so much for those toe shoes adverts

[Ahnehnois]

In my experience it can, but only if you have good form (good minimalist form).

It's unclear though, how the learning process for that works, particularly for people who have been running a different way for a long time. It's also unclear how this interacts with overweight people and people with various other health conditions that may cause problems while running. So while I think that perhaps trying to learn (or relearn) how to avoid the heavy heel strike that typifies the modern American runner may be a good goal, it's not certain how achievable that goal is.

I did start wearing shoes with some cushioning for my obstacle runs since they tend to be harder on me than normal runs, plus minimalist shoes don't have much tread, but even then I go for the zero degree heel-to-toe drop so I can keep my form. Honestly I don't see why more shoes don't offer something like that. I don't mind having cushioning at some times but I do want to be able to keep the proper form.

The market for minimalist shoes has blown up. There are certainly many options that provide the benefit of cushioning (which the Vibrams have virtually none of) while removing the offset of a mainstream running shoe and promoting a forefoot strike.

Of course, with those, you lose the freedom to move your toes and grip, and you lose some feel of the ground, so they're inferior in some ways, but they also provide some significant benefits.

 

[aiza55]

I dont like them.
I think the inability to wiggle my toes around would be really annoying.​