The new trend in fluffy footwear

I had never heard of them but last week tried on a pair of Hoka's when I was buying new shoes and I kinda liked them. Not knowing much about them though I decided to stick with my tried and true Asics Nimbus. I have very high arches though and might try them at some point.

I'm curious to hear others' thoughts on this. I have a fragile body, and I've been running in Hokas since last Spring. Currently on my 3rd pair. I like them a lot, and they have allowed me to run more than I would have believed possible. This week will be the highest mileage week of my life ... until next week comes around. My achilles tendon problems have actually gone away since I've been running in Hokas (aided by eccentric exercises and heel pads). I honestly don't feel that my feet are out of touch with the road when I run in the Hokas. But I have been feeling some foot soreness lately, and I'm trying to do exercises to address that. It could be that wearing these shoes has led to foot injuries. Or it could be that wearing these shoes has allowed me to do 70+ mpw, and that alone leads to foot niggles in old farts like me.

I run in the Altra Torin and love them. they are not a cushy as some of the other Atlra's but I really like them and they work well for me. I did a 100 miler in them 2 weeks ago with great results and I ran in the same pair the whole 100 miles.

My thoughts on the Hoka's are I do not like them at all. They make me feel like my feel are rocking and unstable. I tried to drink the Hoka kool aide but it just did not work for me. Other swear by them.

I am a high mileage older runner too, 51 years old and run usually 80-100 mpw. I use to run in Zoots all the time but last fall I transitions into the Altra's for a little more cushioning and to go with a zero drop shoe. The transition has gone well, my body is holding up a bit better to the high miles since the swap and I sure felt a lot better after this 100 miler than my last one that I ran in Zoots. I am not knocking the Zoots at all but I just needed a little more cushion than they provide plus I want to with a zero drop shoe which they also do not provide.

I think I will try a pair of the Altra Olympus in the near future to start preparing for my next 100 miler which will probably be more of a trail than my last one which was through sugar cane fields.