I've been a runner my entire life, since age 15.  And ever since I began running, I've used a reinforced pair of ASICS to help with my tendency to pronate.  The idea of switching to a shoe that has absolutely no reinforcement, hardly any material, and a sole the thickness of a piece of cardboard has always been laughable to me.  I thought for sure that this "barefoot running" thing was just a temporary fling that would fade with time.

At age 27, i found myself hobbling home after a short 3.5 mile run in a new pair of ASICS.  My feet hurt, my knees hurt, and my calves would cramp spontaneously every twenty seconds.  For someone who has never had any injury related to running, this jog was a wake up call.

On a whim, I bought a discounted pair of the New Balance Minimus Trail shoes and have never looked back.  The first day using them, I could feel my legs and lower back relax as I hit my stride.  Today, I ran a typical 5.5 mile route around my neighborhood and was astounded to see that I completed my circuit 2 full minutes faster than I had a week earlier.  I'm still a bit unsure as to why my body is responding so favorably to this "barefoot" shoe, but to be honest, I really don't care!  My times are dropping while my body is feeling better and better.  It's enough to make this once ASICS disciple a convert.

The only piece of advice for potential buyers:  This is not just a shoe, this is a change in your running lifestyle.  Be prepared to have parts of your legs ache that didn't used to hurt for a few days while your body adjusts to this shoe.  When I first started using the Minimus, I wasn't expecting the range of motion that my ankle would be capable of achieving; and so I would end some runs with my calves pulsing from my workout.  Really, this is the way running should feel, but after years and years of wearing shoes that restrict the motion of my ankles my calves have become complacent with not contributing much effort.  My local running shop owner says it may take a little while for my calves to adjust.  My advice, get on a solid stretching routine if you aren't already.  And ease into using these shoes.  Do a few shorter mileage runs before attempting a longer day.

Buy this shoe.  Buy this shoe.  Buy this shoe.