This weekend, VIVOBAREFOOT athlete Andre Calitz will have no time to savour the cheeses and wines of France’s Provence region as he runs the 100-kilometre Verdon Canyon Challenge. As always, AJ will be tearing the course up with a pair of our finest barefoot trail shoes the Breatho Trail.

Calitz is expecting to be out in the mountains, on his feet, for at least 12 to 13 hours. “There’s 6,500-metres of positive ascent!” he says. Read more…

Starting at over 10,000ft in the Cloud Forest, in the Peruvian Andes, the Jungle Ultra marathon commences in just over a week. The 230km, 6 day, 5-stage race winds through the dense tropical forests on the Amazon, where the competitors will experience up to 35˚C heat and 100% humidity in the diverse environment. The entrants have to be self-sufficient over the course of the distance and carry all their gear; hammock, sleeping bag, food and supplies for the entire race.

Here at VIVOBAREFOOT we like a challenge so we decided to partner with Beyond the Ultimate, the race organisers, and take on this extreme ultra marathon. The winner of the race will receive shoes for a year and we’re also supplying the race officials and staff with our barefoot trail shoes – as well as many of the competitors. Read more…

The first thing to notice is the thin sole. Immediately, you feel close to the ground. The barefoot feeling can never be fully replicated in a shoe but if you need protection from the weather or the terrain, this is the alternative. The removable insole also allows you to choose just how barefoot you want it to feel.

The 4mm sole achieves a nice balance of allowing you to feel the ground whilst at the same time protecting you from stones and thorns with its puncture resistant sole. The lack of heel to toe height difference will take some getting used to for those unaccustomed to it and some runners may feel like they are slapping the ground as they run. However, with a sensible ‘breaking in’ [learn more about transitiong properly to barefoot] period the muscles of the feet and lower leg will relax and adapt to the new sensations allowing the foot to land in a more relaxed fashion. This is when you can begin to enjoy the feeling of running closer to how nature intended and start to use your VIVOBAREFOOT shoes as a training shoe.

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On 28th July 2012, David & Katharine began an epic journey to run the length of South America, the equivalent of over 200 marathons in a year, through some of the most awe inspiring and biologically rich ecosystems on earth.

They started from Cabo Froward, the most southerly tip of the continent and and are running towards the Caribbean Sea of Venezuela.They are fulfilling a dream expedition to run the length of the South America unsupported for the continent’s wild places. Read more…

We’re proud to be supporting the Welsh Ultra Marathon Series, round one of which is this Sunday (23rd March) in Cwmdu, in the Black Mountains in Wales. Jonno Gibbins, one of our Barefoot Running Coaches will be racing for VIVOBAREFOOT.

Over 170 athletes will be tackling the steep and long hills of the Black Mountains and race organisers are expecting a very competitive field in the first stage of the Welsh Ultra series. VIVOBAREFOOT will be awarding prizes for the top finishes! Read more…

This weekend some of the VIVOBAREFOOT team are heading to Montilla (Córdoba) in Spain to support the Batalla de Munda trail race and the first barefoot runners meet in Spain. We’ve sent one of our Certified Barefoot Coaches and Director of the VIVOBAREFOOT Training Clinic Ben Le Vesconte to deliver a talk on Barefoot Running and participate Read more…

Tina Dubois from Natural Runner takes our Breatho Trail for a thorough test and tells us what she thinks about it. If you’re considering the Breatho Trail as you’re go to shoe for hitting the trails then this is a great opportunity to take a closer look at our best selling barefoot trail shoe.

Here’s what she said about the Breatho Trail:

“If you are looking for a great-priced, warm weather, highly breathable, comfortable, and durable minimalist trail running shoe Read more…