the book] is good,” he said.

　　One part of the book that didn’t make it to its final published form is a chapter about the spiritual aspects of going barefoot. Howell assures that this chapter is still intact, and plans on submitting it as a series of articles to various magazines.

　　While not part of the official summer book tour, Howell will be at the Liberty University Barnes & Noble on Sunday, Sept. 5 at 2 p.m. to sign copies of his book.

　　Обувь принято расценивать с позиций эстетических: “красиво- не красиво, идет- не идет, круто!” Вопрос эргономики и сохранения правильности стопы, а вместе с ней осанки – второстепенен, пока проблемы остеопатического характера не дают о себе знать. Мы решили выбрать марки полезной обуви. Практически все они оказались чертовски дорогими!

　　Самые модные «здоровые» ботинки – это MBT. Не стесняясь неуклюжего вида их носят Шер, Гвинет Пелтроу, Хайди Клум и даже Мадонна. Это кроссовки, помогающие улучшить осанку, и даже похудеть, и даже натренировать мышцы. Название расшифровывается так Masai Barefoot Technology. Причем здесь масаи?

　　У представителей этого народа идеальная осанка, у всех, без исключения! Данный вопрос исследовали антропологи, медики, специалисты по биомеханике. Выяснилось, что прямые спины масаев – следствие их манеры ходить босиком. Но дело не только в этом, но и в том, что почва местности, где они живут – мягкая. Прогуливаясь по ней босым, человек находится в состоянии так называемой “естественной нестабильности”. Проще говоря, когда у вас под ногами песок, мох, рыхлая земля, вам поневоле приходится балансировать. При такой ходьбе тренируются мышцы – ног, ягодиц, брюшного пресса. Кроме того, ступая на мягкое (а не на твердое, как, например, асфальт), человек дает гораздо меньшую нагрузку суставам и позвоночнику.

　　Марина Александрова: “У меня MBT уже год. Покупала заграницей. Там прямо в магазине MBT работают тренеры, которые учат покупателей, как ходить в них. У меня ушло 2 дня на то, чтобы как следует разобраться с этим вопросом. Впервые надев MBT, далеко не уйдете: ноги устают. В течение месяца я ходила в них по пятнадцать минут – полчаса в день и только после этого уже смогла гулять подолгу. Вес,действительно, уменьшается. Худеют, в основном, бедра”.

　　Корреспондент «Фонтанки» надела обувь с выпуклой, округлой подошвой, имитирующей «естественную нестабильность». Ходьба в МВТ выглядела примерно так: шаг, перекатывание, шаг, перекатывание – с пятки на носок. Совсем не похоже на обычные кроссовки. В буквальном смысле все время приходилось удерживать равновесие. Выяснилось, что MBT однозначно требует серьезных вложений: пара стоит от 9000 до 15000 рублей!

　　Подобную обувь с вышеуказанными характеристиками в сегменте «чуть дешевле» найти удалось. Ею оказались корейские кроссовки RYN, стоимостью 6000-7000 рублей. Есть и подражания в еще более скромной ценовой категории: модель Shape-ups, выпущенная спортивной обувной маркой Skechers, стоит около 3000 рублей. Эта марка устраивает сезонные распродажи, и, например, прямо сейчас в Питере кроссовки можно купить за 1300 рублей.

　　Reebok тоже изобретает свою эргономику. В арсенале этой спортивной марки кроссовки EasyTone, которые, в отличие от всех предыдущих, по-своему интерпретируют идею естественной нестабильности. Подошва EasyTone выглядит довольно обычно, но в нее вмонтированы выпуклые подушечки, наполненные воздухом. Так что, несмотря на свой довольно-таки стандартный для кроссовок вид и отсутствие выпуклой подошвы, EasyTone все же, также как и другие, заставляют ноги при ходьбе балансировать. Конструкцию этих кроссовок разработал Билл МакИннис, бывший инженер НАСА, а сейчас глава отдела инновационных разработок Reebok. Марка обещает, что если ходить на прогулки в EasyTone, нагрузка на ягодичные мышцы увеличится на 28%, а на икроножные и бедренные мышцы — на 11%.

