Tag Archives: barefoot

GladSoles May Bundle Giveaway!

Posted on by alis
GladSolesVegAfri
13 May

Enter to win any pair of GladSoles minimalist sandals, 500g of africrops! Moringa Oleifera powder and a VegRunChat headband by using the widget below. Contest ends next Sunday May 26th, 2014 at midnight.

*International participants must pay shipping cost if chosen as winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Whether you’re hiking the trails or just going for a walk, GladSoles will get you where you need to go in style and comfort. GladSoles come in 4mm, 6mm, and 8mm Vibram® soles. The lace is recessed into the bottom of the sole, and very easy to swap out.

Sizing:
Every pair of GladSoles is completely custom-made by hand, based on tracings of your feet. Take it slowly when you trace your feet, as an accurate tracing ensures a perfect fit.

The GladSoles Trail Specs:
Weight: 3.2 oz (per sandal, laces included, size 9)
Thickness: 8 mm
Tread: aggressive tread – durable, oil resisting, non-slip
Ground Feel: very good – slightly muted feel compared to GladSoles Original
Does it float? yes
Other: Vibram Newflex 8mm is a rubber/foam composite blend with an advanced traction pattern on the out-sole. Lightweight and overall the most comfortable sole material we offer.

Comparing the different GladSoles models:

• GladSoles Lite – As you can tell from the name, this is our lightest weight and thinnest (4mm) model. Great for the pool & beach. This model has less structure than the Original or the Trail. Best suited for those of you who really want to feel every little nook and cranny that you might encounter on and off-road. Kids really love this model.

• GladSoles Original – This is where it all started. The GladSoles Original is our most versatile sandal. It’s 6mm thin, really light weight and works well on many surfaces. Recommended for all first time, barefoot sandal wearers! This sandal has some structure to it, and will mold to your feet after you wear them around for a few days. Perfect for running, walking, hiking, casual wear – it’s a great all-around sandal.

• GladSoles Trail – This is our most secure and rugged sandal. It is 8mm thick, but will mold to your feet within a few days. Great for all of your off-road adventures. It has an aggressive tread that really grips the trails well, but will wear down a little quicker on asphalt and other man-made surfaces. The Trail model is made for all you trail runners out there, plus it’s an all-around, really comfortable everyday sandal.

Warranty:
It’s really simple. If you have an issue with your sandals, just let us know and we will fix it. We take great pride in our sandals and want to make sure that you love them as much as we do!

Shipping to all countries

Tracing Your Feet is Easy

Posted on by alis

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People think the most daunting part about ordering our custom-made sandals is the foot tracing but it’s REALLY EASY! We have a video that you can watch (see below) that demonstrates how it’s done. There is a sample tracing (click here) that you can look at to allay any fears. Or, you can just give us a call at 973-951-4404 and we’ll walk you through it.

We know that it would be easier to offer standard sizes like all the other footwear companies. But we also know that nothing compares to wearing a sandal that is made for your own two feet. Take the extra couple of minutes and trace your feet. You will be happier and your feet will thank you :)

The Details:

Tracing your feet accurately ensures that your GladSoles will fit you perfectly.

Take your time when tracing, as the more accurate your tracings are, the better fitting your sandals will be.

It’s best to stand while doing the tracings. It might be easier to have someone else do the tracing for you. I like to start at the heel and trace forward to the toes. Then I start at the heel again and trace forward around the other side of the foot. No matter how you do it, try to keep the pencil vertical as you trace.

Tracing your feet is easy. Just take your time and don’t forget to mark the space between your big & 2nd toe. See the attached picture so you can see how to do it. You can also view the instructional video here.

Scan & Email, or Regular Mail Us Your Tracings:

If you have access to a scanner, just make sure to save your scan as a PDF file (Adobe Acrobat). And, make sure that it’s set to actual size with NO scaling. You should also check to make sure that the correct paper size is selected (US Letter, 8.5 x 11 inches). Draw a ruler line on your tracings with inch marks (6 of them would be good). We need this ruler line so we can make sure that the sizing is correct when we print out your tracings on our end.

Or, if you prefer, just send us your tracings in the regular mail: GladSoles, 194 West Fairview Avenue, South Orange, NJ 07079

Please DO NOT take a picture of your tracings – photos can skew the footprint, making it very difficult to produce a well-fitted sandal.

And, if you have any questions or need help with all of this, just give us a call at 973-951-4404 or email me directly at Rich @ GladSoles.com

Go ahead and trace your feet, your GladSoles will be on their way to your door very soon!

The Runninger’s Barefoot Transition

Posted on by alis

One of our Twitter followers purchased a pair of our barefoot running sandals to help his transition to going barefoot. He’s an Australian marathon, triathlon and Ironman runner with an amazing story. Visit his blog here: TheRunninger.com

Excerpt below:

…Enter Glad Soles barefoot sandals, I found them on Twitter and recently purchased some. Never has my running felt more pure or enjoyable, running barefoot without the stress of hurting your feet is a wonderful feeling and has allowed me to complete my barefoot transition. I call it Pure Zero Drop running.

