Can anyone recommend a barefoot running shoe that feels EXACTLY like barefoot running?

Check out those Flintstones shoes.

Sounds like you want no shoes.

these are exactly like like barefoot running . limited sizes though.

https://happyasabee.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/dsc01579.jpg

First answer this: Why don't you just run barefoot?

Serious question.

It is called a moccasin.

Start with a sock. Attach a strip of duct tape down from the ball of foot over the heel and up to the back of the ankle. Fold the end of the duct tape over a shoestring to hold the shoestring in place behind the ankle. Wrap the shoe string around your ankle and tie it. This keeps the sock from pulling off as you run. The duct tape will wear through on the ball of foot after 10 miles or so. Just put another strip across the ball of boot where it is wearing through.

This sounds goofy and looks even worse, but it's as close to barefoot as you can get while still having some protection from glass, etc on the road.

barefoot

Bowerman did years ago. He said the perfect spike would be a naked foot with a nail driven through it.

All Brite wrote:

Bowerman did years ago. He said the perfect spike would be a naked foot with a nail driven through it.

Ostrich-like prosthetic claws would work better.

I do run barefoot, but I need a shoe for many reasons. I can't run barefoot on a track, it hurts my feet. I do run barefoot on the infield BUT my coach told me there could be broken glass so I can't do that anymore. Also, when I wear spikes in my race in track it hurts my injury, Achilles Tendonitis. The only time my injury doesn't hurts is when I wear shoes. It's very odd. SO I need a good barefoot running shoe.

A barefoot running shoe is very easy to make. Go to Goodwill and pick up any pair that fits you (both M and W work). Take a circular saw and neatly cut out the sole such that your feet are now exposed. Voila! You now have bare-feet and also the shoe. Make sure you double knot the laces as they tend to come undone quite easily.

AJJ wrote:

I do run barefoot, but I need a shoe for many reasons. I can't run barefoot on a track, it hurts my feet. I do run barefoot on the infield BUT my coach told me there could be broken glass so I can't do that anymore. Also, when I wear spikes in my race in track it hurts my injury, Achilles Tendonitis. The only time my injury doesn't hurts is when I wear shoes. It's very odd. SO I need a good barefoot running shoe.

I run barefoot on the treadmill and track all the time and have for decades.

I also don't like spikes, because they lift up the forefeet, put more pressure on the achilles and tend to make the calves tight and sore.

I have run in these

http://xeroshoes.com/

Just enough protection from glass etc. Feels like running barefoot across a dense rubber mat, never tried on a track but would imagine they would work well.

AJJ wrote:

I do run barefoot, but I need a shoe for many reasons. I can't run barefoot on a track, it hurts my feet. I do run barefoot on the infield BUT my coach told me there could be broken glass so I can't do that anymore. Also, when I wear spikes in my race in track it hurts my injury, Achilles Tendonitis. The only time my injury doesn't hurts is when I wear shoes. It's very odd. SO I need a good barefoot running shoe.

If you have achilles tendonitis you shouldn't be running barefoot... Or even trying to run in minimalist shoes with little to no heel drop... That's probably why you got hurt in the first place. Your injury doesn't hurt because the heel of the shoe is limiting the motion of your achilles tendon, which has been aggravated due to repeated "over-extension". Do some eccentric heel drops and light running in shoes. The achilles tendon has low blood flow so it's important to continue to run to improve blood supply to the injured area.

*I say over-extension in quotes, because in actuality it is natural motion. Problem is most people are used to large heels in the shoe, so your achilles is not use to the larger range of motion when you run barefoot. Take it very slow when switching to minimalist shoes and barefoot running.

For me (and I have a LOT of barefoot style shoes) the Merrell VaporGlove comes closest to it. It's very thin, zero drop (ofcourse), very flexible and the upper is soft and airy. You could also go the huarache route, though that takes some time to get used to and a bit of fiddling with the straps to get it to fit properly.

Don't listen to people telling you that you shouldn't run barefoot style because of your achiles tendon problems. Be carefull with it for sure, but running with a proper midfoot strike technique is definetely less stressful for the tendons than a typical rearfoot strike in 'normal' running shoes is.

Check out:

Feelmax shoes with 1.2mm sole (these are probably the closest you can get)

Sole Runner shoes (very similar)

Soft Star Moc3

Merrell Vapor Gloves

Agree with others above about running barefoot on the track. It's one of the nicest surfaces on the planet to run on. If it hurts your feet - especially if you are referring to metatarsal pain - then you are not running correctly. You are probably doing what is known as "prancing", where all you have done is change the foot landing position and the rest of your gait is unchanged leading to high rates of energy loading in your feet and lower legs when you are on surfaces that do not yield as much as soft grass.

It's quite a task reprogramming the running movement brain if you have been running for ages in shoes with a large heel drop. If you are not getting injured, stick with normal shoes.

If you insist on going down the minimalist road then try Actos Skin Shoes. They are the only thing that I think comes close to barefoot running. Be prepared to injure your achilles or something else in your posterior chain in the process.

http://www.actos.co.za/index.php?route=product/category&path=59

I got mixed up a bit there. "Prancing" is a different movement, and it usually produces the metatarsal stress I referred to. Quick mention in the Cucuzella video.

https://youtu.be/zSIDRHUWlVo?t=330