Although I never noticed this when I was younger, I recently read something pointing out that Disney has a long history of depicting their heroes, heroines and princesses barefoot. And you know what, it's true. Let's go through some of their protagonists:
Aladdin
Tarzan
Original subtitle: "The Erwan Le Corre Story"
Esmeralda (Hunchback of Notre Dame)
Kida (Atlantis: The Lost Empire)
No, no one else remembers this one either
Pocahontas
Sleeping Beauty
Giselle (Enchanted--the animated part at the beginning)
Ariel (The Little Mermaid)
Lilo (Lilo and Stitch)
Rapunzel (Tangled)
Mowgli (The Jungle Book)
Man, does Disney have some sort of barefoot agenda? That's a lot of movies. And we haven't even mentioned this one yet:
"The Luna Sandals Story"
...Which makes it all the more ironic that Disney is known for zealously enforcing its requirement that visitors to its theme parks wear shoes at all times. I mean, their mascot is a mouse, for crying out loud. And mice don't wear...
These shoes aren't exactly hot off the press (they came out spring 2010) but this seemed like a good time to write a review because (1) I've run several hundred miles in my pair, (2) they're still Merrell's flagship minimalist shoe, and (3) they're still probably the best minimalist trail shoe on the market right now. In fact, when Emily was looking for a new trail shoe this summer to replace her New Balance MT10s, getting a pair of Pace Gloves ended up being a no-brainer.
The Basics
First of all, Merrell has different names for the men's and women's version of this shoe. The men's version is the Trail Glove, while the women's version is the Pace Glove.
No, I don't know why they have different names. Yes, it's needlessly confusing. In this review I will refer to both models as the "Trail Glove," mainly for convenience, but also because I'm a sexist pig.
"A sow's place is in the barn!"
The only difference that I can find between the Trail Glove and the Pace Glove is that the Pace Glove has an elastic material around the top of the heel, while the Trail Glove doesn't. More on that in a bit.
Trail Glove on the left, Pace Glove on the right
Uploading that last picture I just realized that the Pace Glove also doesn't have one of those loops on the back of the heel. So if you're one of those women who depend on loops on the back of your shoes to get them on, then you might be out of luck.
"A woman of true inner beauty will have feet which fit into a shoe without effort." --Merrell promotional material
On the other hand, if you are one of those people who have always wondered why shoes need loops on the back in the first place, you might be okay.
Merrell lists the weight as 6.2 ounces for the Trail Glove and 4.7 ounces for the Pace Glove. They certainly feel very light on my feet. The shoe is zero drop (meaning there's no raised heel), with 4mm of EVA cushioning (that's not very much) and a 1mm rock plate in the forefoot.
The Trail Glove retails for $110 and the Pace Glove for $100. Why the price difference? Beats me, unless $10 is what it costs to manufacture a heel loop. The Trail Glove comes in eleven different color schemes (including one with the uninspiring name of "drizzle") while the Pace Glove only comes in six, apparently reflecting Merrell's belief that men are more fashion conscious than women when it comes to shoes.
Fit
These are very form-fitting shoes. They fit snugly around the entire foot except for around the toes. This combined with a non-bulky upper makes my feet seem smaller when I'm wearing the shoes. (Emily says my feet look "dainty" in them, so if that's what you're going for, great). The last (shape of the shoe) matches my foot well, without any wasted space. The toe box is roomy enough to not constrict the toes during running, but not so roomy as to feel luxuriantly spacious. In other words, my toes don't feel squished during a run, but if I stretch my toes out they will hit the sides of the shoe. This isn't necessarily a problem but if you spend a lot of time barefoot or in huaraches it is noticeable. I for one would prefer a roomier toe box.
This is how a barefoot runner's toes respond to shoes
For those of you with especially wide feet, or who just want more room, a wide version of the shoe is available, although there aren't as many color options (only two for men and three for women). Comfort
These are not shoes that strike you as comfortable when you put them on. There's virtually no cushioning anywhere so they don't have that bedroom slipper cushiness that many cushioned running shoes have.
Next year the Brooks Addiction 10 will have more cushioning, advanced motion control, and bigger ears.
I also don't find them very comfortable for wearing around town. In fact, I never wear them except when running because I find them uncomfortable and constrictive.
However, complaining that the Trail Glove is uncomfortable walking around town is like complaining that the four point seat belt in your Ferrari is uncomfortable driving to the grocery store. Of course it is. The real question is whether the Trail Glove is comfortable while trail running, and the answer to that is yes. They feel great while I'm running, which is to say that they don't feel like much at all. They almost let me forget I'm wearing shoes, which for me is the ultimate test of a running shoe.
