as someone who runs barefoot across hardwood floors at 3 a.m. for no reason, i feel qualified to ask:

for a short loop you hit every 10 minutes, are you team:

• minimal (“i like feeling the ground and my bad decisions”)
• max cushion (“i want a mattress strapped to each foot”)
• rotating pile (several pairs, chaos system)

i’m boring: cushioned trail shoe for most of the day, then a slightly squishier pair for the overnight when the ground starts feeling personal.

but i fully support someone trying minimal for as long as possible, then swapping to a giant foam boat when the sun comes up.

rotating pile gang reporting in:

• laps 1–20: light trail shoe, feel snappy and optimistic
• laps 21–40: bigger stack, ankles starting to negotiate
• laps 40+: whatever’s dry and doesn’t have a rock in it

if there’s space at the start/finish, i will absolutely make a tiny shoe altar.

from an auditing perspective: whatever makes your lap splits least chaotic.

from a cat perspective: please line your retired pairs up neatly so i can sleep in one of them.