I should start off by saying I'm a barefoot runner. I wear vibram fivefingers and absolutely adore them. I've been known to take off on trails completely barefoot. So the idea of using insoles was... foreign to me.
I should have known something was wrong when I tried to put them into my usual Bikilias....
Ok, what is wrong here? They just don't fit. They are NOT made for my shoes. In fact, they say they add padding to help minimize pain... I'm a fully anti-padding person. I'll take the "pain" that any beginner runner feels because it makes me stronger to the point that I have run quite a few road races, obstacle course races, and triathlons in these things. No, I am not some crazy hippy, I just use what minimizes my pain - and surprisingly, using these minimizes my pain. So I love them.
Luckily, I also have some Nike Free 2(?)s that they fit into quite well. The green things are the original insoles that I removed to place these in there.
I didn't go running as my illness won't let me quite yet, but I walked around in them quite a bit. At first I was VERY aware of the arch support. As someone with relatively flat feet who spends as much time as possible as close to barefoot as is socially acceptable, I found the arch support disconcerting and uncomfortable.
I didn't walk very far in them - maybe 1-3 miles, and by the end, my feet were killing me. I was in PAIN. I immediately felt better once I removed the shoes from my feet and sat down on the couch.
Bottom line: Not for minimalist/barefoot runners!
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