　　Еще одна марка Vibram FiveFingers никакой закругленной подошвы не имеет. Идея Vibram проста до невозможности – имитировать босоногую ходьбу. Эту обувь и обувью-то назвать сложно. По сути дела Vibram FiveFingers – это чехол для ступни, спасающий ногу от прямого контакта со всем тем, что встречается на пути: острыми камушками, неровностям, например. Выглядят Vibram, как чешки с пятью пальцами. Пока автор материала натягивала «кармашки» на каждый палец (выглядит это, как перчатки), ей наговорили следующее: «Обувь улучшают состояние ног, помогают избавиться от болей в пояснице, улучшить осанку. Все это происходит благодаря тому, что нагрузка на стопу распределяется не тем образом, который задает ей форма обуви, а тем, как это было бы, если бы вы ходили вовсе без обуви, как, вероятно, это и задумывала природа». Поклонниками Vibram FiveFingers, как выяснилось, являются, с одной стороны, фанаты так называемого «натурального бега» (то есть, бега босиком) и скалолазы, ведь «перчатки для ног» сохраняют для стопы возможность быть подвижной, гнуться. Словом, дают полную свободу. Стоит такая «а-ля» свобода среднем 5000 рублей.

　　Сделано в России

　　Российский бренд под говорящим названием «Здравообувь» представляет собой тапочки-тренажеры. Их вид несколько обескураживет, так как похожи они на китайские пластиковые тапки, которые продаются обычно на вещевых рынках. Идея же «Здравообуви» вполне достойна внимания. Это не только тренажер, но и массажер: стелька покрыта множеством шипиков, расположенных так, чтобы они непрерывно массировали разные важные точки стопы. Все вкупе позволяет производителям рекомендовать чудо-тапки в качестве средства борьбы со всем на свете: лишним весом, сутулостью, варикозом, отеками ног, целлюлитом, общей усталостью. Конечно, полукруглая подошва применена и здесь. Более того, в «Здравообуви» принцип «естественной нестабильности» доведен до максимального своего воплощения. Разные модели – в разной степени нестабильны. Градация такая: обувь, входящая в линию для похудания, она же «диетобувь» – раскачивается во все стороны! Другая же, которую «Здравообувь» классифицирует как «оздоровительную», раскачивается только вперед-назад. Есть еще «массажная» линия: такая обувь не раскачивается вовсе, а только покалывает ногу шипиками, которые, надо сказать, расположены на стельке вовсе не в произвольном порядке, а в соответствии с акупунктурными принципами. Более того, шипики имеют разную длину – для правильного воздействия на каждую точку. Стоят тапки здоровья от 1500 до 2000 рублей.

　　Настя: «У меня Здравотапки оказались случайно – купила их на выставке товаров красоты, потому что стояла там же сама, представляя собственный косметический салон. Ноги к третьему дню выставки у меня отекли, от отчаяния купила эти тапки. Сперва только чертыхалась: надев их, почти сразу упала. Но потом освоилась. Балансировать в них сложно. Но эффект, если приходится долго стоять – ноги устают меньше и не отекают. Похудательного эффекта не обнаружила, но я и хожу в них не каждый день».

　　Еще одно российское изобретение, исследованное в контексте подготовки публикации – «ПоТапки». Название расшифровывается как похудательные тапки Потапкина.Больше всего «ПоТапки» похожи на традиционную японскую обувь поккури. Подошва у обуви Потапкина деревянная, и вовсе не продолговатая, как можно было бы предположить, а круглая. Основная странность «ПоТапок» в том, что подошва заканчивается где-то в середине ступни, пятка остается без опоры – навесу. К ноге эта конструкция крепится двумя ремешками. Сказать, что ходить в этой обуви сложно – ничего не сказать. Для начала и вовсе производитель рекомендует научиться ходить, опираясь на пятку, но в результате вы должны научиться двигаться так, чтобы удерживать пятку навесу. Но и если бы этой сложности не было, «ПоТапки» освоить было бы непросто уже потому, что подошва скруглена и неустойчива. Чтобы их носить, воистину нужно иметь способности к акробатике! Не удивительно, что, выполняя все эти трюки, худеешь стремительно. Стоит российское изобретение, кстати говоря, запатентованное в 2006 году, 3260 рублей.

