> strongly worded claims: barefoot running prevented injuries; barefoot running was more efficient; heel striking was evil; barefoot running was the natural and therefore "correct" way to run.
Anecdata: a friend of mine has been running for years, and for years he complained about knee pain. As it turns out he was heel striking the whole time, it completely disappeared since I told him to run 50 meters barefoot to find his "natural" point of contact
FWIW I had knee pain whenever I ran and my natural point of contact has always been the heel. I forced a change to mid-foot and it went away. Felt pretty unnatural for a bit and I was slower, but was able to build up to my heel-strike pace eventually. (all this done with regular running shoes)