sole 24 again essentially conventional in its design the sole is shaped to generally conform with the bottom of the wearer 39 s foot it is sufficiently flexible to bend with the bending of the wearer 39 s foot when in use but sufficiently hard to protect the wearer 39 s foot located between the upper 12 and the sole 24 is an intermediate platform 26 the platform 26 is a relatively thin member sufficiently rigid so as to normally retain its generally flat shape but sufficiently flexible so as to bend and flex like the sole with the movement of the foot during walking or running the periphery of the platform 26 is secured to the periphery of the upper 12 and the sole 24 the upper and lower surfaces 30 and 32 of the platform are spaced from the lower and upper surfaces 36 and 38 of the upper and sole respectively in this manner an upper chamber 40 and a lower chamber 42 are formed on opposite sides of the platform the upper chamber 40 is of a sufficient size to receive the foot of a wearer the lower chamber 42 is preferably significantly smaller merely of such size as to receive force absorbing units or elements 44 formed in the intermediate platform 26 are a plurality of pairs of notches 48 50 52 etc extending along each side of each platform from adjacent the back or heel portion 56 of the shoe and platform to the front or toe portion.