Time:  11:00am – 2:00pm

Location: 292 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02115

We will be covering this grand opening event live from Boston! Mayor Thomas Menino will begin the ceremonial ribbon cutting at 11:00am, but starting at 10:30AM on Saturday, April 14, our crew will begin to fill you in on this exciting day! It will be our mission to provide you with information, images, and video (if possible… but data will suck so maybe no video right away).

What European models are you hoping to see at the Vibram store?

Newbury St. location storefront

Vibram will open its first U.S. retail store on Saturday, April 14 at 292 Newbury St. in Boston, Massachusetts. The grand opening and ceremonial ribbon cutting with Mayor Thomas Menino, will begin at noon. The store will remain open until 2 p.m.

“For the first time we will provide our customers with a hands-on brand experience that educates them on the world of Vibram, our partners and our products,” explained Tony Post, president and CEO of Vibram, USA.

The store will feature “experience zones” throughout the floor which will allow visitors to test out FiveFingers on marbles, woodchips, grass, and stones. There will also be a really cool, interactive timeline, summarizing Vibram’s 70-year legacy in sole design. Select models of Vibram FiveFingers as well as a few models exclusive to Europe will be available in the store.

“We consider this more of a brand interaction than a store,” explained Post. “We want visitors to experience Vibram in an unconventional way. Every office employee will have the opportunity to work in this space in order to collect valuable feedback from our consumers on a daily basis.”

This grand opening event coincides with the famous Boston Marathon, which will be held on Patriot’s Day on Monday, April 16.

Source: Vibram USA

Adidas markets the Adipure as a gym and training shoe, as opposed to Vibram’s “running” shoes. Adidas also advertises the Adipure’s ability to offer better flexibility and how less support will boost performance.

The Adipure looks pretty decent actually. However, it doesn’t look all too breathable and it may not fit well for people with high insteps.

The Battle of the Toe Shoes - who will reign supreme?

Vibram has filed a lawsuit against Fila early last week. The lawsuit accuses Fila’s Skele-toes footwear of infringing upon US patents that cover Vibram’s FiveFingers shoes.

“Vibram pioneered the minimalist footwear category,” Vibram USA president, Tony Post, in a statement included in a company press release.

Post also said, “Vibram innovated the technology and earned the patents. With our success, copyists and counterfeiters have come out of the woodwork.”

Fila USA noted that its Skele-toes line launched earlier this year after they had determined that Vibram’s patents were not infringed upon. The company intends to defend itself against these claims.

Apartelle de Francesca, Puerto Galera, Philippines

How awesome is this pool? I think they should have made water tunnels from the main pool into the toes…

Parallel feet squat

You can keep up with Mary on Twitter as @maryascension.

So six months and forty pounds ago, I decided to give myself a lifestyle change. I started running and eating right. One of my old friends was asking me if I had ever heard of barefoot running. He convinced me that I should start changing my running style. I did, but I took my sweet time getting rid of the “bricks” on my feet. Back in January I dropped a hint on Facebook that I wanted to run the Warrior Dash. It was only three miles with a few obstacles thrown in. For my birthday, my wife surprised me by registering me for the Super Spartan Race (8 miles, non-refundable).

So, with the money spent I decided to start training for this race. About a month before the race I finally spent the money on the best investment I have ever made in running. I bought a pair of Vibram Five Finger Bikila LS’s. And I slowly started making my way back up to the pre-barefoot distance. About a week before the race I was ready to run the race in the Vibram’s.

The day of the race I was a little nervous about running through a state park and obstacle course in Vibram’s. It was my first race, which surely didn’t help. As the race started through a sidewalk and a small dirt trail I was optimistic about the race. As it turns out, that was nearly the only smooth surface I would encounter. I ran on paths made almost entirely of rocks (not gravel). I ran on gravel before, but these little stones were a little rough in comparison. My feet were getting sore in the first 2 miles. Then we entered the woods. It was mile after mile of the same jagged rocks, dirt, and exposed tree roots. After tiring out over nonstop vertical terrain I stopped picking my knees up as much as should have. I didn’t realize that until I had jammed my toes on both feet twice.

The obstacles that required traction (climbing ANY surface) were easier thanks to the Vibram’s. While several traditional running shoes let their wearer down (typically down to their knees in rocks), I never lost my footing on the run or obstacles. Chainlink fences, ropes, rocks, logs, concrete, wood, sand, mud, or anything else they could throw at me fell to my mighty Vibram’s. I am glad I wore them.

Although, having the passing conversation with a quarter of the racers I encountered was getting a little repetitive.

before the muddy madness

after the muddy madness

He looks way too happy, covered in all of that mud!

Thanks, Josh, for sharing your story and experience with all of us. Congratulations on your first race; keep up the good work. Long live VFF!

If you’re interested in participating in a Spartan Race near you, visit spartanrace.com. Events are hosted all across the US, but also in Canada and the UK.

soaking in the salt from the Atlantic Ocean

From yours truly (Cindy – VFF-Friday.com admin): Today, I spent Easter Sunday, working at TKD, then I went to explore Wollaston Beach for a little bit. The Bikila LS have a nice grip on the rocks at the beach. It didn’t really do too much in the keeping-sand-out department though – I wasn’t even running either!

For more of my Easter Sunday photos, please take a look at my Flickr.

You can follow me on my personal account @peemmfivekay and of course, @vfffriday on Twitter!

Paula's walk through one of Holland's dikes

Paula was so kind to share this great picture of her on a local VFF adventure. This might be the first Dutch VFF posting on this site!

Paula commented on the rarity of Five Fingers in the Netherlands: I always make fun of the fact that people are falling of their bicycles when they see me wearing my 5-fingers. It’s not a common thing to see around here, at least I haven’t seen anybody else wearing them in the Netherlands.

You can follow Paula on Twitter as @paulaN900.