- Hey, I'm Allen with REI and I'm here to help ch-
How to choose running shoes.
Help you decide.
Am I holding the shoes in a weird way?
Do I really like that part of running?
I don't know.
Is medial too jargony?
Yeah, that's a lot of words.
And you may just like the movement
of the ground underneath you.
That feels like the floor is lava.
The grounds not moving. (laughing)
Oh, what was it?
Jesus, stumbling over words.
Hey, I'm Alan with REI.
And I'm here to help you decide
how to choose road running shoes.
Getting into running can feel a little daunting.
When I started getting into running,
one of the first things I thought about
is how to be more comfortable doing it.
Running can be really fun
and the gear can really amplify that experience.
Today I'm here to make that a little bit easier for you
and get you into the right gear
that's best for your run.
Today we'll be talking about support levels,
cushioning types, and heel to toe drop.
Which I consider to be the three main factors
in helping decide what shoes to buy.
Make sure you check out our video
on how to fit and size running shoes,
as fit is the most important thing in deciding
what footwear to buy.
All right, that felt easier, I think.
So let's talk about support.
Support comes in three categories;
There's neutral,
which lets your shoe.
Let's your shoe, this is a shoe. (laughs)
There's neutral,
which means that the mid-sole
lets your foot land the way it naturally would land.
Like this shoe.
There's stability,
which means that there's a few structured features
that allow your foot to come back more to a normal position
if you pronate.
Like you can see in this shoe here.
Then there's motion control.
Like this shoe here.
It's got a guide rail to help correct severe over pronation
and get your foot back to a more normal position.
So we've used that word pronation a few times,
but what does that word mean?
You may have heard it tossed around here and there
and maybe it sounds like a scary word.
Pronation is the natural movement that your foot and ankle
make when your foot hits the ground during a run.
Normally your foot and ankle would hit the ground
and roll in a little bit.
If your foot and ankle roll in a little bit,
you probably have a neutral gate.
That helps you absorb a little bit
of the impact during your run.
If your foot and ankle roll in more than 15 degrees,
that would be categorized as over pronation.
Does that feel like pronation?
If you have a neutral gate,
this neutral shoe would be pretty solid.
If you over pronate,
it might be helpful to get something with a guide on it,
like a stability shoe
to help with that over pronation.
We do have motion control shoes
that are for folks that have severe over pronation.
So if you've been referred to by a doctor,
that probably sounds like you have a bad case of something.
If your doctor has recommended a more structured shoe
to help you with your severe over pronation,
than a shoe like the Brooks Beast,
with its guide rails, can be really helpful.
If over pronation goes unchecked for too long,
it can lead to injuries.
The last category is what we call supination.
Some runners supinate,
which means that when their foot lands,
it actually rolls to the outside.
In that case,
a neutral shoe with a little bit more stack height,
with more cushion.
I keep wanting to say stack height.
Let's try again.
If you're in that category of runner
then a neutral shoe
with a little bit more cushion could helpful.
So let's talk about a quick and easy way to help you decide
what level of support you need.
If you grab a pair of old worn shoes from home
and you look at the tread pattern,
you can kind of see where it wears most
and it'll kind of help you decide which way you strike.
If you look at these shoes,
you can see that there's a little bit more wear
on the outside heel and on the balls of my feet.
That means that probably when I run
that I'm a little bit of a neutral runner,
which is probably good because I'm in a neutral shoe.
If you look at your shoe and you notice
that there's wear patterns on the inside of the heel
and underneath the ball of your foot,
it might mean that you over pronate
and you land inward when you land.
Over pronation would probably lead you
to get a stability shoe.
If you look at the bottom of your shoe,
and you start to realize that the wear
is a little bit more on the heel of your shoe
and the outside of your toe box,
it probably means that you land outwards or you supinate.
In that case,
it's probably best to go with a neutral shoe
that has a little bit more cushion.
When I first started running,
I bought the shoe that all my friends had.
I didn't even realize it was a stability shoe.
It wasn't until somebody showed me that wear pattern trick
that I noticed that was more of a neutral runner.
I bought a pair of neutral running shoes next time around,
and I could not believe how much better I felt on my runs.
If a lot of this still sounds
like you're right in the middle
or you're not really sure where you land,
feel free to come into any REI store
and talk to one of our green vests.
So let's talk about cushioning.
Cushioning usually comes in three different categories.
You've got the barefoot minimalist.
Which really means that
there's about three to four millimeters underfoot
or very little cushioning there.
You have the moderate category,
which is what most running shoes fall into,
which means it has a pretty good amount of cushion.
You can still feel the ground a little bit.
Then you have the maximum cushion shoe,
which means you have the most amount of cushion
and you feel like you're running on clouds.
So let's get into barefoot and minimalist styles of shoes.
In these styles,
you have a little bit less cushion
connecting you to the ground,
which means that you get to feel a little bit more
of the run.
