Good points. I was really pretty surprised by how well the Vibram group did in comparison especially since it was a major change from their norm.

I agree, this blog wouldn’t be what it has become if Chris had not written that book. I still like the phrase.

I agree, but it would be very difficult to get a big enough sample and such a study would be very expensive.

Ramp up in training mileage in preparation for a race would be my guess.

Yes, I would actually say the pegasus Group differs from the other groups. They run in what they should be used to and are not transitioning. So why do they get hurt?

Another quality post. I forgot to comment on this back when you first published it! Another piece of evidence that its not so much about the shoe thats on the foot as it is the foot in the shoe. By foot I am implicating the entire body…neuromuscularskeletal…circulatory…psychosocial…Each person’s formula and composition is unique and contribute in a novel fashion to each specific injury.

It is possible that the Nike Frees are just bad shoes and so they had a higher injury rate.

I had a pair of Nike Free and the shape of the shoe seemed to make it difficult for me to run either with landing on my heel or on the front of my foot. It may be because I have relatively flat feet but it seemed there was too much cushion on the arch and so all the impact from each step was focused there. It eventually caused a foot injury and ended switching to a more minimalist shoe and haven’t had any problems since.

I still like that phrase. It was that book that started me thinking that there had to be a better way. I know everyone seems to like to move onto something new and cool, and forget anything old, but that book is still good, even if it is a few years old now. I’ve had to accept the move away from barefoot/minimalism recently, because few people had the patience to get it, but I’m still a true believer. I see the same big old trainers and even Hokas in 5ks, but until I see elites wearing Hokas in the 5000 and 10000 m, I’ll stick with flats and minimal shoes most of the time. Even if no one is exactly “born to run” it sure can feel like you were if it’s fun and doesn’t hurt.

But the surprising thing here is that the Vibram group did not experience an increased injury risk even though this was a transition from a traditional to a very minimal shoe.