Well it's been almost a year since I decided to try and make my own sandals and run in them. Last week I ran the Foot of Africa marathon in the Cape province of South Africa. The run itself is a mix of farm roads, mountain trails and some tar (asphalt). It is a hard run and the rainy weather on the day made some of the terrain a little tricky.
But my T. Rockets worked very well and they look good for some more miles. The sandal is a mix of closed cell foam and rubber, with non slip rubber uppers that give a good grip. The sole itself is removable and interchangeable with other soles of different thicknesses. For this run I used an 8mm midsole with an increase to about 11mm for the heel. This, I thought, would help with the downhill sections after crossing the big mountain on the route. These sandals weigh in at about 160gm.
In this time that I have been making my own sandals and learning "natural form" running (after being a resolute heel striker for 25 years) I have gone through a lot of pain and learned a lot. My physical problems have included achilles issues, tibialis issues and even a fractured 2nd metatarsal. Nonetheless I am very pleased with the way things are working now and my running is much better than it was a while back, especially hills. I have also overcome a piriformis issue that plagued me in traditional running shoes.
Initially I spent a lot of time experimenting with the huarache style sandal and after a lot of disillusionment I decided that materials such as eva foam, elastic, velcro etc should not be ignored. My sandals sit much better than any huarache I made.
Anyway, I am sending out this blog simply to assess if there is anyone out there even remotely interested in this minimalist running trend as my stories might be of some use to another wanting to walk this path .... or run this route. My plan is to share some of the things I have done and learned, both good and bad.
