'born to run' shoe store opens in Bellevue

they were smart to put it in Bellevue. The new Seattle mayor is a devoted greenie & doing his best to make it hard to park in Seattle. Guess what--very few people take the bus to the store to buy a $175 pair of Newtons.

BHS FOOTBALL RULES, 3 straight, 8 of 10 past seasons.

Instead come to my running store, I can sell you a nice pair of racing flats for half the price of Newtons! Same price as the Vibrams, but will last longer and protect your foot some. Still allowing the 'natural' gait. What a joke.

Dan, Could you explain why Newtons would be considered minimal or mentioned in the same breath as "barefoot"? In general, I would interpret minimal or natural to imply low profile and highly flexible. Thank you.

There has been a store in PA called Born to Run for years, expect to hear from their lawyers.

This thread is great and informative.

This thread is most certainly not a preplanned advertisement.

This thread is great and informative.

This thread should not be deleted.

This thread is great and informative.

This thread is great and informative.

This thread is most certainly not a preplanned advertisement.

This thread is great and informative.

This thread should not be deleted.

This thread is great and informative.

This thread is great and informative.

This thread is most certainly not a preplanned advertisement.

This thread is great and informative.

This thread should not be deleted.

This thread is great and informative.

This thread is great and informative.

This thread is most certainly not a preplanned advertisement.

This thread is great and informative.

This thread should not be deleted.

This thread is great and informative.

This thread is great and informative.

This thread is most certainly not a preplanned advertisement.

This thread is great and informative.

This thread should not be deleted.

This thread is great and informative.

Once again, I posted the thread and I have no connection to this store, zip zero nada. No friends, no relatives connected to the store in any way. I've never owned a pair of 'minimalist' shoes and never read 'Born to Run.'

I will probably be a customer in the near future, as soon as the new Merrell 'Trail Glove' becomes available. I do like lightweight shoes and this one is 6.2 oz.

I just thought it was interesting that a store this specialized would open, especially in this economy. It seems to have sparked some interest, albeit to a large extent from whiney-types.

Why not go post your own thread about the brooks beast or something?

Yeah, because the same person can't write the same thing in different tones when disguising their identity...

I'll reiterate, I'm a minimalist myself and I support the idea of this store. I would definitely check it out if I didn't live 3000 miles away. I'm just suggesting that people frequently post on this site with links to their own articles or stores, and I've seen nothing to suggest that wasn't the case with this thread. That doesn't mean people shouldn't patronize the store or at least check it out. I fully support Born to Run.

Actually, Nike was the first major company to really aggressively market a minimal shoe, with the advent of the Nike free. The point of minimalism isn't to stick it to anyone, it is to improve your running form to reduce injury and improve performance.

Most of the Nike crew up in Portland does a significant amount of work in minimal shoes. Solinsky trains in the Skylon (~10 oz., very flexible and low to the ground). They do their workouts in flats or spikes, and a lot of their distances runs and supplemental work in Frees or lightweight trainers.

Your right, Newton's aren't exactly a minimalist shoe, but they do support a natural running form. They have a zero differential in the heel and no arch support, just like a fully minimalist shoe, but they have some cushioning that is less harsh on the weakened foot that hasn't been using all its muscles. This allows people to immediately change their running form without having to have a long transition period. They are especially nice for those who are already running high mileage, or for those worried about hurting themselves in a fully minimalist shoe.

If someone buys a fully minimalist shoe, it takes several weeks to several months to build the strength necessary in the foot to run higher mileage. With this approach I recommend starting with short runs (2 miles or less) the first week and only increase by about a mile a week at the most. If you are already running higher mileage you can keep using your old shoes for longer runs at first until you have the foot strength to run in a fully minimalist shoe. But it is difficult to fully run with the correct form in a traditional running shoe due to the elevated heel. Personally, I just bought some minimalist shoes and jumped right in and I was able to transition just fine by taking it slow, but I don't recommend it for everyone.

Krupicka has had 11 stress fractures in his feet... he brags about it himself. To follow his running shoe advice (or eating (disordered) advice) would be stupid.

why don't you carry vibram five fingers or the nike free???????? will you carry the new saucony or new balance minimal shoes???????

is a toga considered minimal apparel?????

Foot bone breaker wrote:

Krupicka has had 11 stress fractures in his feet... he brags about it himself. To follow his running shoe advice (or eating (disordered) advice) would be stupid.

Devil may be in the details here. Krupicka is a relatively big guy (about 6' tall) and used to do 180 mi/wk. The stress fractures may or may not be the fault of his shoe choices.

barefoot ted..barefoot is dead wrote:

why don't you carry vibram five fingers or the nike free???????? will you carry the new saucony or new balance minimal shoes???????

is a toga considered minimal apparel?????

Most of these brands we will have in the spring. The Nike Free's we will have in a week or two.

Dan Fairbanks wrote:

I appreciate everyone's posts and that there is a discussion started about Born to Run. This store is in fact, owned by me and my business partner Barefoot Ted McDonald. All of which, information can be found at

http://www.borntorun.com

.

The same Barefoot Ted that got into a couple altercations with other runners at White River and had an affair with another runner's wife? Sounds like I won't be patronizing your establishment!

I'd like to open a Barefoot Running Store and just have rows and rows of empty shelves.

towhee wrote:

I was walking down the street in Bellevue, WA where I live and noticed a new store open called "Born to Run." They had a few minimalist shoes in the window including Newtons, Terra Planos, etc.

Bellevue I suppose is not Rodeo Drive but it's kind of the gleaming star of W. WA now that Seattle has become so decepit.

I am not a minimalist person myself, but then I'm not so sure that there is not something to it. It seems like there is a bit of a kneejerk reaction to minimalism from runners, and I'm not convinced that the minimalists won't have the last laugh. Best wishes to 'born to run.'

LOL!!! So true. Don't I know.

The born to run store closed a while back, although it did last much longer than the naysayers predicted. The space was empty for quite some time, but now a new retail shop has opened: Drones plus. I'm not kidding. They are now open and selling their drones to the public. I walked by and glanced in, but didn't go in as I am not currently in the market for a drone.

I'm not sure but I think 'Born to run' might still have another retail outlet around here somewhere. After they closed they had a sign posted with a new address.

On a positive note, I believe the fitness trainer (Debbie) who responded to the post 5 years or so ago still has her studio and is still going strong.