And I for one have been a big advocate of minimal shoes.  In fact, nowadays whenever possible I workout barefoot and almost all of my running shoes are “minimal” with very little heel rise 0 - 6 mm.  I find that it really helps when I perform functional exercises which require balance and stabilization.  It makes me feel stable and better connected to the ground.

But there are times I don’t wear minimal shoes.  See, I have Morton’s Toe, which is a condition where my 2nd toe is longer than my first big toe and the 2nd metatarsal (the bone at the ball of my foot) is slightly lower than the rest of my foot.  This means that most of my weight is placed under the base of my 2nd toe as supposed to the base of the first big toe.  So I’ve developed a massive callous on the ball of my foot at the base of my 2nd toe.  It’s quite unsightly and even worse…very uncomfortable when I’m on my feet for a long time.

It’s especially bad after a long walk or a hike.  Sometimes it gets so painful that I have a hard time walking after a long hike.  My temporary solution so far has been to minimize long walks and hikes.  But living in Northern California, going for long hikes is part of life and it’s something I love doing, so I I started looking for a more viable solution.  And that’s when I discovered these shoes, called Hoka One One.

Ironically, it’s the exact opposite of what I normally wear.  They’re running shoes with extra thick soles.  At first glance they look running shoes with platforms attached to the bottom.  Normally, I wouldn’t have taken a second look at these shoes, but I was at a running specialty store where everyone that worked there were avid ultra marathon runners.  In fact, and the guy helping me was a competitive ultra marathon runner with quite a few wins under his belt.  So my ears were open and I was game to try anything that he recommended. And after explaining my situation, he was quick to point to these funky looking shoes.

Although I was initially hesitant, especially being used to wearing minimal running shoes, I gave it a try.  And to my amazement, these shoes felt like heaven on my beaten up feet.  They literally feel like pillows under your feet.  It’s really a feeling I’ve never felt before.

These shoes were specifically designed for long distance runners, so the extra cushioning is there for support. And even though it seems high off the ground, it’s surprisingly very stable.  The shoes are incredibly light and it only has slight little rise (4 mm,) so it really doesn’t alter your running form at all.

The next day, I went for a long tough hike to give the shoes a real good test and just as the guys at the stored claimed, the shoes passed the test with flying colors.  I had very little foot pain afterwards and the next day, my feet felt normal and that’s never happened before.

In fact, they felt so good, that I even ran in them the day after the hike…something I would never have imagined doing before.  And as far as running went, it felt real comfortable and my running form didn’t suffer at all.

Now I won’t be replacing my minimal running shoes with these shoes for my regular high intensity workouts or when I do my interval sprints.  But it’s a great pair to have if you’re going for a long hike or a long easy run.  It’s also a great pair of shoes for active recovery, since it really gives your feet a nice break from the hard pounding.  And if you suffer from chronically sore joints, these shoes will definitely help reduce the strain on your joints as well.