Hi, this is Debbie Boyle's coach at Mojo for Running with podcast number 41, Minimalist Running Shoes.

This is the second of three podcasts about running shoes. Last time we talked about buying

shoes and then we discussed terminology. If you haven't listened to that podcast, I encourage you

to listen to that first because it does introduce the whole concept of minimalist shoes.

In the last few years, minimalist shoes have been the rage,

and there is considerable debate about whether going minimalist is advisable.

Today, my goal is to disseminate information about these shoes to help you in deciding

whether transitioning into minimalist or more minimalist

shoes is wise for you. One issue is that there are degrees of minimalism. The true minimalist

shoes or the most minimalist shoes are those that have almost no soul and have zero drop. True

minimalist, completely minimalist, would be barefoot, right?

Now, in the last episode, I talked about heel height. Just to review, that is referred to as drop

or heel toe drop. That refers to the difference between the height of the heel off the ground

and the height of the forefoot off the ground. With zero drop shoes, the heel

and forefoot are exactly the same distance from the ground. That is the most natural because when

we're barefoot, of course, our heel and forefoot are both touching the ground. For years,

the trend was towards more and thicker heels because it was thought that more heel,

because it provided more cushioning, was a good thing.

But the reason that was considered to be needed was to cushion the heel strike.

We now know that this may not have been a good thing.

Personally, after much reading and personal experience, I don't think it was a good

idea and normally wouldn't be a good idea for anyone who is not a heel striker. I'll go so far

...