Once again, Dr. Kram's lab has produced some interesting results about barefoot/minimalist running. And once again it got a shout out in the New York Times (here).
I must admit to a bias. I had the opportunity more than once to run for Rodger's lab at CU, and my sister worked for him during her graduate work. Still, interesting stuff.
I can say myself that I have noticed this phenomenon as well. In a shoe with just a bit more cushion, I find myself running faster than in one with less. Say my Peregrines (may they rest in peace) versus my Inov8's. My current go-to trail shoe is the Saucony Xodus 2, the newer version of which was recently reviewed over at iRunFar. I've run 350 miles in them so far, and the tread and overall structure is holding up well. The sidewalls are a beginning to break down and blow out, which is the same problem I've had with the Peregrines, but I anticipate being able to put at least 500 on these babies.
My one beef with these shoes is the grippiness on bare rock. I ran Longs in these three times this summer, and while for the most part I was ok on the upper sections (trough, narrows, etc) there were sections where I wish I'd had more grip on the bare rock. I've recently started wearing a pair of Inov8 Trailrocs, the 245 version with a 3mm drop, and find them to be much more trustworthy on rocks.
But again, they don't have the cushion of the Xodus. I may try the 255, but I'm not sure that would make much of a difference.
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