Only running in road flats?

No. That is stupid as hell.

Dont do it. All the times I get fooled by the minimalist it hobbled me. Then again maybe becase I run too much. If you want to run a lot some cushioning, not too much you get knee problems.

I do because that's what I've been doing since I started running in 8th grade when I was only running one mile a day. If you have the patience to do something like that, building up to a good amount of mileage over several years, then go for it. Most likely though you'll either build too quickly and get hurt or the novelty of it will wear off and you'll give up.

I've done it since 2001. Works well for me.

You can do it but you need to build slow, as in a couple years slow.

Did it for a year up to 40-50 mpw but when I increased my mileage (over 50 mpw) it started to trouble me. I went to a Kinvara 2 (which felt like a huge shoe, but feels better than it looks - light, reasonable offset, etc).

Was able to really crank up the mileage with the more cushioned shoe and save the flats for the races.

puma faas 250

all of the Japanese runners?

Yup. It's all I can handle. Anything more substantial just kills me.

Been in road flats for the last 3-4 years. I have tried working in cushier neutral shoes for easy days, but it never feels good.

I feel like the greatest benefit has been that my stride has improved.

FWIW - 15:20k guy.

dood you soooooo fast

I had some knee trouble in the original Kinvara, and have been running in flats ever since.

I tend to like stuff that HRE suggests like FAAS 250, 300 & Nike Zoom Streak XC3.

Any new shoe suggestions?

I run in saucony kilkenny xc flats and have for four years w/no injuries and run 100 mile weeks in them

HRE wrote:

Yup. It's all I can handle. Anything more substantial just kills me.

Same with me... I was having some lower leg and foot issues with higher stability shoes so I went right into racing flats to see if it would help. I haven't had a problem since then and I do 70-80 miles a week.

In Korea, Japan and I suspect much of East Asia, the only shoes that people run in are racers. Some people buy trainers, but anyone who trains or races regularly will just run in a pair of racers, light trainers or, at the most, neutral trainers like the Pegasus. I've seen guys in their 50s, with guts, line up at marathons where they were going to run around 4 hours, and do it in 6-ounce racers.

In my own case, I haven't run in a pair of proper trainers since 2005. Since then, I've run in racing flats a little over half the time and in light trainers the rest of the time. It did take some getting used to, but I'm 5'6", 130 lbs and almost never get injured.

The caveats with training in racing shoes is:

1) It's not an end in itself. If I lived in North America, I'd probably just train in light trainers since they're typically easier to find. In East Asia, you can often buy racing shoes for $50-60 on sale, so that's what I run in.

2) You have to let yourself get used to it. Guys in Korea who run in racing flats despite having beer bellies do it because they've only ever run in light shoes, and because they grew up in what was then a developing country. If you've always run in 12-ounce trainers, suddenly switching to 6-ounce racers is a sure way to get hurt.

3) It isn't for everyone. Some people are more injury-prone, or their feet hurt from running in lighter shoes, or they just prefer a heavier shoe for comfort. There's nothing wrong with that, just as I prefer a light, firm shoe.

I do flats only. Been doing this for 5 years with good results. Typical mileage during training is 80-120mpw, with 50-70mpw in the 'off-season'. Had a few isolated injuries with my right calf and posterior tibial tendon over the years but it always goes away if I keep my normal mpw but run them at an easy pace.

I started doing it in the 10th grade because it seemed like a good idea. I liked to do speed workouts in them and it slowly changed to where that's all I liked. 12 years later and going strong.

Nike Mayfly $40. I get about 500 miles before the upper rips away from the sole.

Started three months ago. My NB trainer was falling apart and I had three pairs of flats.

Absolutely love it. Calves are significantly stronger and just feels more natural.

Big piece of advice though. You need to be doing the vast majority of your runs on a soft surface. I even run on people's lawns on the way to the trail. While we may not be designed to wear a heavy trainer, we certainly aren't designed to be running on cement.