Rachel's dad, Joe Myhere, bought a pair of Vibrams for her and his 8-year-old son, Maxwell, days after the kid version debuted. The threesome often run together in 5K races - about 3.1 miles.
"I had been running in them for some time, and they have been great for me," Myhere said. "As soon as I saw the shoes were available for kids, I decided I had to get them for my children."
FiveFingers aren't new. In fact, fitness gurus have been rocking the pliable ped protectors for about five years, and in the last two years, they have helped spawn the barefoot, or minimalist, running trend. Minimalist runners tout toe movement - it purportedly activates unused muscles in the calves and feet - and FiveFingers allows that, along with a protective sole.
Although runners say the shoes are initially painful because those specific muscles aren't yet developed, they contend that the shoes eventually cut down on common ailments such as shin splints and sore ankles.
For the last week, my pink-and-orange FiveFingers have made a fashion splash, as perfect strangers ask me what the heck I'm wearing. But I'm too chicken to run in them. On Sunday, while completing the Broad Street Run in my trusty Asics, I saw dozens of adults working the 10-mile course in FiveFingers.
"My 5-year-old son asked me if he could have a pair of shoes like mine," said Scott Garber, a Lancaster County computer specialist. "Now that the weather is warming up, he wears them all the time. He's diehard."
In fact, experts say it is children who will benefit from the minimalist shoe trend even more than adult runners.