　　Врач – остеопат, эксперт по эргономике Дмитрий Симкин дал свой совет относительно выбора обуви: «По детской обуви наиболее интересна с позиций эргономики турецкая обувь «Minimen» и Таши Орто. Среди российских производителей врачи рекомендуют «Скороход», хотя с моей позиции, эта обувь очень жесткая. Полезную для стоп обувь с супинаторами я встречаю часто в «Призме», где подбираю модели для своих детей. В модельном ряду «Эко» – растиражированном с точки зрения эргономики – далеко не все модели эргономичны, а лишь только те, что с высоким супинатором. Хотя там несомненно можно найти хорошие и для детей, и для взрослых с позиций здоровья модели. Из спортивной обуви для взрослых мог бы рекомендовать «Меррелл» и «Скетчерс».

　　Основной рекомендацией при выборе обуви может быть следующая: «Если существует проблема выбора между дизайном и эргономикой (что характерно для женщин) – можно выбрать обувь, понравившуюся дизайнерски, но обязательно купить к ней ортопедическую стельку. Конечно, лучше носить эргономическую обувь. В любом случае, женщинам следует учитывать, что, допустим, при использовании обуви на каблуке, недопустимо давление на пальцы, колотка должна быть перегибистой и исключать соскальзывание стопы вперед.

　　И еще универсальный совет. При покупке обуви, чтобы оценить ее эргономические свойства, необходимо походить по магазину хотя бы 10 минут, или же забрать пару домой, оценив все плюсы и минусы в течение 2-х недель. Если обувь неудобна – лучше ее вернуть».

　　Let’s get Outside! Merrell-Schuhe machen machen auf jedem Terrain und bei jedem Wetter eine gute Figur. Das gilt speziell für die neuen Herbstmodelle. Unter Verwendung innovativer Technologien und hochwertiger Materialien bietet der Outdoorspezialist Schuhwerk an, das bezüglich Komfort, Dauerhaftigkeit und Alltagstauglichkeit keine Wünsche offen lässt.

　　Reinschlüpfen, wohlfühlen, und auf geht’s zum nächsten Abenteuer – oder aber ins Kaffe um die Ecke. Längst hat der Outdoor-Trend auch die Grosstädte erreicht. Gefordert ist Schuhwerk, das sowohl im “Urban Jungle” wie auch draussen im rauen Gelände eine gute Figur macht. Dies ist eine der Spezialitäten von Merrell – Vollwertige Outdoor-Schuhe verpackt in trendigem Design.

　　Neue Modelle im Überblick:

　　”Split” nennt Merrell die neuentwickelte Technologie, welche im Refuge Pro Gore-Tex zum Einsatz kommt. Sie wirkt der bei Männern weit verbreiteten Überpronation entgegen und ermöglicht damit effizienteres und ermüdungsarmes gehen. Mit seiner Gore-Tex-Membrane, anatomischem Ortholite-Fussbett, antimikrobakterieller Behandlung sowie der griffigen Vibram-Sohle ist er geschaffen dafür, die Schweizer Herbstlandschaften zu entdecken.

　　Sein elegantes Äusseres aus Vollnarbenleder deutet nur sehr dezent darauf hin, dass der Coda Mid Waterproof mit allen Features eines vollwertigen Outdoorschuhs ausgerüstet ist. Eine wasserdichte, aber luftdurchlässige Membrane sowie das Polartec-Futter mit antibakterieller Behandlung sorgen jederzeit für angenehm warme und trockene Füsse. Die Vibram-Sohle bietet Halt auf jedem Untergrund. Das anatomisch ausgeformte Ortholite-Fussbett sowie die Luftkissen-Fersendämpfung bieten hohen Langzeit-Tragkomfort.

　　Der Névé Mid ist ein edler Damensneaker aus Nubuk- und Schweineleder. Das Fussbett aus recyceltem Polyester und natürlichem Bambus gleicht die Feuchtigkeit aus. Originelles Detail: Für ein Quantchen Extra-Wärme und -Schutz lässt sich der kuschelige Kunstpelzkragen hochklappen.

　　An RV dealership sued by Taylor Lautner over a custom vehicle is denying wrongdoing and has proposed a way to resolve the case out of court — a push-up contest.

　　Lautner sued McMahon’s RV a week ago, claiming it failed to deliver a custom vehicle in time for use on the “Twilight” star’s latest movie, the Associated Press reports.

　　Brent McMahon owns McMahon’s RV in Irvine, Calif. He says he tried to resolve the dispute with Lautner out of court, but that the actor’s camp demanded $40,000 as a settlement.

