Runners are going Maximalist in their shoes; can these shoes reduce the stress of running? A few short years ago, the minimalist shoe and the barefoot trend was all the rage, but then, there were the injuries and the pain that was associated with those injuries took the fun out of training. We now have the Maximalist shoe which is the current trend. These shoes are wider, fatter and the foot fits deeply into it, and runners and loving them. Apparently, the shoes seem to make running easier, and the holy grail of those like the Hoka 1 is to reduce the problem of injuries. Do these shoes truly reduce injuries? What they do well is redistributing the force from the ground up while enforcing a more mid foot strike, which is thought to reduce running injuries. Where can you find shoes like these? We recommend Runners High in both Metuchen and Freehold for the best fit and selection as well as knowledgeable advice. Check out this NY Times article here on this new trend. Meet the Ultra-Fat, Super-Cushioned Running Shoe By Gretchen Reynolds June 8, 2016 Can fat-soled shoes that appear to have been constructed in part from marshmallows help you run better? The first study of a new kind of thickly cushioned running shoe suggests that this type of footwear may not make running any easier. But it probably also will not make it harder. And nobody knows yet whether these maximalist running shoes, as they"™re called, are the answer to preventing the painful injuries that sideline as many as 90 percent of runners at some point. Anyone who hangs out with distance runners has doubtless noticed the sudden popularity of these shoes, which provide two or three times as much foam padding between the foot and the pavement as most running shoes. Read more