While everyone is arguing about barefoot versus max cushioning. I feel like the only genius on planet earth, who went out and got both and use both depending on my environment and use case. I use my max cushion shoes for long miles on hard surfaces to protect my joints and then I have my barefoot shoes for daily use and training in the gym and sprinting. Shoes are tools to protect our bodies. Use different tools for different environments in different used cases there’s never one tool that is best for everything there’s always the best to know for the job have a variety of shoes your feet will thank you. Giving your feet, a variety of shoes will only make them stronger in the long run because you won’t develop any particular weaknesses from anyone and type of shoe.
Started with Saucony Freedom, tried Altras but found I still had problems with the mushy cushion, now I run in Vivobarefoot or Luna sandals. I used to be injured all the time and now I run 5 miles a day with no pain. I run on city streets and occasionally on hilly trails.
I can actually confirm Coach Parry's concern about the stack height on the Hoka's. I got myself a pair because one would always hear about their supreme comfort levels. Granted, I got myself a pair of trail shoes from Hoka's and I imagine the road shoes are better in regards to stability. Having said that, for trail - I would highly recommend staying away as they are extremely unstable. Never twisted my ankles (luckily never badly) and wobbled so much in a pair of shoes before in my life! The stack height is just too extreme to be able to take on uneven trail and you end up flopping to the side when theres any gradient. Would still be willing to give the Hoka's a try on road one day I suppose, but for now - I'll stick to my Asics Kayano's for road and Salomon Ultra Pro's for trail.
Some years ago, I did change my running style, favoring mid foot strike and began running in Altras. Today, running in the Altra Rivera and absolutely love. Zero drop with just enough cushion, yet light.
I just tried Altras and started slowly with more walking than running. I feel like my running has become more enjoyable. My feet are more comfortable too. I am an older female who runs casually and mainly for exercise.
I wear Lems zero drop for work and on the weekends. But I prefer cushioned 4-5 mm drop running shoes. I’m 55 now and my feet seem to feel best with more cushion. 10 years ago I preferred less cushioned running shoes
The change for me going to a zero drop has affected my running considerably. I’m a sprinter. I am use to being on the balls of my feet for 400 meter distances. Now that I’m training for longer distances like the 5Ks I’m finding my mid-strike foot. I’m having to learn to run differently. Yes, my ankles suffer the most. I’m also hoping to develop sprint endurance with my 80% - 20% 5k training with the zero drop shoes. We shall see.
My thoughts. Five fingers took all my shins and knee pain away. I transitioned to them in about 6 months, years ago. 5 fingers roads up to 12 miles, Salomon trail shoes for trails. now 2022 trying to get a BQ, trying to figure the shoes. I think these carbon would be too much. Been thinking a stack height of 20-24 might work best, but it will be a test. All the marathon race shoes are pushing mid 30's plus a insole. My 1marathon was in Kinvara 6, then switched to trails. Since I run roads in a barefoot shoe to I need to transition over time to a thicker shoe. I could run the whole marathon in barefoot shoes but not BQ time.
Good comment and it chimes with my experience. I took about a year to transition into vibram five fingers after years of knee and hip pain and injury. Basically had to relearn how to run. Now 4 years into vibrams with lots personal bests in all distances up to marathon road and light trail, no pain no injury. Minimalist shoes are great value for money as you don’t need to discard them because the cushioning has broken down, all the shock absorption is naturally provided by the now strengthened human biomechanics as evolved over millennium. Also now seeing more improvements from concentrating on low HR training - with lots of good tips from these RUclips videos.
I used to run in Asics, but have changed to Altra arround 4 years ago, when I did my first ultra (50k) My favorite by far is Superior which is their "minimalist" shoe. They're recommended up to around 50k distances, but I've done up to 50 miles in them and felt great. Ofc it took some getting used to in the beginning and it was important to make a gradual change. I could never go back to narrow running shoes again and I love the zero drop. I do have other models with more cushioning for roadrunning or for really long runs (100+ miles) I also found out that running in sandals feels really great, but haven't done more than around 40k in those. The dream is to be able to do 100 miles in sandals. 🙂
i run in xero shoes. i really love them. but i do have soleus and achilles soreness. i have not tried altras yet, but am currently looking at the superiors or escalante racers:)
update on my preference. i found altras to be too wide in the toe box, so i went with Topos, which i love. 3mm heel/toe drop. wider toe box (but not as wide as altras). they have really held up well. for reference, i mostly do trail runs:)
Carbon fiber doesnt have any enegy return, its basically just there to sustain all that foam together without you falling over, you should know that, and that springy feeling is just that with all that foam youre basically going taller and making your stride artificially longer, also, factis that much more people got off injuries than into them when transitioning to barefoot shoes, some of the called minimalist shoes are in fact not so at all, and some of the studies took data from people using those 4mm drop shoes with30 stack height which are not barefoot shoes at all, check some proper studies, of course shoe companies want us to buy the most maximalist stuff they can sell at 350€ prices, fact is i run in xero shoes and im one of the fastest in my athletism team, going toe to toe with people in nike vaporflys who have the same threshold than me, to think that shoes make you all that faster is just an illusion, and it is true in fact that you make your legs much stronger and less injury prone going in real barefoot shoes
I switched to zero drop shoes 6 years ago because I used to have persistent knee pain with high heel shoes. I haven't had knee problem since.