Some shoes have bad spots where they rub the foot but the Trail Gloves don't and blisters haven't been a problem for me. I always wear socks but the shoe is designed to be able to be worn sockless. I tried running sockless a little bit and it felt fine, although I can't say whether that would be true for longer distances.
Emily loves the elastic around the Achilles tendon and says that it's extremely comfortable when she runs, especially compared to her New Balance MT10s which often left the back of her ankles bleeding. The backs of my Trail Gloves have never caused me any problems.
Performance
Okay, now we get to the real question: how do these shoes perform on the trail? The answer is, almost perfectly. Where this shoe really shines is running fast on technical trails. If you've tried this in bulky shoes you know how irritating or downright dangerous this can be, with falls or twisted ankles a constant possibility. The Trail Glove's low stack height (how much material there is between your foot and the ground--not much in this case) makes it hard to twist your ankle, the snug fit and lack of a padded upper keep the shoe from moving around as you run, and the slim profile of the shoe (mainly due to its lack of extraneous material) allow you to place your shoe with precision on the trail, reducing the odds of tripping. Traction is pretty good, with tread that is aggressive enough to work well on most trails without being too pronounced to be comfortable on flat surfaces. You're going to slip around in deep mud or snow, but that's true just about anytime you're not wearing crampons.
Most importantly of all, the shoe allows the foot to function naturally. The sole is very flexible (the rock plate is only in the forefoot) and this combined with the minimal cushioning gives you excellent proprioception and groundfeel. However, groundfeel is a double-edged issue in a trail shoe, since you always have to strike a balance between being able to feel what's under you and being protected from it. Even good shoes will fall on a continuum, with shoes with great groundfeel and terrible protection on one end and shoes with terrible groundfeel and great protection on the other. Where on that continuum your ideal shoe falls is determined by what you are going to be doing--if most of your runs will be 10 miles or less in the daytime then you'll want something on the groundfeel end, whereas if you are going to be running rugged 100 mile ultras in the dark, you probably want something with more protection. I think the Trail Glove has more than enough protection for people running distances less than 50 miles. I have run up to 25 miles on extremely rocky trails in my pair and have never come close to needing more protection. That being said, if you step directly on a sharp rock it's going to feel bad, but that's why you don't step directly on sharp rocks.
Toe protection is something that's an issue for some people. I have extensively tested this quality of the shoe and can conclusively tell you that if you kick a rock or stump in a pair of Trail Gloves it is going to hurt a lot, though much less than if you had done so barefoot.
The mesh upper breathes well, although the flip side of that is that plenty of dirt and moisture is going to get into the shoe, especially into the toe box. Several times I have dribbled water from a bottle onto my shoes and instantly ended up with wet socks. Water-resistant, these are not. On the other hand, once your feet do get wet the shoe drains quickly, although it will still take hours to dry completely. If you want something water-resistant, Merrell does offer the Sonic Glove/Lithe Glove, which is basically the Trail Glove but with a water-resistant softshell upper.
It's $25 more, but at least you ladies finally get a heel loop
As for durability, at this point I have several hundred miles on my pair and while they wouldn't pass for new, they seem to still be near the beginning of their lifespan. I expect them to last much longer. The Vibram sole is most likely going to last forever and the upper still looks as good as new. In fact, at this point it's impossible to tell what the weak link is going to be since nothing is showing much wear. This is an extremely well-made shoe.
Although the Trail Glove is of course meant for trail running (just as the Pace Glove is of course meant for pacing back and forth), I have done a lot of road running in my pair. They're definitely not ideal for road running (no shoe with a rock plate and off road tread would be) and if you are going to do most of your running on the roads I would recommend getting something else, preferably something farther toward the groundfeel end of the spectrum. However, if you're going to be doing both trail and road running and want to use one shoe for both, then the Trail Glove will work just fine. In fact, I've been surprised at how much I like running on the road in them, although they are a bit loud when they hit the ground.
Conclusion
As I mentioned at the beginning, I think the Trail Glove is hands down the best minimalist trail shoe on the market today, at least for the needs of the average person. If you are going to run 100 milers over rugged terrain you may want more protection, whereas if you do most of your running completely barefoot it may be a bit too much shoe for you. For most people, however, the Trail Glove will be just about perfect.
So you've read Born to Run and decided to start living like a Tarahumara. You've started eating chia seeds and running hundreds of miles a week in brightly colored clothing, but something is missing. What's next? Maybe it's time for you to try huaraches, the traditional running sandal of the Tarahumara.
What's a huarache?
A quick note on terminology: the word "huarache" is a Mexican Spanish word that simply means "sandal," so it's not the most precise term. Within the running community the meaning is pretty clear, but you should be aware that to most other people the word refers to this:
Somewhere out there is a very confused Born to Run reader running around in a pair of these.
