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- When it comes to buying a pair of running shoes,
it can sometimes seem as tricky as buying something bigger
like a bike, for instance,
and, I mean, I don't blame you.
You're going to be spending a lot of time in these,
so it's important that they're right for you.
So, today, I thought I'd run through a few tips
on how to select the running shoe,
what type you should wear, and when.
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Firstly, what works for one runner
may not necessarily work for another,
so don't aimlessly head out and buy a pair or running shoes
just because you like the look of them
or your friend has recommended them to you.
The best thing you can do is head
to your local running store to have your gait analysed
or, if you have a pair of well-used running shoes,
you can check the wear patterns on the soles
to see how you pronate and what shoes are suited to you.
So, there are three main types of pronation.
We have neutral, overpronate, and supinate,
so here, we're gonna start with neutral,
and what you're looking for here is more centralised
wear down the middle of the ball of the foot
and this is actually considered
the most biomechanically sound as everything tracks
and rolls through in a straight and forward motion.
Now, on on overpronation and you can identify this
with slightly more wear down the inside edge of the shoe.
Don't worry if this is you, because it's very common
and it's quite often caused by the arch of the foot
collapsing in, or in some cases, even being flat footed
and in turn, this ends of leading
to this rolling in motion as you run.
If you find you have slightly more wear
down the outer edge of the shoe,
it's likely that you supinate.
Now, this isn't quite so common, but it's generally caused
by having a high arch, which means you have a particularly
defined and rigid arch,
which causes you to roll through and off
on the outer edge of your shoe.
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If you didn't already know how you pronated,
hopefully you do now.
So, let's take a look at the different types of shoes
to suit those types of pronation.
So, let's start with a neutral shoe,
which is obviously designed for neutral runners,
but also for supinating runners.
It provides a bit of shock absorption
and a little medial support,
so they're essentially designed to roll through
in a nice, neutral motion
and if you do supinate, these won't add any more
unnecessary control or stability.
Now, for a stability shoe
that's for someone that overpronates.
Now, these normally include a firm area around the arch side
for support and to provide higher stability
to control the motion of the foot as it rolls through.
Now, if you have quite sever overpronation or flat feet,
you want something with slightly greater control
to stop the arch from collapsing so much,
such as a motion control shoe,
which is essentially a beefed-up version
of our stability shoe and it just simply provides
a little bit more support around the arch area.
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Other than the colour, the main difference you'll notice
with these two shoes is the amount of cushioning.
One is super well-cushioned whilst the other
is a lot more minimal and when we pop them on the scales,
there's a whopping 174 grams difference per shoe.
That's a total of 348 grams for the pair,
which is almost twice as heavy.
So, when would you wear each type of shoe?
The well-cushioned shoe is great for absorbing impact,
perfect for your every day training miles.
Now, they are a bit heavier, but they do help
to keep you injury-free and in one piece.
Now, the more minimal shoe is actually
a lightweight racing flat.
Now, in the same way that you might put some
fast aero wheels onto your bike for a race,
you may want to pull out some lightweight running shoes
to give you that edge on race day, as well.
When you consider carrying something like
and extra 174 grammes per foot over the course
of a 5k, 10k, or more, that really begins to add up
and to put this into perspective and use an example,
an elite runner with a cadence of 180 steps per minute
runs a 30 minute dead 10k,
that's around 5400 steps throughout their whole race.
Now, that's a lot of steps to be carrying
that extra weight through.
So, if you do fancy trying to get that edge
and buy some race flats,
most brands will actually advise what distance
their shoe is designed for.
Now, a five to 10k shoe will have a lot less cushioning
than something like a marathon shoe.
That said, shoes do differ from runner to runner
and some people may want to do a 5k
in something more cushioned like a marathon shoe,
whilst others might be able to get away
with something less cushioned for a marathon, for instance.
So, it really does come down to what works for you.
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Whilst they can sometimes seem like a big investment,
don't make the mistake of trying to get your money's worth
to the point that your toes are poking out of the end.
If you're running them beyond their life expectancy,
you could be limiting your performance
or even risking injury.
Over time, they begin to lose their cushioning,
meaning you begin to absorb the impact more
and generally, shoes have around 300 to 400 miles in them
and the lighter the shoe, often, the less that is.
So, for something like a race flat,
there's probably about one season of regular
triathlon racing before you need to replace them.
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Road shoes are great,
but if you've ever tried venturing off road in them,
you've probably noticed a significant lack of grip.
Now, I've tried a few times and ended up
face planting in the mud.
Now, that's because they're designed for flat,
smooth surfaces and groomed trails,
not really for loose, slippery surfaces or mud,
as I found out.
So, that's where the trail shoe comes in, like this one.
They generally have a bit more tread
and a slightly more jagged design to the sole
to improve that traction and grip
and it can have a reinforced upper
to deal with those conditions and the terrain
a little bit more, and obviously,
these are really well suited to anyone
doing any off-road, multi-sport events.
There you go.
Running shoes can be quite complicated,
but hopefully, that clears up any confusion
and it helps you when you're next purchasing
some running shoes.
To see more videos from Global Triathlon Network,
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by clicking on the globe
and to see our how to run like a pro video,
just click down here
and see our lamppost interval run session,
just click down here.