These are my Barefoot sandals.
And Barefoot sandals usually have about three to four
millimeters of rubber between you and the ground.
And that's it.
I know that I really enjoy running in sandals
when I really want to feel.
What do I want to feel?
Why do I like it?
Well, it's funny 'cause I only use it on trails
so maybe I shouldn't talk about it right now.
Like it feels good to be connected on trail in sandals,
on road it's a bummer.
Maybe we can say like less cushion shoes,
you feel more of the run,
and your response time can be a little bit faster, right?
Is that fair?
Because like, you can feel the things.
I really like the sensation
when I'm feeling faster on my runs,
when I'm feeling a little bit more enthusiastic
because I can feel everything underneath me
and my response times tend to be a little bit quicker.
Most running shoes fall into the moderate category.
In this category,
you have a pretty good amount of cushion under foot,
which means that you feel the ground a little bit,
but mostly you're feeling that mid-sole,
and it's helping you stay comfortable along your run.
Moderate category is great work horse shoe.
It's a great shoe to just kind of log your normal runs in.
It keeps you happy running over a lots of miles
and is a great shoe for day in, day out.
Then you have the maximum cushion shoe.
This shoe is for when you don't want to feel anything
on your foot and it really helps you feel
like you're running on clouds
thanks to the amount of generous cushioning
that they're giving you on your foot.
Some folks can say that they feel
a little too mushy in the shoe.
A little too mushy in the shoe?
Is that what we're saying?
In the kush, I think is kind of what you said.
That's kind of cool, but, yeah.
In the squoosh.
Yeah, I mean, I love the Bondi's for recovery run.
When my legs hurt and I run two miles in the Bondi's,
my legs stop hurting,
but I get what you're saying.
You do feel a little bit slower.
These shoes are great when you don't want
to feel anything under foot.
Just feel like you're running on clouds.
The amount of cushion that it provides
really helps me feel good on my recovery runs
when I've had a long week of running.
I know that I'm not focused on speed
because they definitely feel a little bit slower,
but it definitely makes me feel good
to kind of cruise through my run on those days,
I tend to rotate my footwear throughout the week.
Some days I'll wear my Barefoot sandals
and feel really connected to the ground.
And some days when I'm feeling just like
I can barely get out the door,
I'll pull up my max cushion shoes.
Is that disparaging to people in max cushion shoes?
If like I can barely get out the door.
And remember, anytime you're changing your cushion level,
you want to take it a little bit slow
and give your body some time to adapt.
If you're really concerned,
you should check with your doctor first.
So let's talk about drop.
Heel to toe drop,
often referred to just as drop,
is the difference in height
between the heel of the shoe and the forefoot of the shoe.
So you can see here, this is a Brooks Adrenaline,
more traditional style of running shoe.
And there's about a 12 millimeter difference
between the heel and the forefoot.
This is an Altra Torin,
and you can see that there's actually pretty uniform height
and there's actually a zero millimeter difference
between the heel and the forefoot of the shoe.
So shoes with a lower drop,
anywhere usually from about zero to six millimeters,
tend to encourage a more natural strike.
Usually has to do with the uniformity of the weight
between the heel and the toe.
And it allows your foot to land
closer to the front of your foot
or the mid part of your foot.
Shoes with a higher drop
tend to have a little bit more weight in the heel
and can encourage a heel strike.
Do you want me to say anything or just do this?
The important thing to realize here
is that there's no right way to land on your feet.
Everybody's got a different natural way to land
and that's okay.
You really want to choose a running shoe
that helps you feel comfortable in your natural strike.
If you're really not sure which way your foot lands,
when you run,
take some time on your next run
to really help hone in on
if your heel lands first, your midfoot, or your forefoot.
I know that when I started running,
I was in a higher drop shoe,
but the more I learned about form and strike,
I realized I was landing on my toes.
I transitioned to a lower drop shoe
and started to feel more comfortable
on my longer distance run.
If you're looking to transition between drop types,
remember to give your body some time to adapt.
Oftentimes if you're going to a lower drop shoe
from a higher drop shoe,
you may feel extra strain in your body.
If you're going from a lower drop shoe
to a higher drop shoe,
the same can be true.
Remember to check with your doctor first,
if you're concerned.
Remember it's all about comfort.
So whether you're a heel striker,
mid-foot striker, or forefoot striker,
it's all about what feels best for you.
So we've covered support categories, cushioning types,
and heel to toe drop.
Hopefully that helps you narrow down
your next pair of road running shoes.
Should we be hopeful about it?
Size and fit are still the most important thing
in helping you finalize your buying decisions.
And I encourage you to watch our video on that.
Do you want me to just say like, thanks for watching,
Is that kind of a deal?
Thanks for watching and enjoy your run.
That feels like a weird way to wrap it up.