The traditional Tarahumara huarache is a sandal made out old tire rubber and leather. The sole is cut to the shape of the foot and three holes are cut: one between the toes and one on each side of the heel. A single long leather thong is knotted at the end and threaded through the toe and ankle holes.
"You can usually trust indigenous design when it comes to active footwear. These sandals and others similar have been around for 1000s of years, and I know why. They have no frills, just exactly what you need and not a bit more. Elegant design."
(Ted wrote this a few months after his first trip to the Copper Canyons, well before he started selling sandals).
As he often is, Ted was right. Contrary to popular belief, the professional runner is not an invention of twentieth-century sporting events. For millennia, people from across the globe (from the Incas to the Iroquois to the Ancient Greeks) worked as foot messengers, frequently running hundreds of miles at a time.
Apparently over-striding isn't a modern invention either
These were professional ultrarunners who knew what they were doing, and they virtually all ran in moccasins or sandals. Unfortunately for us, the art of making traditional running moccasins seems to be lost today. However, the good news is that (1) traditional sandal making is still alive with the Tarahumara, (2) people smart enough to recognize a good thing have preserved the knowledge for the rest of us, and (3) huaraches are cheap and easy to reproduce. (Even if we knew everything there is to know about Iroquois running moccasins, reproducing a pair out of deer skin would probably be a bit ambitious for me).
So, we have a time-tested footwear with a pedigree that goes back to Pheidippides and is both cheap and easy to reproduce. What more could you ask for?
But...
Even knowing all this, I had my reservations at first about trying huaraches, and it was two years between when I first started running in minimalist shoes (and read Born to Run) and when I made my first pair. There were a couple of reasons for my reticence, and they are likely shared by most of you reading this. For one thing, I knew that I would stand out like a sore thumb in them. Make no mistake, if you run in huaraches you will be "that guy in the gladiator sandals."
"Boo! His footwear is anachronistic and we can see his toes!"
Also, as much as I enjoyed Born to Run, I didn't want people to think I was some over-the-top groupie. I mean, I enjoyed The Matrix when it came out but I didn't start wearing floor-length leather jackets or pince-nez sunglasses. (I really should have realized this before, but I am way too concerned with the way people look at me--a bad quality for anyone, but especially for a minimalist runner). A more practical problem is that huaraches aren't available in stores, so if you want to try them out you have to either order a pair online or make a pair yourself.
Well, I should have stopped whining and gotten a pair right away, because huaraches are by far the best distance running footwear I have ever tried. Once I tried them it's been hard to run in anything else.
Huaraches FAQs
It's pronounced "HUR-a-kees," right?
I'm going to pretend you didn't just ask that. Repeat after me: "wah-RAH-chays" (preferably with a Spanish "R").
Doesn't the knot under your toes drive you nuts?
Actually, not at all. It is noticeable when your sandals are brand new, but once you've run just a mile or two the knot flattens and isn't noticeable at all after that.
Doesn't the lace between your toes drive you nuts?
Generally, no, but it can be an issue. I have gotten fairly bad blisters a few times, but every time was during a long run when I hadn't run much recently. As long as I build mileage gradually it doesn't give me any problems.
Do you have problems with blisters?
See above. As long as I give my feet some time to adjust to the sandals, I get fewer blisters than in other footwear. Recently I went for a 15 mile trail run in the rain and although my feet were wet the entire time I didn't get a single blister (I can't imagine being able to say that if I had been wearing shoes). Oddly enough, wearing Injinji socks, which I have tried a few times to ward off possible blisters, seems to cause blisters for me under the ball of my foot. I can't explain why, but I don't use them anymore, at least not in warm weather. The most problematic area for me is where the knot touches the top of my right foot (for some reason the left foot never has had this problem). Dirt and grit sometimes get caught and wear a blister, but simply sliding the knot forward or back fixes things (a band aid there would probably be a easy fix as well).
Don't you get rocks and stuff between your foot and the sandal?
Yes, occasionally, but they work themselves out pretty quickly. On the odd occasion a rock doesn't leave on its own, pulling the sandal away from the foot solves things quickly.
What about when it's cold?This is when those Injinji socks come in handy. As long as your feet stay dry (i.e., no snow or puddles), you can run comfortably in fairly cold temperatures. Definitely not any worse than FiveFingers in the winter.
Won't the knot and the laces wear out?
The knot on the bottom will wear out eventually. When that happens, you just tie another knot and go on with your life. As for the lace on the sides, the sole will mold to your foot so that the lace doesn't touch the ground very much. It also makes a difference what kind of laces you have. With leather laces, I can't imagine them ever wearing out. Hemp laces don't wear as well.
