There was a time when a racing flat meant a pair of zero-drop, thin-soled running shoes. I remember running the Windsor Half Marathon in an ASICS Type A9, very much a low-stack trainer that, at the time, was the norm, and my calves were sore for a week afterwards.
Back then, we thought that was the only way; we accepted that running any distance would require our legs to put in a tremendous amount of work. Cushioning was minimal; rebound was moderate at best.
