ShreddySmurf wrote
The whole "barefoot running" thing was largely sparked off by Christopher McDougall's book, Born to Run, and pretty much everything else I've read on the subject talks about the same kinds of benefits.
It's a compelling argument, and I myself run around and weight train in Vibrams, but there are a few things that I think people need to consider (not saying you haven't, just for anyone else who is interested). The first thing is that minimalist shoes are expensive: McDougall talks about how we've been conned into buying expensive running shoes that make us prone to injury, yet Vibrams are expensive running shoes, after all. The only difference is that they're meant to not alter the natural mechanics of your feet.
I run in minimalist shoes on relatively soft surfaces like grass and dirt, with the occassional shift onto asphalt or pavement where I don't have an option. I'm not convinced that running long distances on asphalt or concrete is a great idea, particularly barefoot or in minimalist shoes. Do a quick search for "Vibrams stress fractures" and it appears that a common injury among people who've shifted to barefoot road-running is stress fractures in the feet. In many cases the injuries only occur after six months or so of training, so it's not as if it's only people who don't heed the warnings about easing into it. Training barefoot is one thing, but to run a full marathon or an ultra, on tarmac, without shoes...I'm not sure the evidence supports that idea, at least not yet.
For my part, I really enjoy the feel of running in minimalist shoes and I keep my mileage pretty low per session (5-10km), and I stay off the hard surfaces as much as possible. Doing weight training and circuits is also great in these kinds of shoes, particularly for exercises like squats, lunges: anything that works on your stability from your feet upwards. Plus, it's amusing to be laughed at for wearing "toe-shoes" by people clad in Spandex. ? Looking faintly ridiculous is part of the deal, but it's kind of liberating once you're used to it.
