Running in Vibrams

So I started wearing the vibrams (sprints) to Referees training about a year ago. The fact my particular pair were red probably did not help my plans to go undetected but nevertheless I persisted. They still get some attention even now a year later... mostly offhand jokes about the sexuality of the shoe. Jokes aside I now train exclusively in either football boots (for specificty, grip in the wet etc) and the vibrams. Some fellow referees were interested enough and also got some and there are now a small portion of the squad that enjoy running in vibrams.
I have read many articles including these:
http://www.eatmoveimprove.com/2010/10/a-firm-foundation-focusing-on-the-feet/
http://www.eatmoveimprove.com/2009/11/shoes-sitting-and-lower-body-dysfunctions/
as well as
Born To Run by Chris McDougall

All of which are very pro barefoot/minimalist running.

I have also been told by a physio friend that he is getting plenty of injuries from people choosing to make the switch.
Articles like these:
http://www.sportsscientists.com/2010/01/running-barefoot-vs-shoes.html
http://www.sportsscientists.com/2010/05/barefoot-running-and-injuries.html

Seem to support the theory that (surprise, surprise) barefoot running is not a silver bullet. Injuries, particularly of the foot, achilles and calf are likely to plague the barefoot runner especially IF they jump in too quickly.

Before going any further I will reflect on my experiences with wearing minimalist footwear. My transition, I feel, has been very successful though it was more gradual than I first thought. Of course I started with shorter intervals 200's 400's slowly building up the volume. A 2km run here and there before I built up to a 5k then 7k and then whole training sessions of intervals before doing a 30km trail run after about 12months of wearing them. Even this though is pretty quick.
Then I thought back to when I was a  kid living in a caravan park where summer evenings were spent playing huge games of hide and seek, tips, bullrush, rugby league, and just generally getting into mischief. This was done almost exclusively barefoot.
I also remember in particular that my feet had become so used to being shoeless during these years that I developed the neat trick of being able to scale bindi patches without gettting spiked so long as I sprinted across them at full speed. The roads were mainly gravel and tar and I also remember the odd bleeding toe but most of all I loved the freedom of barefoot.
Throughout my teens I also chose to go shoeless any time I was called on to sprint and I pursued martial arts another sport where you leave your shoes at the door.  As school rules and those surrounding organised sport tightened shoes became a necessity for running activities, so I bought some spikes. I can still distinctly remember wearing the cheap $2 dollar chinese cotten shoes

Kung Fu shoes I used to get for $2 a pair.

 that seemed to have made a resurgence in recent times  as a  fashion statment.

Rabens

All of these experiences I believed have contributed to a successful transition to minimalist footwear for me. I still got sore when I switched in my late 20's but never anything serious and I was reminded of my barefoot running experiences of childhood.
So what would I recommend to others?I wouldn't recommend anything from a medical standpoint since I am not qualified to do so but I would say that minimalist footwear has put the spotlight back on the SKILL of running. I would say that one should not rely on shoes to provide any protection to your joints that you should learn to run in a way that YOU protect your joints.
Minimalist footwear and running barefoot force  you down this road. I noticed that my stride cadence and stride length had to adjust. The stride became shorter but faster. The whole body had to pull itself in towards the centre line. I had others comment that I looked as though I was running with a more compact style. Importantly for me I have broken every personal best time I had since running in Vibrams though I do not necessarily attribute this to the shoes. I have also been totally injury FREE. I have observed others who previously were heel strikers suffering issues with hip flexors and tight itb's and poorly tracking knees have these conditions disappear when they switched after months of trying other things. It should also be said that these people started very slowly and did a lot of running in the form of intervals before and after the transitions. I have also noticed over the same time period every  other  heel striker I know continue to battle with some sort of injury. My views are not a scientific study merely anecdotes. There is enough information out there for people to make up there minds now I think. I would just say go slow, don't jump in too fast but get your feet to the ground... its too much fun not to.