[voicedYoda]

I run relatively regularly these days. My journey of running started with a marathon. I went from nothing to marathon in 6 months, with lots of training, weight loss (healthily because I still love to eat), and stamina increases. But after the marathon, it took over a week to walk normally again. Long runs sucked, and I really began to hate running. Running shoes were killing me, and I hated the idea that the shoe was there to help cushion the foot fall.

Then a friend encouraged me to try vibrams. And suddenly I fell in love with running again. I have huge calves, and these helped tone them a lot more, but now my strike is mid-front, and it’s comfortable to go 4-6 miles (though I struggle keeping pace with my dog).

We have a wonderful suspension system built into our bodies, but it only works correctly when applied correctly. We do not strike the ground the same when running as when walking. And Vibrams taught me quickly to strike differently (especially if I wanted to avoid really sore heels). The springiness of running on our feet transfers to our ankels to our knees to our hips to our back. I’m not an expert, and I know others can run with a rear strike, but for my body shape and what I’ve learned to run with, the front strike was important and I have Vibram FF to thank for it!

[mlevental]

i love low drop shoes for normal day to day wear - i hate feeling padding under my feet (original chucks) but i wore vibrams for 6 months and got to about 6 miles on em before i gave up out of pain on my tarsals and metatarsals. if you're running on cement (which most of us are) you just can't do it in vibrams. i still toe strike but in regular trainers.

[noobiemcfoob]

I run regularly on cement with my vibrams. You have to build up to it, and you can get minute stress fractures in your foot while getting to that level. Traditional shoes protect your feet from so much of the stress that most people aren't physically prepared to just switch to a minimalist shoe.