Minimalist Running

Those that know me know that I've been an advocate for minimalist shoes for about 6 years. I made my transition from running in Pronation Controlled Elevated Cushioned (PECH) shoes while training for the Ottawa Marathon in 2011. I made my gradual transition during my training by running my shorter training distances in my Vibram Five Fingers and my longer distances in my New Balance (NB) 768's. But as weeks went on I started to develop anterior knee pain while running in my NB. At one point, when I was scheduled for a 15 mile run I started to get knee pain in the first 500 metres in my NB so I turned around, went home and put on my five fingers. I was a little nervous to be heading out for that distance but my knee pain went away immediately and I had no other issues. That was the turning point for me and I never wore a PECH shoe again. I ran the Ottawa marathon in my Vibram Five Fingers without any issues. I ran my fastest marathon (Toronto 3:12:27) in my Vibrams. Currently with my focus on trail running I'm wearing the New Balance Minimus and rotating them with my Five Fingers. I just came across this blog article on the Running Clinics web site that's worth taking a look. If you're interested in some of the more recent research on minimalist shoes her is the article: Minimalist Shoes: Do They Really Get Your Leg and Foot Muscles Bigger?