My shoes have run the gamut from very minimal to monstrous. Some of my favorite shoes were in the early-mid 90's by ASICS: the Gel-Lyte series. They were more of a minimal shoe, eschewing even a tongue in some models, with mostly blown rubber outsoles. And I ran the Army 10-Miler in a pair of Nike Niobe's, which were basically a track spike for the roads (minus the spikes and spike plate).
nd Tarahumara Huarache idea, although I do like the Nike Free's) I'm sittng at my desk, having just completed a run in Saucony Mirages, which have a 4 mm drop from heel-to-toe, a minimalist shoe. My other running shoes are Newton Motus', which also have a 4mm drop, but still have a fair amount of cushion. And my new racing flat is... TA DA! The Saucony A5. These are really light, a little over 5 ozs, and also have the 4 mm drop. I've done a few track workouts and one race in them, and I really like them.
After adding in some Xtenex laces, I've found my short course triathlon shoes. (If you haven't tried the Xtenex laces, they're really nice; best elastic lace idea I've used).
It's funny. As I've said, I've been running a long time. There was a period, though, a few years back, when I didn't really enjoy running much. The cumulative mileage was starting to wear on me, and I was running more out of necessity (hard to do a triathlon well without running) than because I enjoyed it. It seemed that everything kind of hurt when I ran: my feet, my back, my legs. After trying my first pair of Newton Motus', my running felt easier and better, and things stopped hurting. I may be back to the enjoyment phase thanks to the minimalist shoes that I'm currently using.
