[clarry]

I did a bit of spelunking around about this issue recently and found theories but no evidence to support having more or less padding. The only conclusive result I remember from a study was that barefoot runners experienced more injuries..

[tim333]

Yeah I googled around a bit and found not much evidence. I currently theorise a bit that you can run a little without padding to learn that running style but then go back to normal shoes and try to keep it up. Not quite sure myself.