Running

Im wanting to do start doing a couple of short runs a week, mornings, round brockwell park. Just to get a bit more fitness/drop some pounds really. I've got a pair of saucany (Triax's?) which i did a bit of running in a couple years ago and they seemed comfy enough then. As im literally starting from scratch, i'm gonna start off 5-10mins walking, then build into a jog , mainly run on grass i think and then have a good stretch off back at the house. I don't have the best knees in the world, currently weigh 14.5 stone and im 6ft, im a bit overweight, but i have big thigh muscles etc! I was wondering about this whole barefoot thing (dont wanna go literally barefoot round brixton - dont know what you might step on!). If im starting off slow and steady, would it do my knees etc a bit better to use a conventional running shoe, or i liked the idea of the super flexy Nike Free 3.0?
Thoughts please!?

whatever type of shoes you use it would be best if you kept your heels off the ground. dont run using your heel as the first part of your foot to strike, as mentioned above, its a sure fire way of injury and killing your enthusiasm. go into the kitchen, take your shoes off and jog on the spot. see hoe you place your foot gently on the outside edge and ball of your foot and then let your heel drop?? do that while you run and build up slow (your calf muscles need time to change to and get used to this method) like 10 mins to start with.. this way you use the natural flex of your joints, the arch or the foot and the achillies tendon to absorb and propell, -like we were designed-, and not the knees. the key is keeping your posture nice and straight, head up included, and taking lots of smaller steps, where your foot falls (gets placed gently) to the floor just in front of your centre of gravity if not below it, rather than stretching to take big strides and landing on your heel with every single step..

i personally find it hard to run this way in corrective shoes, so if i dont run barefoot i run with the thinnest soled trainers i own and i take out the insoles so there is very little padding to encourage me to heel strike.

i have never enjoyed running before i threw away my corrective shoes. i did three half marathons and several training runs with zero enjoyment. since i changed my running style and binned my corrective shoes, i run with a smile. i actually enjoy it and want to do it more. anecdotal yes, but there is plenty of it out there.

have fun.