Anyone have positive/negative experiences to share re minimalist running shoes? While rehabbing a partial tendon tear, my PT (and running coach) recommended a lower stack shoe than my current rotation (Endorphin).

In researching lower stack, I've come across a number of minimalist shoes and are curious what your experiences have been. (I'm primarily a 10K to Half runner).

I don't run in minimalist shoes, but I can't run in the max cushion shoes that seem really popular. I don't think you necessarily have to go from one extreme to the other.

Check out something like Kinvaras (sticking with the Saucony family). They are not minimal shoes but they have a lower stack and drop them the Endorphins.

The running world has largely moved away from minimalist shoes, except for a few niche brands.

I generally tell people something along these lines:
Look more for a lower drop shoe during the rest of your day. That's something you'd wear for 8-12 hours a day versus maybe 1 hour when running. Going from a high stack high drop to a low stack and 0 or low drop outs a lot of stress on the Achilles and possibly foot (depending). Any change in running shoe heel drop should be slight (10mm-> 8mm) to avoid drastic changes to the tendon loading. I would transition to a minimalist shoe during the day first and then very gradually work on lowering the heel drop of your running shoe.

I'd also be curious as to why you are changing.

I rotate each training run (marathon) between brooks ghost (14mm drop), Altra torin (0 drop), and saucony peregrin (4mm drop) trail. Seems to work well to train all muscles, tendons, and joints but I didn't have an injury so ymmv.

To your specific question, I really like the 0 drop torin for the forefoot room as I'm a forefoot striker.

I wore the Vibram Komodos for years for lifting and running until they stopped making them.

Haven't found another pair that I liked for anything other than water sports.

Thanks for the responses everyone, much appreciated!

Zachsccr, my PT (who is also coaching me for an upcoming 50K in Colorado) encouraged me to look at lower stack shoes as a way to put less stress on my injured quad tendon.

So I added a pair of New Balance Rebel V3's to my closet (road shoes are Endorphin Speed 3 and Pro 2, while trail shoes are Hoka Speedgoat 5 and Challenger 7).

He didn't mention minimal shoes, but I just started reading about them after researching low stack and was curious.

I'll probably just stay in the Rebels and may grab a pair of cheap Saucony Peregrine 12's off Amazon to stay low drop and low stack (rather than going full barefoot).

started running/training in minimal shoes 10 years ago after reading "Born to Run". Wore the first few versions of New Balance Minimus then switched to Xero a few years ago.

Prior to the switch, would have pain in my arches and shins that prevented me from running for distance. For whatever reason, it went away with minimal/zero drop shoes.

Sweep4-2 said:

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Thanks for the responses everyone, much appreciated!

Zachsccr, my PT (who is also coaching me for an upcoming 50K in Colorado) encouraged me to look at lower stack shoes as a way to put less stress on my injured quad tendon.

So I added a pair of New Balance Rebel V3's to my closet (road shoes are Endorphin Speed 3 and Pro 2, while trail shoes are Hoka Speedgoat 5 and Challenger 7).

He didn't mention minimal shoes, but I just started reading about them after researching low stack and was curious.

I'll probably just stay in the Rebels and may grab a pair of cheap Saucony Peregrine 12's off Amazon to stay low drop and low stack (rather than going full barefoot).

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I'll say this: if you're just transitioning to minimalist, take it slow.

When the Vibram craze happened about a decade ago, people were leaving their super-padded shoes for zero drops, and all kinds of mayhem ensued. People were getting stress fractures in their feet and ankles because they were taking the shoes out of the box and wearing them like their normal shoes.

It takes time to build up foot strength with minimalist shoes, meaning months in most cases. A normal running shoe is a glove, and those foot muscles and bones don't have to deal with the pressure they do when you're working out barefoot or in zero drops. Vibram even included a massive warning tag in every box, and people still didn't listen. The market eventually saw a major correction, and those types of shoes are usually only seen in weight lifters or people who work/swim in waters where sticks/rocks can snag feet.

Thanks, that makes sense. I think I'm just going to spend most of my time in the Rebel V3's (which I love btw) and to do plenty of foot/ankle strengthening exercises to keep my feet, ankle and legs strong.

Ran my first timed mile since October on the HS track tonight. Went well and the knee/tendon felt good. Everything else was in pain however (my pacer was my HS XC running son).

Another rec to take it slow when reducing drop. Years ago I went from Brooks Ghost to Altra Torin almost cold turkey and paid for it with achilles tendonitis. Stupidly, I made the switch while training for a half marathon, d'oh! Luckily I was able to PT and KT-tape my way to the finish line in the Brooks Ghost.

I have always been intrigued by barefoot running (thanks to Born to Run, as well) but the above experience has me hesitant to fully make the transition. With that said, I spend as much time as possible (when not running) barefoot, or in zero drop shoes. I generally wear Vans or Altra Lone Peak casually and workout in Vivobarefoot shoes.

My current stable of running shoes are:

New Balance SuperComp Trainer V2, 6mm drop
Saucony Endoprhin Speed 3, 8mm drop
Hoka Speedgoat 5, 4mm drop
Topo Athletic MTN Racer 2, 5mm drop

The more time I spend barefoot, or in foot shaped shoes, the more I value the ability to let my toes splay more naturally. That's also driven me back to the desire to work to transition to zero drop shoes. In an effort to take it slow I have a pair of AltraFWD Experience (4mm) and Topo Atmos (5mm) arriving tomorrow to test out.

That makes sense -- my current stable of shoes is similar to yours. A couple pair of tempo shoes (New Balance Rebel V3 and Saucony Endorphin Speed 3) and a couple pair of Hoka trail shoes (Speedgoat 5 and Challenger 7).

I'm going to probably just stay with what I have (in terms of types of shoes). The quad tendon injury I got in August was due to a trip/stumble over a root while pacing at the Habanero 100, and otherwise everything has held up fine (in terms of knee, ankle, etc.).