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Initially, I expect that many runners will move to minimalist running because they are forced to by injury. As the benefits of minimalist running become better understood and publicized, I expect this will spread. I am going to give suggestions for two types of people; those that are not currently running, and those that are running. I'll then add in some general suggestions, but remember that these suggestions should be taken as a starting point for your journey to minimalist running, not as rigid rules.
==<span style="color:#FF0000">Danger - Too Much Too Soon</span>==
While minimalist running offers a more natural running style that is less prone to injury, the transition to minimalist running can cause serious injuries. Moving to minimalist running requires learning to run again from scratch. One useful analogy is that of taking of a cast from an injured leg; you have to slowly rehabilitate the leg to rebuild the strength. Likewise, a traditional running shoe is like a cast for your foot, and removing it will require a slow rebuilding of strength. Doing Too Much Too Soon is such a common problem that the acronym TMTS is widely used on barefoot and minimalist running forums. Too Much Too Soon can result in various foot problems, including stress fractures.
==Minimalist Running for the non-runner==
You may not be a runner at all, or you may be a runner who has been forced to stop running by injury. In either case, you should start minimalist running as a new runner. Running tip #6 [[Starting to run]] goes into more depth on this subject, but I'll include a short summary here.
Start off by walking in your chosen minimalist footwear (or barefoot) for 30 minutes. This is a critical step to build up foot strength and get used to moving without cushioned shoes. Once you are happy doing 2 miles in 30 minutes, start introducing a little running. Do two one-minute runs in the 30 minutes - run 1, walk 14, run 1, walk 14 (2x1R:14W). Then gradually build up, doing 2x2R:13W, 2x3R:12W etc, until you are running the full 30 minutes.
==Minimalist Running for the runner==
It would be prudent to start off by doing some walking in your chosen minimalist footwear. Walking a few miles for a few days will give you a sense of how strong your feet are. If you have problems doing the walking, then you will need to be more cautious in your move to minimalist running. Spending as much time as possible in minimalist shoes or barefoot will also help to build up your foot strength.
After the walking stage, I would suggest that you add a little minimalist running to the end of each of your normal runs. For the first few times, just run a quarter of a mile, then walk for . After a bit and depending on how you feel, repeat few days increase this by repeating once or twice. If, after a few days of this, you are comfortable with the quarter miles and have no problems, move on to minimalist running for the last mile or two of your normal runs.
From there, gradually move from traditional running to minimalist running by increasing the minimalist portion. I would avoid doing speed work or hill work in the minimalist section at this stage. When I got to 50/50 I then swapped to only minimalist running, but did not do any speed work or hill training for a week or so.
* Google group for barefoot/minimal running - [http://groups.google.com/group/huaraches http://groups.google.com/group/huaraches]
* Barefoot Running has three plans for transitioning [http://www.barefoot-running.com/transition/index.php http://www.barefoot-running.com/transition/index.php]
* The best video looking at barefoot and traditional running shoes [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jrnj-7YKZE&feature=player_embedded The Barefoot Professor: by Nature Video]* A video of a persistence hunt [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wI-9RJi0Qo "Persistence Hunting" video by the BBC on youtube.com]
==See Also==