　　McMahon says he’s willing to pay the 18-year-old the money — if the actor beats him in a push-up contest.

　　Lautner’s attorney, Robert Barta, did not immediately return a phone message.

　　The 47-year-old McMahon says if he wins, he’ll donate the money to charity.

　　It’s official: Kanye West and Justin Bieber have teamed up with Wu-Tang Clan’s Raekwon to remix Justin’s “My World 2.0″ song “Runaway Love.” They debuted the track on Hip Hop Connection. Twitter brought the unlikely trio together after West tweeted, “Listening to @JustinBieber ‘Run Away Love.’ ” The two pop stars then exchanged messages, and the rest is music history, Popeater.com reports.

　　Raekwon spits two verses, while Kanye takes just one verse on the track. “Last name West, and my teeth diamonds,” West raps. “She said, ‘Yo, what’s your occupation: crazy rhyming?’ “

　　Bieber’s vocals from the original recording remain intact.

　　Earlier this month, Raekwon announced to XXLMag.com that the song was “definitely gonna happen.”

　　”When you got these kinda talents merging together to do something exciting, I think it’s something that’s gonna make the fans check it out. I’m big fans of both of these guys,” he added.

　　Authorities say a car rammed into the security gate outside Stephen King’s home in Maine.

　　Bangor police Sgt. Paul Edwards says 25-year-old Renee Harris of Alton, Maine, told police that an oncoming car veered into her lane about 9 a.m. Sunday. She swerved and crash into the custom-made black iron fence. No one was injured.

　　Police say the accident might have caused $100,000 in damage to the gate. King spokeswoman Marsha DeFilippo says he was not home at the time.

　　At least two people have gotten in trouble trying to reach the popular horror author at home over the years. In 1991, a man broke in while King’s wife was home alone. She ran to a neighbor’s house and called police. In 2003, an illegal immigrant charged with stalking King was ordered removed from the U.S.

　　Spanish singer Julio Iglesias has married Dutch model Miranda Rijnsburger, his partner for the past 20 years.

　　The 66-year-old singer announced the marriage in a statement to Spanish newspapers.

　　The wedding took place at the Virgen del Carmen church in the southern jet-set resort of Marbella.

　　Rev. Roberto Rojo Aguado, one of three priests who celebrated the ceremony, told The Associated Press on Friday that the couple were married Tuesday.

　　He said the ceremony was attended by two witnesses and the couple’s five children. Rijnsburger is 45.

　　Iglesias was previously married to Isabel Preysler, with whom he had three children.

　　A woman who claims the “Jersey Shore” cast’s bodyguards assaulted her last fall has filed a claim against Snooki, The Situation and the rest of the reality stars on the show, according to RadarOnline.com.

　　In addition to naming the cast of the MTV reality hit, now in its second season, the suit also names MTV and its parent company (Viacom), as well as 495 Productions, as defendants. The name of the woman filing the suit is listed on official documents only as “J.P.,” Popeater.com reports.

　　The alleged incident took place in September 2009, on the very same night “Jersey Shore” troublemaker Ronnie Magro was filmed in Seaside Heights, N.J., punching a man, Stephen Izzo Jr., who ended up unconscious. Magro was arrested for aggravated assault, Popeater.com reports.

　　In March, a couple — who were on the boardwalk of Seaside Heights during filming of an infamous episode — sued MTV for broadcasting what they claimed was an inaccurate depiction of a heated altercation they got into with Sammi Giancola and Magro. And just last month, a Chicago-area woman named Carrie Malec filed suit against MTV, as well as Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and Jenni “J-Woww” Farley, alleging that she was assaulted on camera when the cast and crew were in a Miami nightclub shooting a season 2 episode.

　　Thomas Jane, star of HBO’s “Hung,” took his hatred of shoes to a new level at the HBO post-Emmy party Sunday night — he simply ditched ‘em mid-party at the formal affair, Popeater.com reports.

　　He started off eccentric enough, wearing a black suede jacket over a snake-skin patterned shirt and jeans in a sea of black-ties. But it got stranger when, during an animated discussion with director Penny Marshall, Jane crawled into a crouch on the banquette to remove his Vibram Fivefinger shoes.

　　He left the shoes on the banquette as a confused Marshall looked on.

