Hi everyone, I used to run in high school but gave it up in favor of part-time jobs, dating etc. I'm 46 yo now and every few years I've tried to re-start my running career with no success. Usually, I wind up hurt. Most of my problems have been with my hips and my shins. After a lot of reading etc, I came to the conclusion that I was over-striding pretty badly. (At some point many years ago I read somewhere about how you're supposed to land on your heels and roll through.) I've been mixing running and walking for a few weeks now and focusing on trying to land with my foot below my center of gravity...shorter strides. I've been 'running' very slowly but I'm seeing progress and can now jog for about a mile and a half without the walk breaks. I ran across the barefoot idea a few days ago and it made a lot of sense and seemed to be the natural way to correct my stride so today I went out to the local track and ran barefoot! I did a mile in a pair of flimsy old keds (not great) and then did the next mile barefoot. It was great! I do have blisters on the balls of my feet behind my toes but I didn't even notice those until I stopped running. Physically, my shins don't hurt, my hips don't hurt and my legs don't really feel sore either!! Now, I am just starting and had been running in a pair of Asics Gel Cumulus. What's the best way forward? I know my feet aren't ready to go barefoot all the time yet but the thought of putting those big running shoes back on doesn't seem right. I was thinking about getting a pair of Saucony Kilkenny's (I can get them for $30) and alternating. I know a lot of people are high on the Vibrams, but I don't know that I can rationalize $90. Any suggestions?

I felt like a little kid again! Especially washing off the orange clay from my feet!

Thanks for the encouragement. The Kilkenny's came in yesterday. They are very narrow. They're comfortable walking around, we'll see if they work out for running. I think they might. If not, is there another similar model that runs a little wider?