5 Key Considerations for Running Shoes

Can you remember the first pair of running shoes when you started your running journey? I do! In my most recent foray into running a few years ago, it was an old pair of hand-down trainers that were a bit on the snug side! These got me through many 5km events and training, and when the time came to replace them, I looked at something light and fast. Knowing nothing about running trainers at the time, I headed down to my local sports superstore and bought a lightweight pair for around £10! These helped me progress further and my 5km career seemingly blossomed (or so I thought). The choice of trainers is huge, and so are the purposes (Figure 1).

Unfortunately, injuries and niggles were features of my early running career. One solution I thought was to add an appropriate insole. This intervention probably helped to a degree, but when I started training for my first marathon, it was time to do things properly. So I visited a specialist running store, did a gait analysis and was 'prescribed' a stability shoe (more about these terms below). Although a bit heavier, comfort was vastly improved, injuries reduced, cushioning improved and sustainable performances gained. This gave me a blueprint for running shoes which I've followed, with minor tweaks, to this day.

Figure 1 - A Huge Choice of Trainers are Available!

#1 Feet (and Shoes) are your Foundation

If you are designing and building a house, you'll recognise without the appropriate foundations problems will arise. In a similar way, you'll want to ensure you have the right footwear to achieve the same in your running activities, especially as the load effects will increase on your body as you pound onto hard surfaces. We weren't born with trainers on our feet, nor did concrete appear without our intervention, so something needs to happen to mitigate the effects.

We'll keep the focus on off-track shoes in the post; barefoot running and track shoes are another area of consideration. In a nutshell, your shoes and feet act as one, as a system, so they need to move appropriately to avoid adverse situations caused by shoe wearing. This post aims to be non-technical; now let's look at the five considerations:

#2 Ensuring a Good Fit

The beauty of running is its simplicity, and of course in Western cultures we have wide access to a large range of footwear options. Most will agree, you'd just want to start using the trainers you have, see how you get on, and look to purchase something more appropriate later. Hopefully though, this post will indicate the benefits of getting a suitable pair of running shoes at an early stage if you can, once you've got the running bug.

Regardless of whether you have a pair of trainers already or have purchased from a running store, because shoes and feet are a system they need to fit well. In general terms, this means a snug (but not too tight) a fit. Many brands offer half sizes, multiple widths per size, and men's and women's - specific models, to optimise this. For specific foot geometries, additions such as insoles can enhance the fit further.

There may well be slight differences in the fit between brands, and an advantage of visiting a physical running store is the ability to try on different brands of an equivalent size to fine tune the best fit. Lace configurations are another valuable means to 'fine tune' the fit. A surplus toe box area may need increased tension in the laces to improve the snugness of the fit in the toe area, and to prevent the tension being concentrated too tightly around the tongue area. Socks are another important area to enhance comfort, hygiene and fit at a modest cost.

#3 What Type of Shoe?

So you've decided to take the plunge and buy a new pair of running shoes - congratulations! Of course, it's tempting to ask friends and running colleagues of their recommendations. However, what works for them may not work for you. Also, cash is tight these days, and heading online for a cheaper deal may be tempting. However, there are plenty of reasons for favouring a physical store for your first 'proper' running shoes. Also, there are stores and there are stores! In general, it is better to visit one which specialises in running rather than multi-sport, and which has the appropriate equipment to undertake gait analysis, video analysis and so forth. These stores may well be staffed by regular runners to add to their training at selecting the right shoes. It's better also to visit a store that doesn't favour one brand over another, so you get the best opportunity of getting the right shoe. A number of questions are expected before a shortlist of shoes are presented:

• What type of running / distance? Most folks are doing some form of 'road' running and in general a shoe which covers short and long runs, training, light grass and earth trails, good cushioning for hard surfaces, mild wet and wintry conditions etc, is a good option. There are shoes which specialise on certain areas but to start with, most will opt for an all-purpose shoe.

• What type of running gait? While there are differing ways to do this, in a specialist running store, you'll probably be asked to run on a treadmill briefly, so do wear suitable clothing so your gait is not restricted. The store assessor may then video your gait to identify your type. You may be a normal runner or supinator with a modest roll, or a overpronator where your foot rotates excessively before making full contact with the surface. Depending on your extent of overpronation you may be offered a 'stability' shoe which provides a greater level of stiffness to compensate to the rotation. The idea is to improve comfort and reduce injury risk. These shoes tended to be a little heavier than normal shoes, although still fairly lightweight. See Figure 2 for a typical stability shoe.

• What brand? Many folks will come with a pre-conception of what type of brand or look they want. Try to put this aside in the interests of getting the shoe for you. Most brands are fairly close in terms of price point, but again a 10 to 20 per cent variation in cost shouldn't necessarily sway a decision. That said, you won't fully realise how good a shoe is until you've used it for a good while, potentially hundreds of kilometres later.

