Whats your take on minimalist running?

Questions, Comments and opinions welcome? Do you feel this is fad? Do you feel this the way we were meant to run? Everyone is entitled to their opinon, respect your fellow runners, shoes or no shoes we are all have the common bond of running....what do you think??

IMHO- minimalist running is great if you've been barefoot your whole life and are running on a natural surface; however, if you've always worn shoes and have nothing but asphalt and concrete running surfaces you're only asking for pain.

sometimes I cannot see how shoes are making it worse.

I had the same opionion, people would talk about this and i would think "whatever???"

if you have seen my other posts, i went from one of the softest shoes around the Vomeros straight to the Frees just to give it a shot.

I dont know how minimalist the free is compared to a five finger or shoes like that, but i am now uninjured and havent had an icepack out since i swithched. maybe the shoe just fits my foot and stride just right, my wifes went from almost breaking down in tears on a 4 mile run, to running painless on her next run just by switching to minimalist shoe.

she to is injury free.

i do have to say anyones foot is probably going to weaker than it should be just because we have all worn supportive shoes our whole lives.

with that being said, i did build up my miles in my new shoes. i didnt go straight out and run a 20 in them, i did a lot of 3's, then 5's and so on.

also, when i ran in my socks on the treadmill last night for a half my mile my calves were very sore this morning which made me realize these frees must have slight support in them
would i ever be a barefoot runner?? no probably not,
would i ever go back to a supportive, cusioned shoe??... no never.

do i think there is a connection to running more natural and not having arches and support pushing your foot unnaturally and injuring you...
yes, i think that for sure and i think it helps that these shoes actaully make your foot stronger.

To each there own.......

I will say that since changing to minimal shoe I have had absolutely zero shin pain. Not once. I seem to recover quicker. My joints ache less. I've tried to run in my other shoes and of course I can but everything feels better in my Nike Frees. It's like night and day for me. I bought the Nike Free before buying the Born to Run book. I actually bought the Born to Run book because I was intrigued after my first few runs in the Nike Free. I am not saying this approach is for everyone but I can't deny how they have rid my shin pains. I always had shin pains the 1st 3 miles into a run. Almost every run. Running feels better in these shoes and I can feel the ground which is kind of a neat thing when running. Just feels totally different. I guess it's hard to explain unless you've tried them out.

P.S Iam wearing my Nike Free now laying on the couch just because they feel so dang good on my feet

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Was your shin pain caused by pronation? In my visits to the running shops for shoes I've been told that I pronate fairly heavily with my right foot which leads to my shin pain. Without the stability shoes, I would imagine the pain would increase without the support.

I am not sure what it was caused by. I do know the running store suggested the stability shoes so I believe I pronated a bit but I honestly can't remember what they said. But I do know now no shin pains in the Nike frees. It's really weird because I liked the stability shoes but now since running in the frees I can't stand them. It's strange because the shoes almost have nothing to them and not much support but when I am running I never feel like I am lacking support. Feels very natural. I went for a run not that far back in my stability shoes and made it one mile and went back for my Nike Frees. Instantly gone. So I am a firm believer. If you get shin pains alot I would just try them out. You can't go wrong with the shoe either way they are by far the most comfortable shoe I have ever worn.

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I went to stability shoes and custom orthotics (because of my "pronation") and read lots of things about how to run after an injury. Running was aweful and painful and not the joy I remembered from pre-injury when I ran in Nike's very first pair of frees - about 5 years ago. I discovered Chi-Running online went to a couple seminars. I am still working on form, but I am back in a pair of Nike Free Runs, and am enjoying running again. I am not totally pain free, but I have non running injuries that always cause pain, running or not.

I think for some it works but not most or certainly not all!

It totally depends on how you run. I see people all the time who run in a series of hops.Their heals NEVER touch the ground. They also kick back and it looks like they are pogoing up and down. yes I have seen runners in those rubber sock type "shoes" running like this, How is this helping?.

I think it's funny that people say "well the Kenyans run in Minimalist shoes", Well they also run Marathons in sub 4:50 miles too! what does that have to do with us?

I did run daily in bear feet up to 4 miles/day on the beach decades ago. I was 20-30 pounds lighter then. I also was faster and never ran long. Generally it worked I did get shin splints from it one summer.

I am by no means an expert, but from what I've read and in discussions with my brother-in-law (a physical therapist and marathon runner), the issue seems to boil down to form. If someone is a heel striker, the thicker running shoes will disguise this by cushioning the heal. The problem is that this can lead to a variety of aches, pains, and injuries elsewhere. The minimalist shoe or running barefoot, on the other hand, doesn't really allow one to heel strike because it hurts (try running heel first without shoes sometime...it hurts). So for someone who would otherwise be a heel striker, transitioning to minimalist shoes will likely force them to correct their form, even if they don't realize they're changing how they run. On the other hand, someone who naturally strikes mid or fore foot might not notice as much of a difference. I would also offer that there are so many variables involved in this that what works / doesn't work for one person might not necessarily have the same result for another. Everyone really needs to decide what works best for them and not put too much stock into what the rest of the crowd is doing.