There has been a lot written on this subject and without going into too many details the best advice is to race in something similar to what you train in. The relationship between injury and cushioning has more to do with form and habituation than anything actually provided by the shoe. If you do all your training in shoes with a large heal-toe offsett you are likely to develop issue when racing in training flat completely unrelated to damping effects. If however you train in shoes with more padding but a neutral heal-toe offset the flats won't be a big deal.
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That said as you move to longer distances in both racing (26.2+) and training I'm not sure I would recommend racing flats. I don't have any real data to support the idea that over longer distance extra padding helps prevent injuries, but I know a lot of runners and that seems to be the overall felling among most of them. Might just be superstition that you don't race in flats for a marathon but I am not sure I would recommend it.

Personally i only ever run in my racing flats. I get issues when i train in shoes with large heel-toe drop, not sure why.

I think its a case of conditioning your feet and muscles to cope with the low damping. I agree with the previous poster, and would say race in what you train in.

Start training in a flat and see how you get on. Or pick a race that you're not 'bothered' about performing well at and see what happens.

Out of curiosity what flats have you been looking at?

1) Those guys have shoe sponsors, so their choices are limited.
2) How fast they can put the show on matters a lot. Some race flats are a little harder to put on.
3) I suspect they are still on the lighter end or the spectrum, but might not be ultra light race flats. In the end, you have to like the feel of the shoe.

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TrainingBible Coaching
http://www.trainingbible.com

Most of these guys shoes look pretty minimal to me. But maybe only 4-5 oz flats, not 3.1 oz flats. If nothing else, with all the turns and leg fatigue, you need a little more stability that a ultra minimal shoe can provide. These guys are so effective with the mechanics, I don;t see how cushioning on a 29-34 minute run is of any concern. If anyhing, they'd be concerned that too soft, without good rebound characteristics will steel some stored energy and be slower.

http://triathlon.competitor.com/...le-in-chicago_122493

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TrainingBible Coaching
http://www.trainingbible.com

Thanks for the quick answers :)


I am looking for Mizuno wave universe 5. And a bit heavier; the 5000v2 by new balance

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There is an elusive quality about some shoes that I would describe as rebound. The lightest shoe is not always the fastest, for me. I think you can adapt your running style to minimal cushion, I'm not sure that you want to though.

My 40 years of running experience tells me that the lightest racing flats are intended for those who are light, efficient and young. Keep in mind that even efficient runners are going to be less so after a bike ride. The shoes used by elite athletes are not for everyone.

I think your question has more to do with offset than cushioning. Many lightweight racing flats have fairly low offset, and if you're accustomed to training in shoes with a big offset (say 8-10mm or more) and abruptly switch to a lightweight flat with only 4mm offset for a race, you're likely to strain your calf muscles. You can definitely build the strength in your calves and lower legs to avoid these injuries, but you need to do it slowly and carefully. I think that's what others are getting at when they say to train in shoes similar to those you race in.

As you get into longer distances the cushioning becomes more important. I generally try to stay in the same range of offset (between 0-6mm) with all my shoes, but use shoes with more cushioning as distance increases. For example I race 5k up to half marathon in Saucony Type A6 flats - 5.3 oz, 4mm offset, and very little cushioning. Anything longer than a half marathon I'm currently using New Balance Vazee Pace - 7.5 oz, 6mm offset but much more cushioning. My shoe strategy doesn't change whether it's an open running race or part of a triathlon, although I only race short course tri's so that might change if I were doing 140.6.