• Try both feet! I read recently that certain stores don't always let you try both shoes on! The fear is that a customer may walk off with them when the assistant's back is turned. Hopefully this doesn't happen in running stores, but thought it worthy of mention. You may well have different-sized feet and of course can typically only buy a pair of the same size (for elites who are sponsored, not such an issue). In this case, you may well need to adjust the laces more tightly and adjust the difference with suitable insoles and socks. There is nothing stopping folks buying two pairs to get the perfect fit, but generally not necessary for the vast majority.

• High arches or other issues? Ask the store to check your arches and ask about any injuries or foot issues. For example, if you have high arches, they could recommend suitable insoles. If you suffer from blisters regularly, they may be able to recommend certain types of sock. Specialist issues such as foot injuries may need professional guidance, such as from a podiatrist, who may suggest bespoke orthotics to correct foot issues.

Figure 2 - Typical Stability Shoe

#4 Future Shoe Purchases

So you've bought a pair of shoes from a running store. This may well give you several hundred kilometres of trouble-free running. Excellent! However, for a variety of reasons, you may not be entirely satisfied with the shoes for a variety of reasons:

• There is rubbing/chaffing which causes skin damage / discomfort etc. I once had a pair of shoes where I struggled to find a fault with the shoe on one foot, but nevertheless had clear chaffing and broken skin. In this instance, it is good to raise with the shop, or better the manufacturer to see if they will refund or replace. It could be a fault with that shoe, or a wider issue, and perhaps only affects a percentage of users. Feedback can help reduce the issue in the subsequent editions of the shoe.

• The shoe has durability issues. In the efforts to make shoes lighter and more breathable, material is modest in places. The shoe may also fail in specific areas, such as tearing to the lining, holes at pressure points in the shoes, or wearing to the soles, leading to loss of grip.

• The size is not quite right. I noticed my shop-fitted shoe was probably slightly small, resulting in holes to the side of the toe box. I tried a slightly larger size and durability did improve, without other issues apparent.

• Running habits change. For shorter distances, a different type of shoe may be preferred for lightness and performance. When researching performance shoes, I found these generally don't have a stability option. So for my running requirements, I would generally use my stability shoes and would seek to use my fast 'normal' shoes sparingly for shorter races / time-target attempts - see Figure 3.

Figure 3 - Typical 'Speed' Shoe

Once you have your favourite shoe, you may well decide to stick with that and purchase another one when it comes to replacing your shoes. This enables buying online an option without loss of many advantages you get from a store, particularly if you wanted to search for outlets with the same model if you wanted to stick with this. The reasoning is that manufacturers release annual updates of their most popular models, knowing that they have loyality to a particular shoe from many runners. Sometimes not all updates may be beneficial. For example, I have had a number of the same model of shoe and found an earlier version was probably the most durable. Of course, if you were not satisfied with your choice, or wanted to be sure, revisiting a physical store is probably best for your next purchase.

As we live in cash-strapped and environmentally-conscious times, preloved and old stock trainers may be much cheaper options. Obviously, you'll want to make sure that these are hygienic and not worn excessively, but there are significant bargains to be found on Ebay and other platforms.

#5 Looking after Running Shoes

Running shoes generally last around 500 to 1000km as a rough range, the former for lighter race-type shoes, the latter for sturdier long-distance major brand models. Generally though, you'll notice a bit of a drop in performance towards the latter end of the range, and sometimes keeping a spare 'race' pair if you can afford to do so is not a bad idea. Otherwise, plan to get your new shoes around a few weeks before a big event so you are comfortable with them and they perform at their best.

Should you wear your shoes when not running? There are pros and cons. With many shoes costing north of £100, general use is likely to shorten their life significantly; it's difficult to estimate, but you could quite easily walk as much as you run, albeit less pressure applied in the former. This, along with the donning and doffing, can expedite deterioration. Wearing for prolonged periods could also cause more odour issues.

Conversely, if you tend to need stability shoes and have suffered from injuries, wearing these shoes when not running does make sense. You could 'retire' your aged running shoes and use your new ones for running only, and repeat the cycle. See Figure 4 for a retiring ageing race shoe!

Figure 4 - Old Race Shoe Enjoying 'Retirement'!

It's not a bad idea to have your older pair on standby in wet and muddy conditions. This will help preserve the look of your 'good' shoes and reduce the potential deterioration due to cleaning. You may want to start to use a dry cloth to remove excess dirt, and then a wet sponge to remove the rest. Clean straight after they are dirty to avoid odours etc. Then dry in a suitable warm place. Try to avoid immersed cleaning, such as a hand wash or in the washing machine, however, while a short time at a low temperature may not damage them, it may reduce their lifespan, especially if regularly undertaken.

Cleaning the inside of the shoe is likely to be undertaken more frequently, and you may find you have insoles that can be easily hand or machine-washed if required. New insoles can slightly prolong the performance life of the shoes and often outlast the typical life of a shoe, and can often be reused in another pair.

Do check elsewhere on the internet for more detailed cleaning tips!