Are they better for road or trail running?
They work great for both. Since the snow melted this year they are all I have been using (I run a mix of road and moderately technical trail). For road running I find them to be just about perfect. In fact, you could make a pretty good case for huaraches being the best road running footwear around. They are also great for trail running. I have had great luck with them, as have the Tarahumara (obviously), who are known for running technical trails in theirs. However, huaraches are better for dry environments than wet ones. Depending on your lacing system (traditional with thick laces works better than a slip-on with thin laces), they can feel insecure when wet and/or muddy on technical terrain. Also, they aren't well suited for climbing or scrambling.
How much do they cost?
See below, but in general, do-it-yourself kits start around $25 and include everything you need. If you have access to free or low-cost materials, you can make a pair for next to nothing.
What are the pros and cons of huaraches?
PROS: cheap (depending on the option you choose), great for road and trails, keep feet cool and dry (sweat can evaporate), toes can splay as much as they like, you feel closer to the trail, street cred among minimalist runners.
CONS: can't try them out before buying, not ideal for cold weather, not ideal for wet/muddy technical terrain, lace between toes can bother some people, people will look at you funny and/or yell supposedly humorous comments.
"ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED BY MY FOOTWEAR?!"
Great! Where can I buy a pair? Well, first I should point out that you don't have to buy huaraches; you can always do what the Tarahumara do and make them yourself using materials you find lying around. This has the potential to be the cheapest option. The problem is finding materials that work well. Tire rubber is actually not the best option since it is heavy and doesn't have very good ground feel. Also, most of the discarded tire rubber you will find by the side of the road has steel wire in it and for the life of me I can't figure out how to cut it. Leather is an option but has worse traction than rubber and isn't all that cheap unless you have access to scraps. The same goes for laces--good quality laces aren't all that cheap and shoe laces aren't going to work very well. The bottom line is that unless you have access to good quality, cheap materials you will probably end up with sandals that are inferior in quality to a DIY kit and you could very well end up spending more money doing it than the kit would have cost.
Which brings us to the next option: buying a do-it-yourself kit and making sandals from that. This is the option I chose (twice) and the one I highly recommend. I bought my kits from Luna Sandals. Luna has the longest pedigree of the companies around since it was founded by Barefoot Ted McDonald (a barefoot legend in his own right and largely responsible for the popularity of FiveFingers) who learned how to make sandals from the Tarahumara runner Manual Luna while in the Copper Canyons on the trip that formed the basis for Born to Run (triple whammy!). A basic DIY kit (laces + Vibram rubber sole that will last forever) starts at $25 and goes up if you want something fancier (e.g., thicker trail sole, suede footbed, high-tech laces, etc.). Another option which a lot of people like is Invisible Shoes. Their kit also starts at $25.
The final option is to buy professionally made huaraches. As of today there are a number of companies selling pre- or custom-made huaraches or huarache-inspired sandals. Luna and Invisible Shoes both start at $50 (Luna charges an additional $15 for the custom-made option). Three other companies are Bedrock, Unshoes, and Branca. All three fall into the huarache-inspired category rather than traditional huaraches.
Lacing Styles
OK, now that you have your shiny new huaraches, how are you going to tie them? If you bought Brancas or Bedrocks, or Lunas with one of their high-tech lacing options (elasticized leather, ATS, etc.), then that decision is pretty much made for you, but if you made you own or bought Invisible Shoes or Lunas with traditional laces, then you have a couple of options. The first is the traditional style (sometimes called "gladiator-" or "toga-style"), which is how the Tarahumara tie their sandals.
This is the way I tie my sandals. It is an elegant design--simple, comfortable, and very secure.
The second style is the slip-on, where you tie the laces in a way that allows you to slip the sandals off and on without retying them. This is great if you happen to be pathologically lazy (which is an odd quality in a runner who probably makes his/her own footwear). Another perk is this makes it almost look like you are wearing normal sandals. There are a number of ways you can tie the laces to achieve this. The first and probably best is to simply tie at the top of the foot like so:
Lunas with what looks like 10mm leather laces
The disadvantage of this method is that you have to cut the laces short, which means that you can't ever change your mind and use the traditional method. To get around this, you can keep the laces long and just keep looping them around and around:
Invisible Shoes in the "around and around" style popular with Invisible Shoe owners
These are the most popular methods but by no means the only ones. There are a lot of people on the internet who enjoy inventing and sharing new styles of tying (especially Invisible Shoe owners for some reason; they really get creative).
Seriously, more questions?
Hopefully that is all of your huarache-related questions answered. If I missed any (or you just think I'm wrong about something), visit groups.google.com/group/huaraches or leave me a comment.
