The pendulum of minimalism

Today's run (street): 3.3 miles

I was reading an article that said the demand for minimal-style running shoes, once a growth segment, is beginning to decline. The book, Born to Run, made many people curious about barefoot-style running, and it forced us to reconsider the merits of the shoes we've always bought.

A few years ago, I saw a video of myself on the treadmill at Jackrabbit Sports. That clearly confirmed that I'm an over-pronater. The salesperson recommended that I buy a beefy, medially-posted "stability" shoe to correct that tendency. After all, they said, my stride made me susceptible to knee and IT band injuries. I wished at the time that I could wear a lighter shoe, but I feared the consequences.

Hattori

I thought about all this on my run this morning. The idea that shoes with lots of cushioning would prevent certain types of injuries has been increasingly debated and challenged by many. That includes me. I wore out a a pair of Saucony Hattoris after 400 miles and I now run primarily in the Brooks Pure Drifts, Brooks' most minimal shoe. The Hattori and Drift are both simple designs. Each shoe weighs less than 6 ounces and neither has any stability features. After more than 700 miles running in that type of shoe, I haven't encountered a single problem.

Pure Drift

The dash toward barefoot running probably got too many people into minimal shoes too soon. Many are now going back to more cushy footwear. But the game has changed, and now even stability shoes have lighter construction. I know that many people feel that the shoe makes the runner. After 3+ years of (mostly) injury-free running, in barely-there neutral trainers, I respectfully disagree.

Kinvaras as a daily trainer?

These cool Kinvaras are becoming my everyday shoe

The transition to fall weather makes me happy. Although it will take some time to adjust my running gear so that I don't go out under-dressed like yesterday, I still welcome the change. This morning the temperature where I live is 51 degrees, perfect for a run but quite chilly when standing on the train platform. I always wish for this weather when enduring the heat of summer or the frigid cold in January. I'll enjoy it as long as I can.

I wore my Saucony Kinvaras during yesterday's run and I've started to really appreciate them. Lightweight but not insubstantial, they are minimally constructed but still reasonably supportive. The Kinvara is a neutral shoe and I thought I'd have trouble with it because I pronate when I run. I've had some 8+ mile runs with them without experiencing any problems with my knees or legs and that brings me to question the idea of stability shoe engineering. I suspect that because the drop off between heel and forefoot of the Kinvara is only 4mm, compared to 12mm, (common for standard trainers) the shoe facilitates a more natural mid-foot landing. This would logically neutralize the effects of pronation. I continue to rotate through my other pairs and still consider my Brooks GTS 10's my everyday shoe, but the Kinvaras are forcing me to rethink that these days. If I do move primarily to the Kinvaras I'll need to consider their durability and the thermal properties of the barely-there uppers compared with the Brooks' more substantial build. After all, it's getting colder out there these days.