The Barefoot Bonez Tying Method

Posted on by alis

GladSoles is dedicated to bringing you the best barefoot running experience possible. In doing this we present new fun and exciting ways to enjoy our barefoot sandals. Among the many ways to enjoy our sandals is the tying method.

There are multiple ways to tie your GladSoles and Barefoot Bonez shares his technique with us. We do recommend trying our method first but we are not opposed to trying other ways. If you have a specific way you like to tie your GladSoles, feel free to share with us so we can share it here on our blog.

The Barefoot Bonez Tying method:

“Around the back, to The right & under on the left. Then around the back on the left & under on the right (REPEAT x3). Now tie off how ever you like.” – Barefoot Bonez

GladSoles Sandals — Not Just for 5K Race Winners

Posted on by GladSoles Blogger

Maplewood NJ 5K Race –

Jennie + Rich at the 2013 Maplewood 5K Race

This Sunday I decided to venture out with Rich for his latest New Jersey 5K race.  It was the 13th annual “Maplewood in Motion” 5K Race, with proceeds going to benefit the Maplewood Lions Club charities and Rent Party – an organization dedicated to fighting hunger in Maplewood and South Orange.  It’s an event that I’ve run a few times over the years.  My first time was in 2003 — when I first decided to get on a post-babies fitness kick.  Back then I ran it in New Balance sneakers, this time in my barefoot running sandals. 

On race day it’s a good idea to get up as early as possible so that you have time to get some nutrition in your system, but stop hydrating well before the race starts (See Rich’s take on that here, in his blog post – GladSoles CEO Comes Within…).  I got up at 6am, ate, cleaned the kitchen, folded laundry, watched some tv, and took my time to get ready.

Conditions were perfect: sunny, but breezy with a little fall chill in the air.  Rich and I “represented” with our GladSoles on our feet, and our logo on our shirts.  I’m a much slower runner than Rich, so this was an opportunity for people much further back in the pack to see our running sandals in action. At the start of the race a little girl who was running in sneakers and a pretty dress asked if I was really going to run in my sandals.  At the end of the race a fellow competitor asked me about the slogan (“Make Your Feet Happy”) he’d been reading on my back during the race.   

Rich posted another excellent time of 19:59, coming in sixth place overall.  With my slow pace of 10:56 minutes a mile I finished the race in 34:05, which goes to show that you can enjoy minimal running at any pace:)

–Jennie

 

Maplewood 5K Race in Minimal Sandals

What Is The Conductivity Diet?

Posted on by GladSoles Blogger

tonicsI’m not one to recommend something unless I’ve done it, used it, or otherwise personally experienced it.

Barefoot running, a whole-food plant-based diet, Vibram Fivefingers – all of these things have made my life more enjoyable, healthier.. overall just better.

About  2 months ago I came across a “new to me” approach to health.  Tavis Bradley had done a video on youtube with Dan “The LifeRegenerator” McDonald.  It’s a lengthy video, but I watched the entire thing and was immediately intrigued.

A little background on myself – I’ve been on a vegan diet for about 3 1/2 years now, and I’ve experienced many benefits, as well as an overall feeling of more energy and better health.  And I’m always on the lookout for the latest health trends, as fitness and diet are my main areas of interest.  Basically, if it helps me win more matches on the tennis court, I’m interested.

Anyhow, I’m not going to attempt to explain Tavis Bradley’s Conductivity Diet in detail here.  If you want to learn more about it, I highly recommend that you visit his website and youtube channel.  In a nutshell, the diet consists of raw fruits and vegetables, healthy oils, nuts, seeds, and a series of 4 tonics that you drink every day to set your body up for optimal health.  I’ve been following the “diet” for about 6 weeks now, and I feel really good.  It’s tough to articulate exactly, but everything feels more – more energy, more alert, more running/less recovery time.  My family thinks I’ve gone a little wacky, but they are used to that by now.

I eat as much food as I want.  I’m not hungry, and I’ve lost most of my attraction to junk foods,  although those Red Hot Blues Tortilla Chips from Whole Foods are hard to stay away from.  It seems that the healthier I eat, the more my body wants healthy foods.  Junk foods are not as appealing as they used to be.  Very strange how this all happened over the course of a couple of months, but I’m really loving it.

I’ll be adding to this blog in the upcoming weeks.  Please feel free to ask me any questions about this or any of my other blogs, as I am more than happy to discuss my favorite topics with anyone who wants to listen.

–RG

BAREFOOT SHARK TANK. Will The Sharks Bite Into The Running Sandal Market?

Posted on by GladSoles Blogger

GladSoles Beauty ShotThis Friday, one of GladSoles’ fellow travelers, Steve Sachen of Xero Shoes, will be diving into the Shark Tank to pitch his barefoot running sandals to the panel. I can’t wait to watch the show and see what the investors say. This is a great development, in my opinion, as it’s a clear sign that barefoot huarache-style sandals, similar to GladSoles are hitting the mainstream in a big way.

I’ve often wondered what it would be like to stand in front of the Sharks and present GladSoles, so I’m curious to see how the Xero pitch will work. Will it be focused on the advantages of barefoot running? Will he try to sell the sharks on the customizable nature of the sandal?