　　Then, with a look of a man who had found perfect freedom, he proceeded to walk around the formal party in his bare feet, even stepping outside to ensure photographers got a look at his fashion choice.

　　”I dropped off my shoes with Penny Marshall tonight,” he told PopEater from the party.

　　Um, why? “Just because,” he offered cryptically. “I knew she’d lose my shoes.”

　　When running caused problems in his feet, legs, knees and hips, the Norman man sought treatments from podiatrists, he tried orthopedic inserts, and he bought special shoes to correct “pronation.”

　　”I just kind of got sick of it,” he said. “The more expensive shoes I got, the more pain I felt. The problem was the shoes.”

　　So, he got rid of them. Today, he runs up to 90 minutes at a time in footwear that’s barely footwear at all — glovelike coverings with no padding or arch support.

　　Barefoot running has been around a while, like a few hundred thousand years. People didn’t begin using footwear extensively until relatively recently, and some still don’t, so maybe people weren’t designed to wear shoes, Christopher McDougall figures.

　　At least, McDougall argues in his book “Born to Run,” people should avoid the heavily padded athletic shoes of the past few decades. That gear that has encouraged “heel-strike” running that causes runners to lose technique, arch strength and all that is natural about running, he says.

　　That best-selling book and others, such as “ChiRunning,” along with endless discussion in online groups, are persuading a growing number of people to try “minimalist” footwear or to go purist and shuck shoes altogether.

　　Such people include Jason Tilton of Oklahoma City. “I have found numerous wonderful benefits,” the 37-year-old real estate manager said of barefooting. Among them is the true feel of running.

　　”There’s nothing that can simulate that direct feeling of the surface that you’re running on against your foot,” he said. “The foot is such a sensitive thing.”

　　Like the overwhelming number of serious runners, this experienced marathoner and ultrarunner still uses shoes extensively. But he’s gradually increasing the distance he can cover without them.

　　”I can do 10-mile runs barefoot. I have to do them more slowly.”

　　It’s a lesson Tilton learned the hard way. On a recent training run, he suffered severe blistering, “pretty much the result of my trying to take it too far too fast,” he said. He was trying homemade footwear — standard synthetic athletic socks, the bottoms of which he covered with “Shoe Goo.” One problem, he figures, was the surface he ran on that day: worn asphalt studded with sharp bits of gravel.

　　The main obstacle to running without shoes, Thomas Coniglione said, is that most of us grew up wearing them. A lifetime of heavily padded and supportive footwear, said Coniglione, an Oklahoma City marathoner and physician known as “the running doc,” has left our feet accustomed to support and protection. And that means weak foot ligaments and muscles, and undeveloped arches.

　　”By the time we’re 10 or 20, we don’t have a natural arch,” he said. “We’re running in shoes that support our insufficient arch.”

　　Coniglione, an internal specialist whose passion is everything running, has served as medical specialist at many running events. It has allowed him to study top runners across the country and worldwide, including elite African runners. After a lifetime of running barefoot to school and everywhere else, he said, Africans have “an extremely well-developed, strong arch.”

　　Running on dirt, they’re unbeatable, he said. Not so on harder surfaces. “Africans can’t run here because of the pavement.”

　　That hasn’t kept many American runners from trying to go barefoot, some on grass, some on dirt trails, others on hard surfaces. “When they start to run around with poorly developed arches, what I’m seeing is an increase in injuries,” Coniglione said.

　　That doesn’t mean barefooting — with its “midfoot” ground strike, shorter stride and more upright position — isn’t the best way to run. “Barefoot Ted” McDonald, an ultrarunner featured in McDougall’s book, certainly thinks it is. Of course, after thousands of miles of barefooting, McDonald’s arches are well-developed, said Coniglione, who met him at an ultramarathon in Oklahoma. The soles of McDonald’s feet, Coniglione said, “reminded me of the hoof of a horse.”

　　The question posed by barefooting comes down to this: Can people who’ve grown up wearing shoes dump them? Can they strengthen their arches, ligaments and muscles and transition successfully to minimalist or even barefoot running?

　　”We’re going to find out,” Coniglione said. “If I could answer that question, I’d go to Stockholm and get my Nobel Prize.”

　　Last weekend, he rallied from the losers bracket to win the 2010 Footstock Endurance Open Championship for barefoot water-skiing.

　　”It is like the Super Bowl of barefoot skiing,” he said.

