[PowerElectronix]

Disclaimer:I run in minimalistic shoes, so of course I'm a hater of this stuff.

I find the current trend of springloaded shoes that incentivice people to have a terrible running gait absolutely disgusting.

If it weren't for commercial interests I bet these shoes would have been banned long ago. They are bad for the runners and they are bad for the sport.

[penetrarthur]

yeah, it is great that you've read a book or two, but why is it that every single elite athlete runs and trains in modern "springloaded" shoes?

[PowerElectronix]

Not doing so puts them at a decisive disadvantage. Like not wearing the now banned tech swimsuits was a few years back in competitive swimming.

[iamacyborg]

They’re very good for the sport though? Modern shoes allow runners to train more, which is one of the primary reasons we’ve seen world records get absolutely slammed since they were introduced. Just look at how may people can consistently run 100+ mile weeks with modern shoes vs before.

[vintermann]

Is that good in itself though? Imagine if it was allowed to compete with full blown jumping stilts.

[iamacyborg]

If you care about the sport and want to see people running even faster, yes.

Anecdotally we see more injuries in the form of bone stress than we used to, because modern shoes allow for greater training loads that aren’t quite as hard bounded by muscle tolerance as flats but without seeing any data I suspect the balance of injury has shifted rather than the general incidence of injuries.

[mikestew]

I find the current trend of springloaded shoes that incentivice people to have a terrible running gait absolutely disgusting.

Yeah, that is truly just, like, your opinion, man. “Terrible running gait”? I’m not even going to ask for any evidence because there isn’t any. What there is evidence for is faster times, faster recovery from races and hard workouts. There is further evidence that the shoes don’t work for everyone, some are “super responders” for whom the shoes work really well, others find benefit, and for others the shoes are a waste of money.

What’s disgusting is r/barefootrunning turning shoes (or lack thereof) into a religion when, like many religions, the evidence is minimal.

Signed, a guy with a lot of thin-soled shoes on the shelf, and two pair of Vaporflys.

[PowerElectronix]

The thick soles and their geometry are designed with heel stricking in mind, as it allows for a longer stride while not injuring your heel and not losing energy (that otherwise would be dissipated in the heel impact).

It is an unnatural, unhealthy way of running and it rewards the runner with the better gear instead of the one with bettertechnique and conditioning.