Rethinking Comfort

As a coach I can usually convince my athletes of key performance fundamentals like the value of speed development or the importance of sleep and recovery. But there's one topic that consistently meets resistance and that is trying to get them to use minimalist shoes.

Most runners love comfort. Or at least what they perceive as comfort: maximal cushioning, soft landings, and the latest super-foam technologies. It's understandable. These shoes feel good. But if we want to talk about developing as a runner, truly honing the craft of running well, then we need to revisit our definition of comfort. Because comfort, especially early in an athlete's journey, can be a trap. 

Running as a Movement Skill

Running is not just fitness; it's a skill. Like swimming, gymnastics, or playing a musical instrument, running with skill takes practice, coordination, and awareness. This is where minimalist footwear becomes invaluable by bringing a refreshingly natural ride that breaks the monotony of the typically rockered, high-stack shoe.

The sensory feedback from minimalist shoes allows athletes to feel the ground. It sharpens proprioception. It encourages better posture, lighter ground contact, shorter ground contact time, and improved cadence. In other words, it trains run movement quality.

Dr Irene Davis, a leading researcher in biomechanics, argues that "we were not born with shoes" and that modern footwear often interrupts natural running mechanics. Studies from The Running Clinic support this, showing that cushioned shoes can lead to overstriding, heel striking, and reduced neuromuscular engagement.

The Minimalist Index

The Running Clinic created the Minimalist Index to classify shoes based on five key criteria: weight, stack height, heel-to-toe drop, flexibility, and motion control features. Shoes that score higher on this index (closer to 100%) are more minimalist. This tool not only helps runners choose footwear but also enables coaches to prescribe progressive adaptation, much like how you'd build strength or mileage.

Starting with short runs, drills, or strides in minimalist shoes can help athletes learn to move better. Over time, as their tissues adapt and their skill develops, they will find their running economy improves even in regular shoes.

What About Comfort?

Here's where the narrative shifts, comfort isn't bad. But comfort that hides poor mechanics is terrible. When comfort becomes a crutch, it slows skill acquisition. The goal should be earned-comfort.

Vivobarefoot, one of the pioneers of minimalist design, describes their shoes as tools to "re-wild" the feet. They cite research showing improved foot strength, mobility, and sensory feedback after transitioning to minimalist footwear. One study, published in Scientific Reports (2019), found that habitual use of minimalist shoes led to increased foot muscle size and strength in just six months.

This doesn’t mean every athlete should run marathons barefoot. But minimalist shoes can and should be part of a thoughtful training toolkit. Even for the uninitiated they can be used for drills, strides, technique work, or easy runs on grass or soft trails. Their role is not to replace all footwear but to restore and reinforce foundational movement skills. There is no short-cut, but why would you settle for the few % of running economy gains from super shoes where you could gain 5x this through running skill acquisition?

Injury Prevention: Strong Feet, Resilient Runners

One often overlooked benefit of minimalist shoes is their potential role in injury prevention. By promoting natural foot function, they help strengthen the intrinsic muscles of the feet, improve ankle stability, and encourage better posture and alignment. Studies from The Running Clinic and Vivobarefoot show that runners who transition to minimalist shoes gradually can experience improvements in foot strength and reductions in common overuse injuries, such as shin splints and plantar fasciitis. While minimalist shoes aren't a magic bullet, they offer something modern maximalist shoes often don’t: a path to building more resilient runners from the ground up.

Real-World Minimalist Road Shoe Options

If you're curious about incorporating minimalist shoes into your rotation, here are some options sorted by their Minimalist Index score, they are a mix of unashamed minimalist models from brands like Vivobarefoot, Xero, Vibram and Merrell plus models in the increasingly rare category of racing flats from Altra, Saucony, Nike and ASICS, which still offer great ground feel and proprioceptive benefits with slightly more structure. 

Start with short, low-impact sessions to allow your feet and legs to adapt.

Historical Wisdom: Gordon Pirie’s Case Against Cushioned Shoes

This debate isn’t new. Gordon Pirie, a world-class distance runner in the 1950s and author of Running Fast and Injury Free, was one of the earliest and most outspoken critics of cushioned footwear. His arguments remain strikingly relevant today.

Pirie believed cushioned shoes were not just unnecessary, but actively harmful. He argued that:

• Heel cushioning encourages poor technique, especially heel striking with a straight leg.

• Running is a forefoot activity, not a heel-to-toe rolling gait as modern shoes promote.

• Cushioned shoes dull sensory feedback, making it harder to develop efficient mechanics.

• Most injuries in distance running, according to Pirie, stem from poor footwear design—not from the act of running itself.

• Elite runners—those with the best form, naturally avoid heel striking, even in fast and long events.

Pirie advocated for light, flexible, flat shoes, or ideally, barefoot running to promote optimal form. He viewed silence, cadence, and ground feel as the true signs of skilled movement.

His message is simple and still holds weight; the body is already a brilliant machine. Most modern shoes just get in the way.

