Ok, if you've seen them, you know what I mean: those odd-looking "toe shoes" or thin shoes with all the toes separated, like you might see on rainbow socks or funny kid's slippers. There's nothing funny about these toe shoes though, when it comes to using them for barefoot running or other sports: they can give you a serious advantage.

The "separated toe shoes" you have seen around on barefoot runners and other outdoor enthusiasts are made by Vibram, the company that has been well-known for years for making excellent boot and shoe soles. What you may not know is that Vibram makes their own line of shoes today called "Vibram Five Fingers" that are for athletes and outdoor enthusiasts. They are also for barefoot enthusiasts - people who love going barefoot, or maybe just remember what it felt like to go barefoot as a kid.

Personally I wear these shoes-with-toes or "toe shoes" because I decided to start running barefoot and wanted to try the shoes being touted as "barefoot running shoes." Starting to run barefoot was hard on my bare soles at first, and I found that I could do some mileage without shoes at all, then up my mileage for the day (without putting holes in my soles) by putting on some Vibram Five Fingers and running a few more miles.

As one might expect, Vibrams fit your feet like gloves, and it does actually take a bit longer than putting on a regular pair of shoes to put them on, as you need to fit all your toes into the separate toe-compartments in the toe shoes. But once they are on they feel wonderful and you have the advantage of being able to wiggle your toes, grip the ground, and your foot even becomes stronger wearing them because you are using muscles that just lay dormant inside of regular shoes.

This is why I started running barefoot in the first place: a friend of mine had had surgery after he broke his back, and he started running barefoot because running in shoes was killing his back. His pain went away and he became a barefoot running convert - then converted me. I had already decided to run across America at that point; I soon changed my goal to running across America barefoot and got some of the odd-looking "toe shoes" my friend was wearing to get started.

If you are thinking about getting started barefoot running, or you just want to feel that freedom you felt as a kid going barefoot all the time, you can find the only separated toe shoes on the planet at the Vibram Five Fingers website, or if you live in a large city you just might have a store that carries them (this is fairly rare just yet but try a running shoe store and you might be able to find them).

There are several different models of toe shoes to choose from at Vibram, and the model you get depends on what you want to use them for. Personally I like the KSO model for barefoot running, because the top is closed and keeps the dirt out while you are moving fast. However there are other models that are better for casual walking or hotter weather.

Personally I wear my Vibram toe shoes all the time now, rain, snow or sunny weather, fancy restaurant or wooded trail...and yes, I get some funny looks from some people. But who cares? My toes are comfy, and their toes are crammed into a tiny little space. Of course they're grumpy.