“In fact, my definition of a good running or walking shoe goes something like this: It’s the least amount of shoe you can safely walk or run in, given your current biomechanics, and your longest current distance.” -Danny Dreyer

I just took off my zero drop, minimal Skechers Bionics, sat up in my chair and read ChiRunning’s founder – Danny Dreyer’s latest post “This year, be a minimalist walker or runner… Regardless of the shoes you wear.”

I have mixed feelings on the minimal shoe movement. I love the concept. I teach ChiRunning®. Minimal shoes can help you feel your form. Sometimes I run in minimal shoes. In fact, I had one of my fastest 10k of my life last year in minimal shoes but I like some padding too.

First in Age Group – Wrigley River Run 10k – Skechers Bionics

I love minimal shoes for walking. My trial running Altra Lone Peak 1.5 fall just outside of minimal shoes. They are pretty thin and I love them but not for a race like the Xterra Boney Mountain 21k, with steep downhills with sharp rocks. In that case personally a thicker sole.

Altra Lone Peak 1.5

Danny brings up some great points and things to think about in the article below. Check it out and feel free to leave your comments on minimal shoes.

“This year, be a minimalist walker or runner… Regardless of the shoes you wear.” by Danny Dreyer

We’ve all been hearing about minimalist shoes; they’re thin and flat, and bear little resemblance to the over-built shoes that have plagued walkers and runners for the past 40 years. We’ve been seeing these new minimalist shoes entering the market in increasing numbers because research is starting to show that “more of a shoe” doesn’t necessarily make a better shoe. In the case of shoes, less might be better. In fact, my definition of a good running or walking shoe goes something like this: It’s the least amount of shoe you can safely walk or run in, given your current biomechanics, and your longest current distance.

At this point the minimalist shoe pendulum seems to be swinging back towards the middle because of all injuries people have incurred. People are getting injured for two reasons: 1. Using minimalist shoes without practicing good technique and 2. not allowing enough time to transition into their new “nothing” shoes. That puts us all right back into the middle of even more marketing from the shoe companies selling us an even larger spectrum of shoe styles.

But, what gets lost on most people is that it is not about the shoe! It’s about how you run and how you walk.

I’d like you to take a minute, from a minimalist point of view, and look to see if your technique is as “over-built” as most shoes are.

Being a minimalist runner or walker means you always have the intention of trying to sense what you could do to make yourself more efficient, with these questions in mind:

A. How do you run or walk more efficiently without losing any of your current speed?
B. How can you gain speed without working as hard as you do now?
C. How could you accomplish more (speed, mileage, weight loss, relaxation, enjoyment, medals, PR’s) by doing less?

– Read the rest of the article:

http://www.chirunning.com/blog/entry/this-year-be-a-minimalist-walker-or-runner?inf_contact_key=4e56a8cacef897e1213f48c45993ec5827780bf797b8e8cd89ab5f3056da26ac#sthash.QNTyXRS3.dpuf

Train Focused, Steve Mackel – Master ChiRunning Instructor