Hey, I just joined the group. I've been running barefoot for the past
4 years and in my five fingers for the past 2. My second toe is longer
than the toe hole in my five fingers. As a result I experience some
discomfort and have damaged my nail after long runs (for me that's
anything above 10 miles).
For those of you running in five fingers and who have feet where any
toe is longer than the toe hole in the five fingers, I have figured
out a way to lengthen the toes without damaging the shoes.
To permanently stretch the toes of your five fingers you can try doing
what I did this past week. Caution: proceed at your own risk!
I covered my iron in one layer of tin foil and heated it up to as high
as it could go. I then put a tool in the shoe (I used the butt end of
a socket wrench) and stretched the toe to the desired position. Then I
held the sole of the shoe (in my case the stretched toe) against the
tin foil covered iron to heat the rubber and stretch it. After playing
with things for a while, I figured out how to stretch the toe to the
desired length. Lastly, I submerged the shoe in ice cold water to cool
the rubber down in the desired stretched position and to prevent the
toe from shortening to its original length while still hot/warm.
So far everything seems to have worked fine. I'll go for a longer run
this weekend to see whether I've achieved my goal.
Date: Tue, 27 May 2008 14:57:16 To:Huaraches - Indigenous Running Sandals <huaraches@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [huaraches:487] Vibram Five Fingers - stretch toe length
Hey, I just joined the group. I've been running barefoot for the past
4 years and in my five fingers for the past 2. My second toe is longer
than the toe hole in my five fingers. As a result I experience some
discomfort and have damaged my nail after long runs (for me that's
anything above 10 miles).
For those of you running in five fingers and who have feet where any
toe is longer than the toe hole in the five fingers, I have figured
out a way to lengthen the toes without damaging the shoes.
To permanently stretch the toes of your five fingers you can try doing
what I did this past week. Caution: proceed at your own risk!
I covered my iron in one layer of tin foil and heated it up to as high
as it could go. I then put a tool in the shoe (I used the butt end of
a socket wrench) and stretched the toe to the desired position. Then I
held the sole of the shoe (in my case the stretched toe) against the
tin foil covered iron to heat the rubber and stretch it. After playing
with things for a while, I figured out how to stretch the toe to the
desired length. Lastly, I submerged the shoe in ice cold water to cool
the rubber down in the desired stretched position and to prevent the
toe from shortening to its original length while still hot/warm.
So far everything seems to have worked fine. I'll go for a longer run
this weekend to see whether I've achieved my goal.
> Hey, I just joined the group. I've been running barefoot for the past
> 4 years and in my five fingers for the past 2. My second toe is longer
> than the toe hole in my five fingers. As a result I experience some
> discomfort and have damaged my nail after long runs (for me that's
> anything above 10 miles).
> For those of you running in five fingers and who have feet where any
> toe is longer than the toe hole in the five fingers, I have figured
> out a way to lengthen the toes without damaging the shoes.
> To permanently stretch the toes of your five fingers you can try doing
> what I did this past week. Caution: proceed at your own risk!
> I covered my iron in one layer of tin foil and heated it up to as high
> as it could go. I then put a tool in the shoe (I used the butt end of
> a socket wrench) and stretched the toe to the desired position. Then I
> held the sole of the shoe (in my case the stretched toe) against the
> tin foil covered iron to heat the rubber and stretch it. After playing
> with things for a while, I figured out how to stretch the toe to the
> desired length. Lastly, I submerged the shoe in ice cold water to cool
> the rubber down in the desired stretched position and to prevent the
> toe from shortening to its original length while still hot/warm.
> So far everything seems to have worked fine. I'll go for a longer run
> this weekend to see whether I've achieved my goal.
My technique seems to have worked. I went for a few runs, one 10
miler, and the shoes felt great. So it seems I was able to stretch the
toe just the right amount.
On May 28, 8:35 am, "keith.kr...@gmail.com" <keith.kr...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> That is very interesting! That technique ought to work with just about
> any part of the VFF's that need to be expanded/tweaked!
> On May 27, 4:57 pm, Jamie <jmausb...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Hey, I just joined the group. I've been running barefoot for the past
> > 4 years and in my five fingers for the past 2. My second toe is longer
> > than the toe hole in my five fingers. As a result I experience some
> > discomfort and have damaged my nail after long runs (for me that's
> > anything above 10 miles).
> > For those of you running in five fingers and who have feet where any
> > toe is longer than the toe hole in the five fingers, I have figured
> > out a way to lengthen the toes without damaging the shoes.
> > To permanently stretch the toes of your five fingers you can try doing
> > what I did this past week. Caution: proceed at your own risk!
> > I covered my iron in one layer of tin foil and heated it up to as high
> > as it could go. I then put a tool in the shoe (I used the butt end of
> > a socket wrench) and stretched the toe to the desired position. Then I
> > held the sole of the shoe (in my case the stretched toe) against the
> > tin foil covered iron to heat the rubber and stretch it. After playing
> > with things for a while, I figured out how to stretch the toe to the
> > desired length. Lastly, I submerged the shoe in ice cold water to cool
> > the rubber down in the desired stretched position and to prevent the
> > toe from shortening to its original length while still hot/warm.
> > So far everything seems to have worked fine. I'll go for a longer run
> > this weekend to see whether I've achieved my goal.
> Hey, I just joined the group. I've been running barefoot for the past > 4 years and in my five fingers for the past 2. My second toe is longer > than the toe hole in my five fingers. As a result I experience some > discomfort and have damaged my nail after long runs (for me that's > anything above 10 miles).
> For those of you running in five fingers and who have feet where any > toe is longer than the toe hole in the five fingers, I have figured > out a way to lengthen the toes without damaging the shoes.
> To permanently stretch the toes of your five fingers you can try doing > what I did this past week. Caution: proceed at your own risk!
> I covered my iron in one layer of tin foil and heated it up to as high > as it could go. I then put a tool in the shoe (I used the butt end of > a socket wrench) and stretched the toe to the desired position. Then I > held the sole of the shoe (in my case the stretched toe) against the > tin foil covered iron to heat the rubber and stretch it. After playing > with things for a while, I figured out how to stretch the toe to the > desired length. Lastly, I submerged the shoe in ice cold water to cool > the rubber down in the desired stretched position and to prevent the > toe from shortening to its original length while still hot/warm.
> So far everything seems to have worked fine. I'll go for a longer run > this weekend to see whether I've achieved my goal.