　　”I couldn’t believe I won. It is a huge tournament.”

　　A total of 130 competitors came from across the nation and from other countries, including Germany and South Africa.

　　Donahue took home $2,000 and a nice trophy. Not bad for a guy who is 46 and has only been water-skiing for eight years.

　　He’s competed in Footstock the past five years but never finished in the top 10 of the open division. He was third in the seniors class a few years ago.

　　Donahue also set a record at Footstock. Each skier does a figure eight course that is 1.5 miles long. The idea is to do as many figure eights as possible before losing control and going into the water.

　　The record was 4.25 figure eights. Donahue shattered the mark with 5.25 figure eights.

　　During the two-day competition, Donahue said he did 20 to 30 figure eights. He had to beat Peter Fleck twice. He also is 46.

　　”It gets pretty tiring,” Donahue said.

　　Donahue credits his training as a runner for his barefoot skiing success. He’s currently training for a marathon in Pennsylvania. He sometimes walks and runs barefoot to toughen his callouses.

　　”I don’t know what attracted me to barefoot skiing,” he said. “We get up early in the morning and go for miles. It is a great feeling.”

　　Donahue said he’s only been hurt once while barefoot skiing.

　　”I was hurt badly last year when I broke my heel in six places,” he said of the accident on nearby Lake Freeman. “I hit a three-foot section of a telephone pole that was floating just beneath the surface.

　　”I went into shock. The doctors plated it and screwed it back together. It feels OK now.”

　　Donahue has had a great summer. In late July, he won $1,000 in a figure eight tournament at Lake St. Louis.

　　When he’s not barefootin’, Donahue makes his living at Lafayette Mower Repair.

　　Good luck. Take care of your champion tootsies.

　　Marathon canoeists win US championship

　　Congratulations to Lafayette marathon canoeists Terry Pontius and Skeet Craig.

　　The duo recently won the Class C-2 Standard Men’s open competition at the United States Canoe Association National Marathon Canoe and Kayak Championships. The event was held on the Peshtigo River in northern Wisconsin.

　　The buddies are retired UPS drivers who have been competing in canoe races for more than 30 years.

　　”The event drew approximately 5,000 people to the area and close to 1,000 paddlers,” Pontius said.

　　”Lafayette held this event three times — in 1981, 1985 and 2000.”

　　He said the grueling event consisted of paddling two miles on a lake, then upstream four more miles, a buoy turn and then a return to the start, a 200-yard portage, then downstream four more miles, and finally another turn around a buoy and up stream one-tenth of a mile.

　　”The class that we entered had 15 entries,” Pontius said. “We decided to race the open class, which is 18 years and older.

　　”We had the race of our life — side by side with two 19-year-olds from Nebraska, using a stroke rate of approximately 70 strokes per minute for almost 2 1/2 hours.”

　　The winning time was two hours, 18 minutes, 15 seconds.

　　He said the United States Canoe Association was founded in 1968 at Sugar Creek near Turkey Run State Park.

　　”We have paddled all over the United States,” Pontius said. “I also competed in the Red Cross Murray Marathon in Australia — a 250 mile, five-day competition in 1989, finishing second in a four-man boat.

　　”We have met a lot of great people, some becoming lifelong friends, through canoeing,” he said.

　　Vibram recently introduced it’s newest shoe called FiveFingers with latest style that would surely be useful to consumers.

　　the latest “barefoot” shoe created solely by the Vibram company is a five-toed shoe which existed since 2006.

　　Wearers of the new weired looking Vibram FiveFingers become delighted to talk about it. Product users started to converse about the product in Facebook, Twitter, as well as blogs in the Internet.

　　Vibram FiveFingers was solely introduced and proposed to the company by Robert Fliri six years ago.

　　FiveFingers is a lightweight shoe, intentionally made for a “‘barefoot” feeling for runners as well as athletes.

　　It enhances muscle development in the feet and also improves a wearer’s range of motion, balance and posture.

　　However, podiatrist warned the consumers that FiveFingers aren’t for suited for everyone. People who don’t normally run, obese and have serious foot problems should be cautious in wearing the Vibram FiveFingers.

　　Vibram, being an Italian company that operated for almost 75 years, has made soles for high-end hiking boots.

　　Tony Post, CEO of Vibram USA, believes that Vibram should expand immediately with it’s product for competitors in the market start to introduce their newest products as well.

