Mirei's First Barefoot Race!

Smelph

Smelph

Barefooters
Nov 5, 2010
597
15
18
#1
My daughter Mirei ran her first barefoot race this morning at the Howard Hill Hustle! She's 4 years old and ran the 1/4 mile Kindergarten and under fun run. She did a great job and beat a lot of kids older than her! (and didn't even really run all that hard from the looks of it) Here's a jerky video of the race: http://s75.photobucket.com/albums/i290/smelph/Mirei/?action=view&current=IMG_07191.mp4





Saw a few people (including kids) in VFFs and talked to a bunch of them. I saw one 10 year old girl with braces on both knees during the race and felt really bad for her. I wanted to yell out "Parents! 10 years old is far too young to have knee problems! Please don't put your kids in shoes that promote poor running form!" but I didn't as I didn't think it would be appreciated by most of the people there.
 
#2
That is so awesome Smelph. A

That is so awesome Smelph. A prould poppa you must be.
 
#4
OMGosh!  ADORABLE!  So

OMGosh! ADORABLE! So precious! She wasn't even trying and passing some other kids. If papa wasn't such a destraction! Ha! She's really cute. I have a four year old son, but he only has eyes for Miss Katie. ;-) They're going to get married, you know. That's what Miss Katie said. My son heard that and said, "I'll marry her back!" I love hearing your voice, Smelph. We don't get the opportunity around here to hear one another too often, so that was nice. Did Mirei say she liked running? Perhaps she wants to run more races?
 
#5
 Please don't put your kids

Please don't put your kids in shoes that promote poor running form!" but I didn't as I didn't think it would be appreciated by most of the people there.

And, please don't put your kids in shoes that will cause harm to them, damage their bodies where they may require surgery, not too much later!
 
#6
Thanks TJ! She had a great

Thanks TJ! She had a great time! You're right about me distracting her though. She started with one of the moms who were running with a group of girls and left them in her dust and I think she'd have gone way faster if I wasn't bugging her!

She loves running and going to races (she helped at the 12 mile aid station during the Kalamazoo marathon), so I'm sure here will be more. :)

The trick is keeping her barefoot, as she's unusually safety-conscious. ;)
 
#7
She really wants some "toe

She really wants some "toe shoes" like we both have, but they just don't make them that small and even if they did we would be buying new ones all the time.



Her grandma likes buying her shoes and of course they are all pink and sparkly and barefoot is hard to match pink and sparkly. So we are really trying to keep her and Oren bare as often as possible.
 
#10
They actually do have Vibran

They actually do have Vibran FiveFingers for kids. Of course barefoot is always best when possible, but for those times when you need a good minimalist shoe, these might do (although, other than a pair of plain old socks, I think a OneFinger would be even better). I've done some checking on these, and apparently, my four year old would fit into one of the sizes they make for kids, but my eight year old would have to go to a woman's size 38 in KSOs.

 
#11
that's what she wants, but we

that's what she wants, but we checked into the sizes and they start at a kids 11.5 and she's still only a 9-9.5

as far as I know she hasn't gone down to try any on yet (Gazelle has them, from what I hear), but since she has a couple sizes to go I am assuming she's just too small for them yet. wait a couple months and she'll be fine though I suppose! ;) we told her that maybe we'd look into some when school time comes around again, so maybe she'll have gained a size or 2 by then! (although the KSOs are a little pricey for a kids shoe they will grow out of in 6 months)

we thought about the merrell barefoot kids line, as it might be more forgiving size-wise than the KSOs, but we haven't seen them in a store yet and again, 60 bucks is a lot of money for shoes for a 4 year old!

our son (almost 2) wears (when he has to) some litttle leather moccasins with very thin soles on them (we had some nice winter boots too, but they weren't really for playing in the snow) and they have been working good, but Mirei just doesn't seem to care for them.
 
#12
What about kid's water

What about kid's water shoes? Walmart has them in stock now.
 
#13
She looks great. you must

She looks great. you must both be proud parents! Keep up the good work! and yes encourage her to keep running bare or at worst in minimalist shoes.. I am very impressed with how she was passing kids and looking totally effortless in doing so.
 
#14
Smelph wrote:that's what she

Smelph said:
that's what she wants, but we checked into the sizes and they start at a kids 11.5 and she's still only a 9-9.5

as far as I know she hasn't gone down to try any on yet (Gazelle has them, from what I hear), but since she has a couple sizes to go I am assuming she's just too small for them yet. wait a couple months and she'll be fine though I suppose! ;) we told her that maybe we'd look into some when school time comes around again, so maybe she'll have gained a size or 2 by then! (although the KSOs are a little pricey for a kids shoe they will grow out of in 6 months)

we thought about the merrell barefoot kids line, as it might be more forgiving size-wise than the KSOs, but we haven't seen them in a store yet and again, 60 bucks is a lot of money for shoes for a 4 year old!

our son (almost 2) wears (when he has to) some litttle leather moccasins with very thin soles on them (we had some nice winter boots too, but they weren't really for playing in the snow) and they have been working good, but Mirei just doesn't seem to care for them.
Click to expand...

Troy,

Have you thought about Zem's you can get a kid's size for about 30 dollars (my 4 year old loves his and wears them all the time).

Also if you are interested in winter footwear, my wife makes a great mukaluk (similar to a mocassin but higher on the leg) they are made of buckskin and come in lots of colours from natural brown to black to pink and blue if so desired. Super warm for the winter, and very minimal. Can even be used for running in the winter. The sky is the limit for decoration as well, as you mentioned earlier your daughter likes sparkily things, well that could be done very easily. I have bare feet on mine.
 
#15
ZEM will be coming out with

ZEM will be coming out with their running line of footwear soon. I don't know if they will have kids' sizes though. Perhaps Jimmy would know. Jimmy?
 
#16
Barefooting Bob wrote:Also if

Barefooting Bob said:
Also if you are interested in winter footwear, my wife makes a great mukaluk (similar to a mocassin but higher on the leg) they are made of buckskin and come in lots of colours from natural brown to black to pink and blue if so desired. Super warm for the winter, and very minimal. Can even be used for running in the winter. The sky is the limit for decoration as well, as you mentioned earlier your daughter likes sparkily things, well that could be done very easily. I have bare feet on mine.
Click to expand...



Would love to see some pictures!
 
#17
Here's another video of her

Here's another video of her today, for anyone who likes watching kids run barefoot. ;)

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i290/smelph/Mirei/8e8545ff.mp4


My cameraman skills are improving but still need work. The HD version on my phone looks a lot nicer than the compressed photobucket version.
 
#19
Pooh!  I'm unable to bring up

Pooh! I'm unable to bring up the video!
 
#20
So precious!! giry76

So precious!! :)

giry76 said:
Her grandma likes buying her shoes and of course they are all pink and sparkly and barefoot is hard to match pink and sparkly.
Click to expand...
What about pink, sparkly nail polish? Or purple and sparkly? Or with nail decals? And then what about anklets? And barefoot sandals? Oh, the possibilities are endless!!! Even if you bought her all of the above, it's still way cheaper than shoes. :)
 
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