Review: Merrell Barefoot Pace Glove
I have had problems with running shoes ever since I got serious about being more active. I’ve been to two different speciality shoe stores where they checked out how I walked, fitted me in shoes and videotaped me running on a treadmill in slow motion to see exactly how I ran.
Both times I remember leaving the store so excited only to be disappointed each time. I would get horrible knee pain after each run to the point where I had to take almost a month off running completely to ice, rest and heal. I started to hate running and felt that I just wasn’t made to run. I gave up.
The thing is that I have completely flat feet. There is no arch whatsoever. The more I thought about this the more I wondered why the solution was to put me in a high-arched orthopedic running shoe. The arch in these shoes would cut into my feet so badly that the part where my arch should be would bleed and take days to get better.
I did some research online and came across others who had the same problem as me and their solution was barefoot running. It made sense to me. All my life the only comfortable shoes I could wear were ones that were completely flat and I wondered why my running shoes should be any different.
So I went out and bought a pair of KSO Vibrams (review coming soon) and this pair of Merrell Barefoot Pace Gloves. The Vibrams are taking a bit to get used to but these have been absolutely comfortable from the first step.
These shoes have a Vibram sole and are extremely light- only 4.7 ounces! They are very breathable and can be tossed into a washing machine when dirty.
As you can see they bend any which way you want ‘em to. The first run I had with these was incredible. While I am definitely taking it slowly transitioning to these shoes, the comfort they provide made me not want to stop running. The only problem I have had was when I was running over a concrete bridge that had some water on it and I almost slipped. I quickly found out that they become extremely slick whenever there is water on concrete. They were fine on trails, wet grass and dry concrete though.
I normally wear a 7.5 but got these in an 8. There was quite a bit of room in the toe, but once I started moving I really liked the extra room and they became much tighter because of my feet swelling a bit while running.
I love how light and stylish they are. I hate boring looking shoes and these come in quite a few vibrant colors which is a big selling point for me. The best thing though was that after my first run of almost 3 miles I had no knee pain. I thought it might be too good to be true and I’d probably wake up in the morning and my knees would ache, but no. The only thing that was sore the next morning were my calves and quads from the running.
I have been thrilled with these shoes and absolutely love them. I can’t wait to run again in them, but for now I am easing into the whole barefoot running thing because I want to avoid any injuries.
Do any of you own a pair of these? If so, how do you like them?
*Disclaimer: Just because these worked for me, doesn’t mean they will work for you. I just wanted to share my personal experience with these shoes. This is my personal review and I was not paid or given anything free for it.
Always be careful when starting a new exercise routine and consult with a doctor or fitness professional.
I should try these. I have flat feet too. My orthopedic doctor recommended the arches and knee sleeves and said to not run on hard surfaces anymore. I think I’ll take the last part of his advice but run in these instead.
Yeah, I am sticking more towards the dirt trails and grass but wanted to test them out on concrete as well.
Did you have problems with the arches in your running shoes?
I have the same issues – flat feet, knee pain, arch pain from most running shoes. I got some vibram sprints but my toes are really long and the shoes don’t fit them right. I’m excited to give these a try!
The Vibrams hurt my feet so bad the first few days. My second toe is the longest so it was super awkward wearing them. I put my finger into each toe part and stretched them out and it seemed to help. I’ve also found that they’ve stretched a lot on their own. I can’t even tell I am wearing them now but they caused me quite a bit of pain early on.
I hope that you can stretch yours and get some use out of them!
i have the opposite problem- my arches are kind of high, so shoes without arch support kill my knees. it’s SO crazy that shoes with arch support make your feet bleed! it’s so weird how even the bottoms of feet are so different from person to person! (sorry, pre-med nerd moment!)
it’s getting time for me to buy new running/cross-training shoes, so i’m definitely doing some research on shoes.
Yeah, the arch of the shoe always ends up cutting into my foot even through a sock. It sucks (and hurts). I also think it’s crazy how small things like that are so different depending on the person.
Runner’s Market in Bearden is pretty good. They are in the same shopping center as the Fresh Market. They are very helpful and have a decent selection.