Since about October I have been running in either Saucony Kinvara or Adidas Chill (Nike Free competitor). I feel I have more support in the Kinvara's than the Chill but I have had no problems running in both. But, I have also changed my running mechanics from a heel striker to more of a midfoot striker. The transition was not easy to say the least. Now, I can run without any knee or shin issues. Even in my Adidas Sequence, I was getting very sore in the shins during long runs.
BTW, there is no way I can run barefoot. There are too many obstacles such as rocks, pebbles, etc along all my routes. It is just too painful to do so. So, I decided to stay with the minimal shoes. A big difference between traditional running and the minimalist shoe is the heel-to-toe ratio. Most shoes have a 2 to 1 or 1.5 to 1 ratio which actually puts your foot on an angle when you are running. The Kinvara has a 7mm difference between heel to toe and the chill is close to 0 even though I have not officially measured it. The goal is to be at a zero heel to toe ratio on your shoes to be in a true minimalist shoe. The heel to toe ratio is amount of cushion in the heel versus the toe of the shoe.
The moral of the story here is that you need to do what is best for you. If you want to transition to minimalist/barefoot, you need to realize you can not do it cold turkey and you could injure yourself if you are not careful. It takes a long time to fully transition out and I recommend that you do it slowly. I decided to try the minimalist approach since it is all the rage and I would not try it at home unless you are patient. I am still in transition mode and probably will be for a while.
Someone mentioned to me the other day that you can start out in a mid foot strike but change to heel strike as you get tired. I am trying to research that statement to see if it is true or not. I will report back when I find the answer. I do not find myself changing to a rear foot strike when I get tired but I could be wrong.
BTW, there is no way I can run barefoot. There are too many obstacles such as rocks, pebbles, etc along all my routes. It is just too painful to do so. So, I decided to stay with the minimal shoes. A big difference between traditional running and the minimalist shoe is the heel-to-toe ratio. Most shoes have a 2 to 1 or 1.5 to 1 ratio which actually puts your foot on an angle when you are running. The Kinvara has a 7mm difference between heel to toe and the chill is close to 0 even though I have not officially measured it. The goal is to be at a zero heel to toe ratio on your shoes to be in a true minimalist shoe. The heel to toe ratio is amount of cushion in the heel versus the toe of the shoe.
The moral of the story here is that you need to do what is best for you. If you want to transition to minimalist/barefoot, you need to realize you can not do it cold turkey and you could injure yourself if you are not careful. It takes a long time to fully transition out and I recommend that you do it slowly. I decided to try the minimalist approach since it is all the rage and I would not try it at home unless you are patient. I am still in transition mode and probably will be for a while.
Someone mentioned to me the other day that you can start out in a mid foot strike but change to heel strike as you get tired. I am trying to research that statement to see if it is true or not. I will report back when I find the answer. I do not find myself changing to a rear foot strike when I get tired but I could be wrong.
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