I asked a friend who is a sports medicine doctor about this. She said pretty much what you said: 1) Injury rates are about the same no matter what shoes you we

I asked a friend who is a sports medicine doctor about this. She said pretty much what you said: 1) Injury rates are about the same no matter what shoes you wear. (or don't wear) 2) Quick changes in intensity (couch to 10k etc...) often lead to injury. 3) Cross training reduces likelihood of injury as does proper stretching. 4) What works for some people doesn't work for others. (eg. for some people barefoot running is better but that isn't true overall)