Jack,
Thanks for your reply. Running and how the foot works is a pretty complex subject and so it’s difficult to claim that any one approach really works the best. Reality is, different things work better for different folks.
As you point out, my views are pretty mainstream. I’d agree. However, they certainly don’t cover everyone and if minimalist shoes work for you, go for it. I definitely recognize that the minimal approach works for some people; you are not alone. There are a good # of folks on the RW forums that have similar experiences, i.e. that traditional shoes didn’t work for them and the minimalist approach helped strengthen their feet and legs and make them a better runner.
However, the vast majority of runners don’t benefit from that approach and need a shoe that both offers cushioning and helps manage their footstrike. Moving to a more stable shoe has helped my footstrike and alleviated injuries. BTW, I’m about the same size and age as you and was also a 100-110 lb XC HS runner.
Also, I find that almost everyone I’ve either met or who posts on RW that they’ve been successful with the minimalist approach are both experienced runners and on the slim side. I think that’s an important consideration: When you run and have run a lot, your body has done some natural adopting and is better at handling the shocks, so having less cushioning on your feet may be OK. When you weigh less, you’re exerting less force (and thus the ground is exerting less force on you) so you don’t need quite as much shock absorption. This probably holds for you - I don’t know your height, but at 160 you’re probably pretty slim and since you’ve been running for 16 years, I’d guess it’s fair to say that your body has adapted to it.
But 180cranks isn’t, and so I think it would almost certainly be a very bad recommendation to put him in a pair of Nike Free’s as his everyday trainer. Note: I think while there are some similarities, there is also a fairly big difference between the Free and minimalist shoes like a racing flat. I agree that there are people (and I know several) who are perfectly fine training in racing flats but who wouldn’t in the Free. It really has a much different purpose. And perhaps “ridiculuous” was too harsh a word, but I just thought that was in all likelihood a bad suggestion.
As to your last point, I do agree that a lower profile shoe is more stable. That is true - when your heel is lower to the ground, that is a naturally more stable position. I’m not sure I’d agree that the knee takes less of a beating. Of course, that’s pretty complicated - the knee absorts shocks that come up from your shoes/feet/lower leg. Certainly some of that is whatever you shoes/feet don’t absorb, though the knee also takes a pounding from incorrect mechanics which is what primarily causes ITBS and runners knee.
I might venture that you and others may also do better in a minimalist shoe because it works best with your biomechanics where “overengineered” shoes mess that up, and wrong mechanics probably cause more knee problems than not enough cushion in your shoes. BTW: what sort of surfaces do you normally run on? If you’re running on dirt or grass mostly, you can definitely get away with “less” of a shoe than on concrete or asphalt.
I’ll conclude by saying that there is a healthy minority of runners who can get away with a more minimal shoe and mabye some who can run all day long in the Free. But I think that is just that, a minority, that mostly includes relatively lightweight, experienced runners with fairly good mechanics to begin with. I don’t know either if you can go more than 3-5 miles in the Free for most people; but I figure a Nike rep would know better than either of us. Likewise, the majority of running literature steers most runners away from minimal shoes unless you’re pretty light and have good mechanics. Go to runnersworld.com, the shoe section, and you’ll see an article on “whether racing shoes are for you”. You can disagree with the conclusion but it’s a pretty reputable source.
Anyway, I’m done discussing this. Hope it was helpful to anyone else reading it.