　　Because Vibram has announced its newest shoe product, counterfeits of the FiveFingers have also started to exist in the black market.

　　“We’re losing money, but hopefully we’re making customers for life,” said Georgia Shaw, a Vibram marketing associate.

　　As an action to the flactuating problems regarding Vibram FiveFingers counterfeit, Vibram has recently called for an investigation in to further search counterfeit factories.

　　Also, the company also tied up with Google to shut out counterfeit product hackers that show unsuspecting consumes with paid ads.

　　Vibram has also announced its epidemic counterfeit problems on the Internet websites such as BirthdayShoes.com

　　Vibram FiveFingers, a style of sneakers that is flat with individual spaces for toes, has been around since 2005 and “it’s all organic,” said Sean O’Connor, 43, referring to their grassroots marketing efforts. .

　　The North Abington couple discovered the shoes through footwear magazines to which they subscribe and their nephew, Michael Langan, who they saw wearing them last fall.

　　The decided to feature them at Sole to Soul, 53 South State Street, where the husband and wife owners have been in business for seven years. According to Dorothy O’Connor, the shoes are made for someone who exercises and moves a lot. She noted that they are good for a variety of activities including, but not limited to, hiking, running, boating and yoga. She said that the toe separation gives more stability and the style of the shoe helps people stay off of their heels while they walk.

　　“Our natural gait is not to walk heel first,” she said. The shoes also help build muscles, said Dorothy O’Connor, who has worn her pair a few hours a day since they received their shipment a few weeks ago. “I feel it in my calves.”

　　“They don’t fit like other shoes fit,” Sean O’Connor said, and recommended people try them on because they might not fit right. “You have to break into them slowly,” added his wife.

　　While currently at Sole to Soul, the shoes are available for women, they are expected to start selling men’s and children’s Vibram FiveFingers in spring.

　　Prices range from $75 to $110 and come in four varieties: KSO, Sprint, Classic and Performa.

　　Stock is limited. “It is the hottest product in the store right now,” said Sean O’Connor.

　　As Zola Budd Pieterse headed out along the Boulder Creek Path on a group run earlier this month, she looked much the same as she did in that most famous — or infamous — of races in Olympic track history.

　　She is still lean, fit, and light and easy on her feet, just as she was during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic 3,000 meter final. It was a race that saw her potential golden moment turn to disaster.

　　Budd was in Boulder at the invitation of Newton Running to be part of the local shoe company’s symposium on “Natural Running.” She was an apt choice, as she was a natural runner — training, racing and living barefoot — long before Chris McDougall’s “Born to Run” made the topic mainstream, and companies such as Newton, Terra Plana and Vibram began riding the wave.

　　University of Colorado alum Mary Decker, who had won the 1,500- and 3,000-meter gold medals in 1983 at the inaugural Helsinki World Track and Field Championships, was the favorite in that Olympic 3,000 meters. Budd, who ran all her track and cross country races barefoot, was a teenage sensation from South Africa who had entered the Olympics on the heels of controversy. She had also broken Decker’s 5,000 meter world record.

　　Because South Africa was banned from international competition, due to its policy of apartheid, Budd’s family — encouraged by what was reported as a very large monetary payout from a London tabloid — had moved her to London. Budd’s UK citizenship was rushed through (a grandfather had been born in England), and anti-apartheid protesters, along with intense media coverage, followed her every move, making her one of the best-known athletes heading into the Games.

　　Finally, it was time to leave the politics behind and simply run, which Budd could do as well and as gracefully as anyone in the world.

　　She was, and still is, a beautiful runner, looking like some sort of water bug skimming across the top of a pond as she runs along. She is pleasant, likeable and easy to remember, and fans who watched the race certainly won’t forget Budd.

　　With just under four laps to go, Budd had moved into the lead, with Decker tucked in behind, followed by Romania’s Maria Puica and Great Britain’s Wendy Sly. Then, in a flash, Decker was down, as she clipped Budd’s back heel and tumbled to the track. Budd was knocked to the side, but she remained upright and in the lead.

　　Decker fell into the grass infield, lying there in tears until the race was over. The pro-American crowd began booing the quickly dispirited Budd, who fell back to finish seventh; Puica took the gold medal that had seemed destined for either Decker or Budd.

