Nike, ASICS, Adidas...No more rhetoric, where's your proof?

Firstly, a very Happy New Year to you all!

In the spirit of this new beginning I am going to be bold.

I am not aware of any controlled clinical trials that have tested the efficacy and safety of heel strike running shoes (ie elevated cushioned heel and motion control systems). That is to say, there is no evidence that these running shoes either decrease injury rates or improve performance.

If this is the case, what are you paying for? If you examine the product descriptions for these shoes, manufacturers such as ASICS and Nike make no claim that their products will do anything other than provide a particular running experience.

Given the cost of shoe manufacture in China these days, anyone paying more than $50 for a pair of running shoes should be expecting much more than just a pleasant "ride".

Am I being unfair? Lets put it out there-

Is any running shoe company prepared to claim that wearing their distance running shoes will decrease your risk of suffering musculoskeletal running injuries?

Is any shoe manufacturer prepared to claim that wearing their running shoes will improve your distance running performance?

If you are prepared to make these claims, where is your peer reviewed data to back it up?

Stay tuned...I have my legal team standing by!