Quote from Phantom Rider on Jul 8th, 2013, 8:55pm:cleats are all the way back so I have no issues here. I do know that as long as my distance don't typically get above 40 miles my feet don't bother me.
To illustrate the statement that "everyone's feet are different", in my case, the stiffer the sole, the worse my foot problems are. I have worked on my foot issues for years and have had a reasonable degree of success but still when I do an ultra race that requires a high level of constant power output (such as constant 25-30mph headwinds), I have problems and just have to cut back on the power when my feet light up in pain. By 'light up' I mean that it feels like someone runs across my feet with a propane torch.
In short, I have to modify my shoes (usually not difficult) to move the cleats much further back and then strategically modify the inserts, starting with a hand-wrapped bottom (cheap) insert with a high-quality insert on top of that. I wrap the lower insert with short strips of elastic bandage. This allows me to fairly easily shape the insert and try it out over time, moving things around until I'm satisfied. Using a stiff sole makes it harder to shape things to fit as it tends to concentrate pressure in a few immovable areas.
How well does this work? Well, just last week I pulled the pedal insert loose on the crankside of my Lightning carbon cranks. I was pulling about 950 watts in a slight uphill sprint in traffic at 34mph when I noticed my shoe starting to turn out. When I got to a place where I could stop I saw the cranks had started to delaminate around the insert. I've put over 50,000 miles on these cranks in 3 1/2 years, abusing them in this sort of way almost every day during that time so I figure that's a pretty good product. Plus Lightning is replacing the crankarms for $200 so good customer service in my mind.