　　”The biggest regret I have is running the ’84 Olympics,” Budd said as the group ran up the Boulder Creek Path. “I was too young, so inexperienced, and being whisked to Great Britain, and all the politics. It was a life-changing experience, being blamed for apartheid, the political situation in South Africa, the stress on our family, everything.”

　　Several of the retailers in town for the symposium asked Budd about her career. She didn’t mind talking about it, but she didn’t dwell on 1984, or on her two World Cross Country titles that came the following two years. She said getting married and raising a family in South Carolina and South Africa — she has 12-year-old twins and a 14-year-old daughter — have provided insight into what truly is important in life.

　　”Especially when you have kids, it puts life in perspective,” she said. “It puts (the 1984 Olympics) at the bottom of importance. It is just another life event. It was important, but not as important as having kids.”

　　During the panel discussion, Budd told the audience going barefoot can lead to stronger feet. “It all starts with the foot; if the foot is strong, the body posture will be the same way.”

　　When Budd finally did put on shoes to run on the roads growing up, they felt “so sluggish and uncomfortable. I had more injuries running with shoes than I ever did barefoot. I am so glad it (natural running) is being rediscovered.”

　　And, with just a touch of pride, the modest Budd added: “It just shows I was right all along!”

　　Budd, 44, was wearing her Newtons on this run, as she does whenever she runs on the hard surfaces. She will also wear the shoes at the Oct. 3 Twin Cities Marathon, where she looks to improve on her best of 2 hours, 59 minutes.

　　One of the experts on the panel, Dr. Mark Cucuzzella of the West Virginia School of Medicine, called Budd’s symposium insights “extremely important, especially as it relates to how we raise our own children and what we recommend to parents as medical providers. “

　　Cucuzzella explained that “all parts of our bodies develop in the correct and natural ways when exposed to the normal positions and forces we have evolved to adapt to. A foot that is bound in a rigid and supportive shoe is disconnected from communication with the ground, and this may in fact affect foot strength and function and bone growth.”

　　For example, Cucuzzella said, he is seeing more high school runners with hallux valgus — “big toes pointed in.” And he is also seeing many runners, young and old, who “cannot stabilize and balance on one foot. To run properly, you must be able to do that.”

　　El novedoso diseño de los Vibram Five Fingers, unos zapatos elaborados por la empresa italiana Vibram, que desde hace cuatro años revolucionaron la industria del calzado deportivo, enfrentan un importante reto, el de hacer frente a la piratería.

　　De acuerdo con el portal CNN Expansión, la idea de un zapato ligero (en esencia, un guante para el pie) que imitara la experiencia de estar descalzo, mientras protegía al pie de ensuciarse o cortarse, en un principio generó controversia y hasta críticas entre los escépticos; no obstante en 2007, la revista Time calificó al invento como uno de los mejores para la salud .

　　En 2008 un estudio de Harvard, reveló que el correr descalzo reduce las lesiones y la presión en las articulaciones, debido a que el impacto inicial ocurre en la parte delantera del pie y no en los talones.

　　A partir de entonces los ingresos recaudados por los Five Fingers (cuyo par oscila entre los 75 y 125 dólares) comenzaron a multiplicarse rápidamente, obligando a la empresa a crear otras fabricas, y a diversificar su mercado con modelos especiales para correr, entrenar, caminar y escalar.

　　El estilo de estos nuevos zapatos ya resulta un buen tema para los usuarios de Facebook, Twitter y otras redes sociales. Sin embargo, expertos advierten que no son recomendables para personas con obesidad, diabetes o con problemas en los pies.

　　Ante todo este revuelo, la empresa Vibram tiene como principal reto crecer más rápido que los gigantes de los artículos deportivos como Nike, quien ya ha sacado al mercado un zapato ligero llamado Nike Free; o New Balance, que ha anunciado el lanzamiento de un producto similar.

　　De igual forma Vibram ha sido fuertemente golpeada por falsificadores que, imitando el logo, colores y sobre todo, los estilos de los zapatos; venden a través de internet varios modelos de estos. Esta situación además de generar pérdidas para la empresa, dañan la imagen de la marca al vender productos de mala calidad.

　　Por ello, Vibram ha contratado a un investigador en China para encontrar fábricas clandestinas. La empresa también trabaja con Google para dejar afuera a falsificadores que atraen a clientes desprevenidos con anuncios de búsqueda pagados.