"Ruby Muir, 2013 Tarawera Ultramarathon Champ Interview"

Awesome:

"...iRF: It comes over and comes down Harris Saddle—a little techy right there. <long pause> I was amazed, in the US, we do have people run in Vibram FiveFingers. But I’ve not seen anyone run really fast for 100k in FiveFingers. How long have you been running in FiveFingers?

Muir: Well, I grew up in bare feet and ran around in bare feet a lot as a kid. When I started trail running, I think I had some big shoes—Scott or something—and they worked on and off for a year or two. Then I got pain and it was time to take them off. So I got contacted by Vibram because I’d done a couple of races in bare feet (no shoes) and I had a talk with them. A lot of their shoes didn’t fit because their toes are different lengths than mine. So it was a long time before I found some that worked. But since my surgery which was around the 4th of July last year, I’ve really only been wearing these. They’ve really helped with my rehab and stuff. The ones that I wear right now are the SeeYas, which are 5k road running shoes. They’re the least you can get, and I guess they don’t hurt my feet at all because there’s just nothing there.

iRF: They’re like 100 grams of a little bit of rubber and a mesh upper. That’s truly amazing. Aside from your speed…

Muir: Different things work for everybody. I look at people wearing Hokas and think that’s amazing.

Me too.

Good for Vibram: they help this girl out, and she wins the race for which they're the title sponsor.

And one can't help but wonder if she would have needed that knee surgery if she'd stayed barefoot...

Thanks to Chris Bonner.