Quick talk about shoes
Really, what’s all the fuss.
I usually avoid talking about shoes with runners because it’s emotional. Runners love their shoes. Runners swear by their particular brand. It’s like religion or politics. Every arguer is convinced by the rightness of their point of view. So, I avoid the discussion and smile.
Why? Why is there so much emotion wrapped up in these shoes?
It’s very simple. These shoes were with us as we conquered that long training cycle and that massive race. We impart to the shoes a supernatural power for having guided us through these treacherous waters to our goals. But was it really the shoes?
It’s also emotional because typically it’s a journey that we had to go through over many years through many injuries and perils to finally get to this pair of holy shoes. Then, just when we have arrived at shoe Nirvana they wear out and we can’t find another pair. The stupid shoe company changes them.
It’s like a series of tempestuous romances. We fall in love and get our hearts broken again and again.
When we have to get new shoes it takes on all the stress of car shopping or blind dating. They are expensive in some cases and it’s a financial decision. If you make a bad choice, you’re stuck with these bad investments to mock your decision skills and financial wherewithal every time you look in your closet.
Here’s the good and bad news for you.
It’s not about the shoes.
You think you have found a wonderful savior shoe to spend your running life with, but it’s probably as much correlation as causation. These just happened to be the shoes you were in when something else you did made you healthy, strong and faster.
Smart training, form, volume and intensity, all probably have more impact on your ability to run than the shoes. Frankly, with the right investment in your training you open up your shoe options.
The new runner’s journey is predictable. The new runner just starts running. After a couple weeks they figure they need to invest in a ‘good pair of shoes’. Usually because they read that in a new runner advise article. “You need good shoes!” Which, is probably 10% or less of what you need. You need functional shoes.
Our new runner goes online or to the shoe store and since they don’t have a clue they buy what is recommended or what looks good.
In chapter two the new runner does too much too fast and gets an injury. Like runners knee. They are bummed out because they were starting to like running, or at least not hate it, and now they want to run and can’t. They read another article or talk to the family doctor and the advice is what? You guessed it. “You need different shoes!”
Now the runner is down the rabbit hole. Depending on who they talk to they might get the ‘barefoot’ running advice, or maybe the ‘zero-drop’ advice or if they go mainstream they get the ‘control and structured shoe’ advice.
Let’s assume they end up in a new pair of shoes when they come back from the injury. Now, because they were injured they are more cautious. Maybe they’re doing a little stretching. Maybe they’re getting some coaching. Maybe they work on their form. Before you know it they’re running again! They get past the injury!
What do you think they give the credit to? The coach? The smarter training? No. It was the new shoes! The new shoes fixed everything. And the cycle repeats.
Don’t get me wrong, there are shoes that are bad for you and there are even plain old bad shoes. The tricky bit is that the ‘right shoes’ for you are going to be specific to you and specific to that individual pair of shoes.
If you are patient and train smart you can learn to run well or at least comfortably in any shoe. When you get enough experience, you can feel the characteristics of a new pair of shoes. You learn how to break in and adapt a shoe to your purposes. You learn how to feel when a shoe is not right and you move on.
Here’s my advice for new runners around shoes.
- Do a little investigating into your feet. Understand whether you have high arches or flat feet. That simple understanding will point you to a set of shoes.
- Understand the shape of your foot. Shoes are designed for the average shaped foot. If you’ve got those long toes or wide feet your going to want to look for brands that make provisions for your weird, shaped feet.
- Check your running form. Because you have a choice here. If you are landing on your heel and rolling through the foot it’s ok. There are lots of shoes designed for that. Those are the ones with big chunky heels.
But, you might consider taking the time to retrain yourself to a forefoot running form. In the long run it will save you injuries and make you happier with your running. If you do take the time to move to a more natural form it opens up a few categories of shoe for you.
First, a clean foot strike means you don’t need a bunch of structure in your shoe. You can run in any ‘neutral’ shoe. No need for big heels, posts, shanks, or any of that extra stuff. Just a basic shoe. Saves you money and is typically much lighter.
Second, if you have a nice clean form you can migrate to a zero-drop or no-heel shoe. Just be careful because you’ll tear up your Achilles if you try to transition too fast.
Third, if you have a natural form there’s always the option of going barefoot. Again, budget a few months for the transition, but it certainly simplifies things.
The summary here, my friends is that the shoes aren’t really going to determine how you run. How you run is going to determine the shoes. If you only have limited time and capital invest that in your running form. Start with a basic neutral cushioned shoe and see where it leads you.
It’s not about the shoe. It’s about you and what you do with the shoe.