Sacramento Running News

There has been a flurry of news articles over the past couple days about the recent lawsuit against Vibram, maker of the Vibram FiveFingers.

Naturally, the somewhat lurid piece in the Daily Mail is my favorite because it describes the shoes as “bizarre” and “odd looking,” and includes pictures of celebrity FiveFinger wearers.

The lawsuit is being brought by a Valerie Bezdek, who’s complaint alleges the “Defendants’ false and misleading advertising campaign has allowed them to reap millions of dollars of profit at the expense of the consumers they have misled.”

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The Army doesn't want to see your toes.

The minimalist and barefoot running blogs are atwitter with righteous indignation over the US Army’s recently announced ban on “toe shoes.”

All Army Activities message 239/2011 states:

THERE ARE A VARIETY OF MINIMALIST RUNNING SHOES AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AND WEAR. EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, ONLY THOSE SHOES THAT ACCOMMODATE ALL FIVE TOES IN ONE COMPARTMENT ARE AUTHORIZED FOR WEAR. THOSE SHOES THAT FEATURE FIVE SEPARATE, INDIVIDUAL COMPARTMENTS FOR THE TOES, DETRACT FROM A PROFESSIONAL MILITARY IMAGE AND ARE PROHIBITED FOR WEAR WITH THE IPFU OR WHEN CONDUCTING PHYSICAL TRAINING IN MILITARY FORMATION.

There are limits to freedom, apparently.