Will the pitch center on the market? According to Flip-Flop Shop franchisee Scott Santy, flip-flop sales have grown 8.2% in the last 3 years, accounting for $1.5 billion of U.S. surf-wear retail sales. If all those flip-flop wearers decided to become barefoot huarache style sandal wearers that could be huge!

Which shark will take the bait? Mark Cuban? I’m not sure if footwear will appeal to him, although he does endorse Sketchers sneakers. What about Daymond John? He’s in the clothing biz, so what will he make of the sandals? Are they going to be a hot item for Lori Greiner to bring to QVC? Will “Mr. Wonderful” Kevin O’Leary crush the idea like a bug? I hope not! Hopefully there’ll be a bidding war, but whatever the outcome, you can’t buy better exposure.

We hope that this signals a time when people will come to us and already know about custom-made barefoot sandals, and we won’t have quite as much explaining to do.

We can’t wait to see the results and we wish them good luck!

Links:

Shark Tank Website

Xero Shoes Website

GladSoles Tee Shirt Back

A COUCH POTATO NO MORE…?

Posted on by GladSoles Blogger

November 2012 - Before ShotLet’s face it, there can be a flip side to all this workout stuff. It’s a bad part of my character that I tend to be contrarian. Watching Rich get fitter and fitter has the reverse motivating effect on me, in that it motivates me to want to flab out on the couch with chips, and leave the fitness to my better half.

So in the past couple of months I’ve kind of let myself go, and the results are not pretty: a growing Buddha belly; low energy; a nagging backache and a weird urge to grunt when bending down to pick something up off the floor. At 46 am I finally reaching middle age?

I haven’t always been this pathetic. In the past I’ve seen pretty good results from the amazing Cathe Friedrich – and I will always remain a fan. I’ve had a love-hate relationship with running, done a good amount of yoga, and worked on my swimming in the summers. But something has always stopped me from reaching that next level of fitness, and the instant I stopped working out I completely lost all the fitness gains. Perhaps I never had true fitness. Perhaps true fitness is completely unattainable, and is this just a fact of life that the fitness industry banks on to keep people on those treadmills trying to get to a place that doesn’t exist.

For this round I’m going back to basics, and building my fitness layer by layer from the ground up. When I’ve achieved goals in the past it’s always felt like “oh, I can do this # of pushups, or I can run this # of miles” but somehow it felt like a trick and not real. I could run faster and further, but I was huffing and puffing and in pain. I could do more pushups, but was I doing it right or taking a shortcut with bad form?

I look at Rich, and his fitness routine is simple: pushups and running. Sometimes he mixes it up with tennis or yoga, but his go-to is pushups and running, pretty much every day. He’s looking great these days, and this fitness requires very minimal equipment and no gym membership.

But here’s the trick: when he runs he nose breathes, and when he does pushups they’re “Perfect Pushups.” Both of these take the simple acts of running and push-ups to new heights of challenging. If you don’t believe me, try it for yourself! Run a lap breathing through your mouth, and follow it with a lap breathing through your nose. Not easy!

I’m going to break my fitness plateau by following his lead… screw my contrarian nature! As the months go by I’ll update you weekly on my progress, and I’ll be honest each day with how the workouts go.

J

This Week, Go For A Run And Salute The Sun

Posted on by GladSoles Blogger

GladSoles in Asbury Park, NJSeptember always brings thoughts of new beginnings. Our kids are starting a new school year – 6th, 8th & 10th grades respectively. It’s the Jewish new year, and for me personally, as a September baby, it’s another number added to my age.

Over in the GladSoles universe, September is the time we take stock and see what we’re going to do as the summer turns to fall. We have two exciting events coming up next week: the Newstead 5K race, and Yoga Festival by the Sea in Asbury Park.

GladSoles Team at the Newstead 5k RaceThe Newstead 5k is a yearly race that winds through the leafy neighborhood of Newstead in South Orange. This is the 10th year of the race, and it’s grown from just a few people to over 400 runners. Last year Rich won in his age category and came in 4th overall. This year we’ve gotten involved as a sponsor of the race. Every race entrant will find a discount coupon card in their gift bag, and the overall race winner will be awarded a pair of GladSoles.

Short Cuts SkirtsYoga Festival by the Sea is a day of peace and goodwill that takes place on the boardwalk in Asbury Park. Yogis will show up bright and early for a series of amazing events. They’ll be working together to create a beautiful Sand Mandala, and after that they’ll be doing a series of 108 sun salutations, meditating, chanting, enjoying wonderful, nourishing juices and food together. We’re co-sponsoring with Short Cuts, the makers of groovy one-of-a-kind skirts. Each one is made from reclaimed fabrics and combines impeccable taste and style with a quirky sense of humor.

We look forward to seeing you at one or both of these events!

Links:

Newstead 5K:  http://achievefoundation.org/support-us-category/fundraising/newstead-5k-for-achieve-foundation

Yoga Festival by the Sea:  http://www.yogafestivalbythesea.com

Short Cuts Skirts:  http://www.facebook.com/shortcutsboutique