While everyone is arguing about barefoot versus max cushioning. I feel like the only genius on planet earth, who went out and got both and use both depending on my environment and use case. I use my max cushion shoes for long miles on hard surfaces to protect my joints and then I have my barefoot shoes for daily use and training in the gym and sprinting. Shoes are tools to protect our bodies. Use different tools for different environments in different used cases there’s never one tool that is best for everything there’s always the best to know for the job have a variety of shoes your feet will thank you. Giving your feet, a variety of shoes will only make them stronger in the long run because you won’t develop any particular weaknesses from anyone and type of shoe.
Started with Saucony Freedom, tried Altras but found I still had problems with the mushy cushion, now I run in Vivobarefoot or Luna sandals. I used to be injured all the time and now I run 5 miles a day with no pain. I run on city streets and occasionally on hilly trails.
I can actually confirm Coach Parry's concern about the stack height on the Hoka's. I got myself a pair because one would always hear about their supreme comfort levels. Granted, I got myself a pair of trail shoes from Hoka's and I imagine the road shoes are better in regards to stability. Having said that, for trail - I would highly recommend staying away as they are extremely unstable. Never twisted my ankles (luckily never badly) and wobbled so much in a pair of shoes before in my life! The stack height is just too extreme to be able to take on uneven trail and you end up flopping to the side when theres any gradient.
Would still be willing to give the Hoka's a try on road one day I suppose, but for now - I'll stick to my Asics Kayano's for road and Salomon Ultra Pro's for trail.
Some years ago, I did change my running style, favoring mid foot strike and began running in Altras. Today, running in the Altra Rivera and absolutely love. Zero drop with just enough cushion, yet light.
I just tried Altras and started slowly with more walking than running. I feel like my running has become more enjoyable. My feet are more comfortable too. I am an older female who runs casually and mainly for exercise.
I wear Lems zero drop for work and on the weekends. But I prefer cushioned 4-5 mm drop running shoes. I’m 55 now and my feet seem to feel best with more cushion. 10 years ago I preferred less cushioned running shoes
The change for me going to a zero drop has affected my running considerably. I’m a sprinter. I am use to being on the balls of my feet for 400 meter distances. Now that I’m training for longer distances like the 5Ks I’m finding my mid-strike foot. I’m having to learn to run differently. Yes, my ankles suffer the most. I’m also hoping to develop sprint endurance with my 80% - 20% 5k training with the zero drop shoes. We shall see.
My thoughts. Five fingers took all my shins and knee pain away. I transitioned to them in about 6 months, years ago. 5 fingers roads up to 12 miles, Salomon trail shoes for trails. now 2022 trying to get a BQ, trying to figure the shoes. I think these carbon would be too much. Been thinking a stack height of 20-24 might work best, but it will be a test. All the marathon race shoes are pushing mid 30's plus a insole. My 1marathon was in Kinvara 6, then switched to trails. Since I run roads in a barefoot shoe to I need to transition over time to a thicker shoe. I could run the whole marathon in barefoot shoes but not BQ time.
Good comment and it chimes with my experience. I took about a year to transition into vibram five fingers after years of knee and hip pain and injury. Basically had to relearn how to run. Now 4 years into vibrams with lots personal bests in all distances up to marathon road and light trail, no pain no injury. Minimalist shoes are great value for money as you don’t need to discard them because the cushioning has broken down, all the shock absorption is naturally provided by the now strengthened human biomechanics as evolved over millennium. Also now seeing more improvements from concentrating on low HR training - with lots of good tips from these RUclips videos.
I run in Altras. I like the wider toe box and zero drop.
I used to run in Asics, but have changed to Altra arround 4 years ago, when I did my first ultra (50k)
My favorite by far is Superior which is their "minimalist" shoe. They're recommended up to around 50k distances, but I've done up to 50 miles in them and felt great. Ofc it took some getting used to in the beginning and it was important to make a gradual change. I could never go back to narrow running shoes again and I love the zero drop. I do have other models with more cushioning for roadrunning or for really long runs (100+ miles)
I also found out that running in sandals feels really great, but haven't done more than around 40k in those. The dream is to be able to do 100 miles in sandals. 🙂
i run in xero shoes. i really love them. but i do have soleus and achilles soreness. i have not tried altras yet, but am currently looking at the superiors or escalante racers:)
update on my preference. i found altras to be too wide in the toe box, so i went with Topos, which i love. 3mm heel/toe drop. wider toe box (but not as wide as altras). they have really held up well. for reference, i mostly do trail runs:)
I use 3 different types training
Carbon fiber doesnt have any enegy return, its basically just there to sustain all that foam together without you falling over, you should know that, and that springy feeling is just that with all that foam youre basically going taller and making your stride artificially longer, also, factis that much more people got off injuries than into them when transitioning to barefoot shoes, some of the called minimalist shoes are in fact not so at all, and some of the studies took data from people using those 4mm drop shoes with30 stack height which are not barefoot shoes at all, check some proper studies, of course shoe companies want us to buy the most maximalist stuff they can sell at 350€ prices, fact is i run in xero shoes and im one of the fastest in my athletism team, going toe to toe with people in nike vaporflys who have the same threshold than me, to think that shoes make you all that faster is just an illusion, and it is true in fact that you make your legs much stronger and less injury prone going in real barefoot shoes
Lol keep telling yourself that and you’re always going to lose to somebody with carbon shoes unless there’s nobody good in the race😂