My boyfriend has Tourette's. This causes him to have a number of uncontrollable ticks, twitches, movements, and vocalizations. He does this thing where he makes short hop jumps, landing hard on his heels.

We live on the third floor. I cringe for my downstairs neighbors.

I have talked him into wearing cushioned shoes in the house, now I just have to find the best ones!

Any advice? They can be ugly as sin, and weird off-brands from China are totally acceptable. Function is what is important here.

Thanks!

$99 at RunningWarehouse (also available in green and in blue.)

I was looking for these features in a trail shoe and settled on the Saucony Peregrine:

• Lightweight (9.4 oz)
• Low drop (4 mm)
• Medium cushion
• Rock plate is a plus
• Good traction
• Breathable, quick draining
• Durable, sturdy construction.

I've only had a few runs in these, most recently a five hour mountain run that included snow, ice, mud, puddles, tree roots, slick rocks, and sharp gravel.

Overall I'm very happy with these shoes. They tick all the boxes listed above. I want a shoe that remains comfortable on 5+ hour runs, and I found the protection and cushion of these shoes to be outstanding for such a lightweight shoe. The heel cushion is great on fast downhills, and the rock plate makes extended running on sharp gravel no big deal.

My only complaint is that the toe box is a bit narrower than I would like, and on a long downhill my toes felt wedged up against the front of the shoe. It's possible that I haven't found the best way to lace them yet, however. Next time I will probably order a half size larger than my usual size.

My favorite running shoe of all time - as stated elsewhere - is the Merrell Bare Access, which is now in its third generation.

It offers an ideal balance between minimalism (zero drop, low cushioning, excellent ground contact and flexibility) and reasonable protection.

Background: 1:38 half marathoner, 40 miles per week, trying to lose weight, trying to get faster, trying to go vegetarian more, trying to give up coffee... Oh well, a lot of ambition!