Thank you for the pointer, Pete! You’ll laugh, but I’m a professional artist, and aesthetics matter to me more than they should…so the Altras have been low on my list due to their clown-feet appearance. (And boring colors).

I don’t think it’s over, either, judging by shoes I see other runners wearing a races. Lots of lighter shoes, even if they are fairly well cushioned, such as the Brooks Pure Project.

Pete I cringed a little when you said the prices are going up on all models. I may have to reevaluate how I feel about the MT110!

As a runner, I’ve found minimalism is great for me. In the past three years, I’ve transitioned from wearing Brooks Glycerins and custom, hard plastic orthotics to New Balance Minimus 0mm- and 4mm-drop shoes. The 4mm ones are my sweet spot. My favorite shoe. I also love my Vibram FiveFingers Bikilas. I’ve been injury-free for 18 months and have set some solid PRs in longer races.

So I certainly don’t want to see lighter, more flexible, thin-soled running shoes go anywhere. My hope is shoe companies will keep options available for people like me, even if the shoes aren’t quite as popular as they have been in recent years. This whole movement has been great for the shoe and running industry. It got us thinking and experimenting and now has provided so many great new types of shoes from our big brands and many new brands. Runners have a great selection of shoes no matter what they are looking for. Let’s hope the shoe industry continues to see things that way, and that they are turning a profit so we keep getting the shoes we want, no matter if its Vibrams or Hokas.

BTW, wore my GPS and ran smart in a marathon today. 3:48. Beyond stoked.

I don’t think the minimal movement is over at all, though I do think shoes like the Vibrams have tailed off in a big way. I’m not even sure the sales data support the idea that minimalism is dead, it just depends on how you define minimal. The Nike Free is the number one selling shoe in the US right now…part of that is fashion, but I’m sure part of it is comfort as well.

—-
Pete Larson’s Web Links:
-My book: Tread Lightly: http://ow.ly/bdUO0
-Blog: https://runblogger.com
-Twitter: http://twitter.com/Runblogger
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– one problem I could foresee with running a 50miler next year was my wide feet (which are 4E); where was I going to find a wide minimalist shoe – with a little padding, one on a par with the vivobarefoot Aqua? New balance looked like my only option. Well because the VFF have always fitted me nicely the EVO could be more viable for me – just hope the sole is flexible and the toes

Andy from
http://www.myrunningtips.com

Yeah, they’re going to have to handle that somehow!

—-
Pete Larson’s Web Links:
-My book: Tread Lightly: http://ow.ly/bdUO0
-Blog: https://runblogger.com
-Twitter: http://twitter.com/Runblogger
-Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Runbl…
-Discussion Forum: https://runblogger.com/forum

Totally agree. I feel about some manufactures are trying to distort perceptions of what runners need and want to better fit what they want to sell us this year.

I don’t see any signs of the minimalist movement having top out. You see more and more runners here wearing minimal shoes and doing well. Manufacturers are making more and more shoes that fill the gaps in the market, more and more choices that just want there a year ago. This is great.

should be because of various time in structured footwear messing up the development longer than others

but it doesn’t come off that way to me…idk