Selecting Running Shoes

Proper equipment is an essential part of any athlete’s performance arsenal. This statement is no less true for a runner who, in the grand scheme of sport athletes, has very little equipment to contend with. A runner’s shoes, however, are an integral part of their success and consistency capabilities for running. No matter what your distance as a runner from 100 meters to 100 miles, your shoe is the only buffer your body has with the ground besides the natural impact reduction capabilities of your body. Your body is designed to disperse the stresses of impact with every step and you need to make sure you have a shoe which encourages and even assists this dispersal rather than hinders it.

The first thing a runner needs to know about shoes is that only designated running shoes are actually designed for running. There is quite a bit of biomechanical engineering that goes into the design of any shoe and running shoes receive perhaps the most technical attention due to the brevity of their use. If you run on a track frequently, you should own track shoes, if you run long distances, you should own distance running shoes. Not doing so is just offering your body up to injury for an entirely fixable reason.

The body is actually designed to run without shoes and a some cultures in the world still operate almost entirely in this manner. If a developing child never wears shoes, their feet will become externally tough yet internally extremely mobile allowing for that proper absorption of the forces of walking and running. Shoes were originally designed and are still necessary for foot protection in a modern world. They protect from the elements, from objects on the ground, and from impact with external structures (no stubbed toes). Since your body was designed to run without shoes, shoes which you do wear should impede this design as little as possible. The first thing to remember when you look for running shoes is - you should never have to “break in” running shoes. They should be instantly comfortable and impede your movement minimally. If you so much as feel a chafing of your ankle or your toes occasionally touch the sides or end of the shoe upper, you need a different pair of shoes.

Because of aesthetics, many people make poor decisions when purchasing new shoes. There are types of shoes, like high heels, which our bodies were never meant to wear. Heels are unfortunately societally attractive, but extremely detrimental to the body of the wearer. In the same vain, people will sometimes buy running shoes for their appearance rather than their fit. Just because you like the look of a shoe doesn’t mean that shoe is good for you! Buying shoes that are too small or have awkward stability is a bad idea if you actually want to wear them frequently or during activity. Make sure none of your toes touch the end of your shoe. If they do, this restriction will impede the ability of your foot to properly propel you forward and absorb the shock of impact with the ground - whether you are running or walking.

Be careful of arch support. Depending on your foot structure, too little arch support will force your foot to flatten out too much and you will strain structures of the foot and lower leg. Too much arch support my restrict the ability of your foot to flatten properly and thereby causing the opposite problem of the former situation. Again, the shoe should feel immediately comfortable when you put it on. You shouldn’t feel like you have an arch support lump in the middle of your foot, nor should the shoe sag to the inside because of too little support.

The final thing to keep in mind about running shoes is that they need to be replaced. If you are going to use your shoes for impact exercise like running on a regular basis, you will need to replace your shoes at least once a year. If you have high mileage goals in your running routine you will need to replace your shoes much more often, perhaps as frequently as every three months. The reason for this is simple physics. The material that is used to make the soles of running shoes starts as a liquid. Over time, liquid evaporates and becomes more solid. In the case of running shoe soles, this means the cushion part of the shoe becomes harder and harder over their life span. For this reason it is also not a good idea to buy shoes that have been sitting on a shelf for more than a year. Try to buy current models of shoe. These shoes are generally more expensive but the cost of the shoe will outweigh the cost of recovery from an overuse injury you will most likely incur as a result of poor equipment.

Probably the best way to select running shoes is to go to a premium store where the staff members can do a custom gate fitting for your body. These professionals fit shoes every day and take a lot of time matching different body types and foot configurations to different types of shoes. This kind of service is expensive, but if you are a serious runner, it is extremely important. If you are simply running for recreation you still need properly fitting shoes and you should follow the guidelines of size and comfort I have mentioned previously. When making your purchase, consider how you plan on using these new shoes. If you are only wearing them to walk around a gym and perhaps do some strength training, you shoes won’t affect your performance too much and a cheaper option is viable. If, however, you are planning to wear the shoe frequently and get a lot of use out of it for cross-training or running, it is in your interest to spend a little more to get the proper fit and remove yourself from the possibility of equipment injury.