I've always wondered that if you play the long game, what kinds of shoes should you wear? I read people in countries that go barefoot don't have foot problems.
Should you wear heavily padded shoes or run in low-heel or minimalist shoes?
Go to a good shoe store that caters to runners, and try on a bunch of different pairs of shoes to find something that will fit your needs and physiology.
And then throw them away after 500 miles and get a new pair.
I have a suspicion that a big part of the reason that people are feeling better running in Hokas is that they waited too long to replace their last pair of shoes, and literally anything would have been an improvement by the time they switched.
And I say this as someone who recently switched to Hokas. They’re fine.
I did that and I even paid extra for the "running assessment" that they were offering to those interested in running the Berlin marathon. It took me ca. 4 years to recover from the damage those shoes did to my knees.
I would say "go to a doctor", but the first one I visited just googled "running shoes" on his computer and told me to get something like that. At least the second one actually knew what he was doing.
My point being: I would suggest everyone to try really hard to get a good recommendation instead of trusting someone blindly.
The guy at the store filmed my running, pointed out that (according to him) my feet bend inwards when running and recommended some Adidas shoes that (again, according to him) would "fix" the bending and make it fully vertical. I got instead terrible knee pain, to the point of barely being able to go up the stairs.
The second doctor told me to rip the insoles and replace them with some orthopedic, custom-made ones (my insurance covers a pair or two a year) and also prescribed me some knee pads with metal rods on the sides that I must wear whenever I run. He also sent me to physiotherapy for a month where I learned exercises to strengthen the knee and core muscles. Whenever my knees start to hurt (typically after not exercising for a while) these exercises make it go away.
Look up the nordic, and reverse nordic curls, and tibialis raises and TKE exercises. There is a youtuber who has popularized them (kneesovertoesguy). I've found they help me immensely when it comes to stiffness/soreness in my knee (had knee surgery a year ago). If I was better about it I would be more regular about doing these exercises regularly, but alas I am too lazy. (I also have flat foot issue and found "racing flats" with not too thick soles to be my ideal, even running marathons).
I love my Hokas, they have different models which cater to differently-shaped and differently used feet. Some people love minimalism, but if I push hard enough (which isn't hard at all), on hard surfaces and without much padding, I develop pain which I would categorize as tendon being stretched too much. I can get it also from just walking on tarmac sidewalks in hard shoes for long enough.
Doesn't happen in Hokas, at all. They basically allow me to run as much as I can, or have multiple-hour walks almost every evening. Another good ones, for me just for walking, are La Sportiva Raptor - seemingly one of few manufacturers that caters to sporty people with wide feet.
Technique will matter more. The book Chi Running is a great start. It's an unfortunate title but the content is great. I recommended it to a friend years ago that had broken his back and was unable to complete the running part to enter the police academy. I thought he was going to burst into tears when he thanked me after being able to complete a lap on the local track.
Listen to your body. Over 10 years ago I switched to being barefoot, or minimalist shoes depending on the situation. I no longer get cortisone shots in my knees and I no longer have any back pain. It just works for me.
Take the transition very slow, or you will possibly injure yourself and then say "barefoot running/walking wrecked my feet/knees...".
Going barefoot is great for everyday tasks. I'm barefoot now. But running on modern surfaces is not an everyday task - even if you do it every day. Wear quality shoes while running or jumping.
You should wear shoes to prevent getting a nail or glass shard or syringe sticking to the bottom of your foot. I at least would prefer long term foot problems to short term cuts or infections.
I've always wondered that if you play the long game, what kinds of shoes should you wear? I read people in countries that go barefoot don't have foot problems. Should you wear heavily padded shoes or run in low-heel or minimalist shoes?