Cheap shoes prevent injuries?

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

...but the one time I took a pair of shoes up to 700 miles I started to get back pain. New (identical) shoes, back pain gone.

Fair point, and I wasn't really looking to re-open the debate; I was just curious whether anyone else had the same experience as me, i.e. change to cheaper shoes and have fewer injuries as a result.

I well remember being in a shoe store once and trying on the A$260 Asic Kayanos - pretty much the most expensive shoe in the store - and being shocked when the sales guy said the Kayanos were easily the best-selling shoe despite the hefty price.

And I thought then that surely that did NOT mean it was necessarily the bestest shoe, but that people were buying it on reputation or some other nonsensical reason. Probably half of the buyers were not even going to use them for running. Or maybe I'm just too cynical.

As an aside, I have tried running in Dunlop Volleys (super-cheap canvas shoes with a rigid flat sole) and found them awful. However I've also heard Ken Rosewell on the telly say that in his day they were the only shoes tennis players used, and they caused no particular injuries.

If you think about this too much, you might just end up playing cards or chess in your socks instead.