Guy wins race across Tennessee in course record time wearing only Teva Tanza sandals; His pair has 2,700 miles on them!

I have run in similar sandals and loved it. I think I will try it again.

We need to calm down on calling this a "race"

For years this race had like 2 entrants, or maybe none & Gary didn’t even hold it sometimes? I honestly thought that he called it that without irony! What a motivator...

He was wearing running shorts and a water vest too

That’s a real man!!!

Technically, wrote:

He was wearing running shorts and a water vest too

Oh good.

I thought the sandals only running would have to be done at the adults-only treadmill gym.

...wearing only Teva Tanza sandals...

Oh, pic refuted my thought he was running nude.

You can guess why I clicked on this thread wrote:

...wearing only Teva Tanza sandals...

Oh, pic refuted my thought he was running nude.

Yeah, misleading title.

I've been running daily in sandals for 25 years. Adidas in Guam, Nike in Maryland, then Teva. 70-75 mpw on trails with no problems. My favorites for speed were Nike Rayong (originals, not Rayong 2), but not made anymore. I added padding on each strap with lacrosse pocket pads... Perfect. I generally buy sandals 1/2 size large so I can wear 1 or 2 pairs of Smartwool socks. I buy the socks "size 6 - 9" (I'm a size 9) for a sleek fit. A light coat of castor oil paste on my bare feet makes a perfect tack with the socks and prevents blisters. Socks stop dirt from rubbing. In spring, summer, and fall, running thru streams cools my feet and whole body. In winter I may wear 2 pairs of socks, med + med weight or med + heavy weight. If snow is over 2 - 3" I wear shoes. My current faves are Teva Hudson and Teva Fi-Lite.

I’ll bite. Sandals are perfect for you, yet you need to customize them by adding lacrosse pads, wear 2 pairs of socks and rub castor oil on your feet to prevent blisters? I’d suggest there may be a better solution out there - running shoes.

But then, you made it all up to get a bite, anyway.

Not this minimalist shiet again .

I bit for a few years and believe it contributed to the peripheral neuropathy of my feet .

Naked and afoot wrote:

Not this minimalist shiet again .

I bit for a few years and believe it contributed to the peripheral neuropathy of my feet .

Do you think it might be because different people respond to different types of shoes differently?

Truth Bomber wrote:

Naked and afoot wrote:

Not this minimalist shiet again .

I bit for a few years and believe it contributed to the peripheral neuropathy of my feet .

Do you think it might be because different people respond to different types of shoes differently?

Valid point .

I'll just succinctly say , yes and no .

And I'll leave it at that .

Wow you really jumped on that didn't you? Got some aggression issues there my friend.

That particular pair of sandals isn't well-padded, hence the lacrosse pads.

However the Teva Hudson and Fi-Lite sandals do not need additional padding. They are perfect as is.

As for the socks, most people wear socks when they were running shoes. So you can take that off your list as well.

As for the castor oil, you don't need it. It's just something that I found works well, especially for long runs of 20 miles or more.

As for the cost, I get my sandals for $36 a pair.

That's a third of the price of the running shoes I see most people running around in.

Go for a run.

It's good for optimism.

Naked and afoot wrote:

Not this minimalist shiet again .

That's not what this is about. For ultra running it's the best option due to time on your feet, how much they expand and heat up. Greg is one of the nicest guys around and has been, I believe, on the US 24 hour team, a few times. If I'm not wrong, he's won LAVS (last annual vol state) at least 4 times. I've met and run with him a few times.

2700 miles is pretty impressive.

I currently have 3,092 miles in my semi retired Hoka Bondi. If he gets to 3,000 miles on those sandals, I'll have to set my Hoka Cliftons aside and put a few more miles on the Bondi!!!

Steve Keith - the original Teva man racer!

it's not "minimalist shiet" wrote:

Naked and afoot wrote:

Not this minimalist shiet again .

That's not what this is about. For ultra running it's the best option due to time on your feet, how much they expand and heat up. Greg is one of the nicest guys around and has been, I believe, on the US 24 hour team, a few times. If I'm not wrong, he's won LAVS (last annual vol state) at least 4 times. I've met and run with him a few times.

Please cite where I questioned his personality and integrity.

Running shoes after they changed them all in the late 1970's never worked well for me and they kept getting worse and worse after that. I tried sandals but didn't find a good pair that worked well for me. so mostly I ran barefoot when not wearing shoes but that was hard to do around here. A suggestion for you though. Nylon socks are the very best for protection from dirt and prevention of blisters. Cotton as you probably know are the absolute worst. Wool socks would be way too warm for me here.