From Skill to Speed

Here’s the irony, many athletes idolize elite runners and their gear. But the best runners in the world, those with fluid, efficient mechanics, could run well in any shoe.

As Jason Karp writes in The Endurance of Speed, speed is not simply a product of aerobic fitness, it is a skill. He points out that 400m times are one of the best predictors of a runner’s potential across all distances. That’s because running fast requires excellent mechanics, coordination, and posture under load. It exposes inefficiencies, exaggerates flaws, and demands fluency in movement.

Minimalist shoes help develop this fluency. They allow athletes to train their stride the way a pianist trains scales by removing padding and distortion, they expose true form. When you learn to run well in a minimalist shoe, you're laying down the neural and muscular groundwork for speed.

So let’s flip the script. Instead of chasing comfort first, let's earn it. Let’s treat running as a skill and train it accordingly. Minimalist shoes aren’t a regression. They’re a progression, a tool to unlock better running.

When to Use Cushioned Shoes (Even as a Minimalist Convert)

As much as I advocate for minimalist shoes, there's also a time and place for the latest carbon-plated, high-stack, energy-returning super shoes. Being minimalist-minded doesn't mean being dogmatic.

Such shoes are tools, and when used strategically, they can enhance performance and support recovery. For example:

• Racing: Super shoes like the Nike Alphafly, Adidas Adios Pro, or Saucony Endorphin Elite are proven to improve running economy and reduce fatigue in longer races. If you've built a strong foundation of efficient mechanics, these can help you perform at your peak.

• Long Runs or Back-to-Back Sessions: High-stack shoes can be used to reduce musculoskeletal strain during long training sessions, especially for runners managing high weekly volume or navigating heavy training blocks.

• Injury Management: For athletes coming back from feet/lower-leg injury, using a cushioned, shoe for longer efforts can help buffer impact forces while reintroducing volume.

The key is to treat these shoes as a complement, not a crutch. Just like a strength athlete wouldn’t wear a lifting belt for every set, runners don’t need maximal support all the time. Plated shoes are performance enhancers, not skill developers.

Train in minimal shoes to build your movement competency. Race in super shoes to maximize your potential.

Shoe Review Preview: Vivobarefoot Primus Flow

The classic racing flat is sadly being phased out in favor of super shoes designed for race-day performance. While these high-stack, plated shoes have their place, we’re losing something important in the transition, the value of flats for developing proprioception, foot strength and running skill. I’m therefore very happy that Vivo is bucking that trend with this new model.

Can the Vivobarefoot Primus Flow be the spiritual successor to my old favourite, the now discontinued Altra Vanish-R a 135g 92% index benchmark of pure, purposeful design.

That’s the question I’ll be asking as I begin testing this new model from Vivobarefoot. On paper, the Primus Flow is promising: a true zero-drop, ultra-lightweight (159g), flexible trainer with enough sole to take to the road but none of the fluff that gets in the way of feedback and form.

In the hand, it’s minimal yet refined. The upper is sleek but structured enough to feel fast. The outsole, thin and flexible, offers the proprioception I’d expect from a barefoot shoe, but with a touch more underfoot than something like the Primus Knit.

If the fit is right, and the ride matches the Vanish-R, this could be a new favourite in the lightweight flat category, especially for those of us who want minimalism with just enough protection for tempo work and long intervals on pavement.

I’ll get back with first-hand impressions soon. But for now, consider this one of the most exciting minimalist road shoe releases in years.

Closing Thoughts

Minimalist shoes might not feel like the softest, cushiest ride. But they offer something more important - clarity. They expose inefficiencies. They sharpen awareness. They challenge athletes to become better movers.

Vivobarefoot’s social campaign around this shoe leans into two telling phrases: Go Barefoot and Run Slow. The first is expected, the second is revealing. “Run Slow” is not a dismissal of performance, it’s an invitation to feel more, to move with intention, and to reconnect with the ground beneath you. It’s about building skill, not masking it with effort. In that sense, the Primus Flow isn’t just footwear, it’s a tool for better movement.

For developing runners, they are not a gimmick, they're a gateway. And for experienced athletes, they're a reminder that the foundation of speed is skill. Above we have focused on road alternatives, but don’t forget the trails. The softer, uneven ground makes minimalist trail shoes an even easier entry point.

So here’s the call to action - if you’ve long dismissed minimalist shoes, it’s time to reconsider. Ditch the Hokas at least a few times a week and reconnect with the ground. Run light, run aware and rediscover running as a movement practice, not just a fitness routine.

Let’s stop equating softness with safety and comfort with performance. Let’s reframe minimalist shoes as what they really are - tools for mastery.

References:

• Gordon Pirie, Running Fast and Injury Free (public domain eBook)

• Vivobarefoot research page: https://www.vivobarefoot.com/uk/research

• The Running Clinic Minimalist Index: https://therunningclinic.com/minimalist-index/

• Scientific Reports, 2019: "Effects of habitual barefoot versus shod running on foot muscle strength and arch"