‘Maximalist’ shoes gain in popularity

Some runners swear by them. Others swear at them.

Then there is 53-year-old Barb Dow of Peoria, Arizona, who swears by them and at them.

They are Hoka One One shoes, the monster trucks of running footwear that have set off the latest debate in running circles.

In 2011, near the height of the minimalist running craze sparked by Christopher McDougall’s 2009 best-seller “Born to Run,” Hoka introduced what has become known as a “maximalist” shoe.

“To me, they’re like the plastic clown you punched as a kid that bounced right back up,” said Dow. “I roll my ankles a lot, and with them I just pop back up. I love my Hokas.”

So why is she swearing at them? The original French owners sold Hoka almost a year ago to Deckers Outdoor, parent company of UGG and Teva boots, shoes and sandals. Dow preferred the original models to the latest.

“Tell the original owners to go back into business,” she said. “I think the older ones are really good shoes.”

Like many runners, Dow had experimented with the minimalist shoes during the barefoot movement that erupted after “Born to Run.”

“I bought a pair of the shoes with the toes (Vibram FiveFingers, a minimalist design),” she said. “That didn’t last. I probably wore them twice and now they’re sitting in the garage.”

Dow is typical of runners who always are looking for a shoe that provides comfort, performance and — most important — injury prevention.

There may not be such a thing, but that doesn’t end the search. And running shoes are big business. In its most recent report, the National Sporting Goods Association expected runners and joggers to spend about $3.3 billion on shoes in 2014, up $1 billion since 2010.

For a lot of runners, Hoka’s ultra-cushioned shoes are the latest answer.

“When I saw the first ones, I was like, ‘Whoa, I don’t know about these.’ Those first ones were some of the ugliest shoes you ever saw, and they didn’t try to hide it,” said Mark Cosmas, owner of iRun running shop in the Arcadia neighborhood of Phoenix.

“They were being laughed out of most places,” he said. “People said, ‘It will never work.’ “

Cosmas was the first retailer in the Phoenix area to sell Hokas. After trying them, he was convinced the funky-looking kicks could work, and they gave him a niche in the marketplace.

“I was brand new and I didn’t have Asics or Saucony or Brooks in my shop,” he said. “I looked at them and thought, ‘They’re going to be heavy and I’m going to roll my ankles.’ But, no, they’re light and stable on the trail.”

Initially, the shoes were worn primarily by ultra-distance runners, a funky breed in their own right. But as Hoka came out with road models and hybrids that could be worn on trail or road, the shoes boomed in popularity. Now they’re available at many running stores and REI.

At about the same time Hoka emerged, runners were beginning to shy away from the minimalist shoes, especially the glove-like designs such as FiveFingers. Last year, while admitting no fault or liability, Vibram settled a class-action lawsuit that accused the company of misleading consumers by claiming the shoes would strengthen feet and prevent injuries.

“People are definitely getting away from the barefoot-type,” Cosmas said. “I never carried Vibram. It was my belief that maybe 3 percent of the population would be able to run in those without getting injured. They’re good if you’re going to do strides in the grass, but for me, I wouldn’t feel comfortable going out for a long run in those.”

Phoenix runner David Bremson, a former strength coach with a degree in biomechanics, tried minimalist shoes and said they “beat the crap out of me.”

While pacing for friend Cheryl Zwarkowski at the Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley, he saw what he calls “foot sofas” for the first time.

They were Hokas.

“Everybody was like, ‘What the hell?’ “ he recalled.

Zwarkowski began running in them, and now Bremson does as well.

“Maybe it’s a placebo effect, but I’m 49 now and I don’t feel as beat up when I run in them,” he said. “I think for older runners, these are around to stay.

“When you’re younger, you’re 10 feet tall, invisible and bulletproof. You can run on marbles if somebody says that’s good.

“When you get older you just want to prolong your running career as long as possible. How do I get more life out of this body? It seems like it doesn’t matter what the sport is, you’re always chasing the dragon’s tail looking for that next thing.”

Roger Tornow, 56, of Tempe, Arizona, said he had a history of stress fractures and plantar fasciitis — inflammation of the support structure in the arch of the foot. His physical therapist recommended Hokas.

“I don’t think I’ll ever run in lesser cushioned shoes again,” he said. “I’m convinced they have extended my running career.”

Ken Smith, another Phoenix runner, said he wears the Vibram shoes for some workouts, but tried the ultra-cushioned Hokas when they were being demonstrated at a trail run. He believes they have saved his feet.

“I was hooked,” he said. “Then my 73-year-old mom tried my wife’s on to walk in, and now she’s jogging because of the shoes.”

Cosmas has heard similar stories, and not just from runners. Medical workers who are on their feet for 12-hour shifts are regular customers. The shoes have been spotted on PGA Tour caddies, including Phil Mickelson’s caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay.

“I get people who tell me they can’t run anymore because their knees hurt,” he said. “They buy the shoes just because they’re comfortable and three or four weeks later they pop their head in and say, ‘I’m running again and I’m not in pain.’ “

Not surprisingly, he said other shoe manufacturers are releasing ultra-cushioned shoes or have them in the pipeline.

But he pointed out that although the Hoka shoes are extreme in their cushioning, they have a lot in common with the theories behind their minimalist cousins.

Most minimalist runners want a shoe with a drop — the measure of difference between the heel and forefoot — of 0 to 6 millimeters. Prior to the minimalist movement, many running shoes had a drop as dramatic as 10-15 millimeters, almost forcing runners to strike the ground with their heel first.

Hokas, while having a high “stack” — the distance between foot and ground — actually have a drop of just 4 millimeters. Plus, they have a “rocker” design that is supposed to propel the foot forward when it strikes the ground.

“It’s a minimalist shoe on top of a lot of cushioning,” Cosmas said.

Johann Warnholtz, a running and triathlon coach for Scottsdale-based Racelab, worries that ultra-cushioned shoes will be seen as a panacea for all runners, when no such thing exists.

His parents started Racelab 15 years ago, and they’ve watched running-shoe trends come and go. When Warnholtz hears about the latest, it often is described as something that will revolutionize the industry.

“We saw what happened with Vibram when they made those claims,” he said.

Warnholtz saw runners buy minimalist shoes and leap into their usual workouts, only to suffer injuries. Others who adopted the new shoes more gradually did not suffer injuries, and some still use the shoes.

“I’m asked a lot as a coach, ‘What shoes should I wear?’ I always tell them there is no one brand or type of shoe that I’m going to tell you to use over the others.

“It depends on your personal preference, and it depends on where you’re running and whether it’s a short run or a long run. I’ve run in Vibrams, but I don’t ever want to run more than about 8 miles in them.

“Hokas or these ultra-cushioned shoes have helped a lot of people, especially in the ultra-running community, where they’re running 50-60 miles and more. For some people they work very, very well.

“But people have variations in their feet and different strides. Some have flat feet and some have high arches. Some pronate (an inward roll of the foot) and some supinate (an outward roll).

“It’s impossible to have a shoe that’s right for everyone.”