Quote Originally Posted by christopher leigh View Post
(Run the Lydiard way, Arthur Lydiard 1978) 'injuries to joints and bone wear are invariably caused by poor buffers and jaring on hard surfaces. Without plenty of reasonably soft rubber between you and the ground, the shock of each stride is felt over a wide area of the body and problems arise in unexpected places.

You need padding which gives you a recoil from the ground. Shoes which achieve this will not be cheap to buy but they will be cheap in the long run because the damage you can suffer is difficult to eliminate, particularly in the big man. Consider the loss of training and competing time-and get good shoes.'

I don't always agree with Lydiard but he's right here. My opinion is shoes should have single width mid-soles and should provide recoil from the ground in the plane of motion. They should flex easily with the foot and the upper should be minimized to that which is needed for protection.

By the way I've watched videos of gymnasts landing after the vault and I've yet to see one land without a floor pad.

Another point. Evolution intended us to use our minds, to make things better. If it's wrong to run with springs in our shoes if they reduce injury, then it's wrong to jump out of a plane without a parachute.

" My parachute won't open."
" Or don't worry there's less force when landing without one."

AARRRGGGG
My quotes from Lydiard were from the 1980's so he obviously changed his mind.

Your gymnast comment is irrelevant as I was citing a specific study not speaking about gymnastics in general.

I repeat IT HAS NEVER BEEN SHOWN THAT CUSHIONING AND SUPPORT PREVENT INJURY DESPITE A DIRECT CHALLENGE TO DO SO BEING ISSUED TO RUNNING SHOE MANUFACTURERS. Therefore we haven't made things better, by overly cushioning and supporting our shoes for the last 40 years we've thoroughly screwed things up.

Also, on a slightly different note, evolution never intended us, or any other species, to do anything as it's a blind process.

I think I've put enough scientific/informed evidence into this discussion now to win the day and, if there's anyone left reading it, I'm happy for them to make up their own minds now.