Purchasing Your Running Shoe: A Lifetime Case Study

Let me first preface this with my running resume, so I can (hopefully) prove to you that I know a thing or two about this and that my advice can be (hopefully) trusted.  I will also say that a very good resource for running shoe knowledge is Runblogger, so feel free to go there as well. 

I've been running since I was 12 (1995 - I'm currently 28), beginning by running with my mom while she trained for her first half and full marathons.  My first organized race was a 5K when I was 13, which I ran on several occasions in the years leading up to high school.  In high school, I ran cross country in the fall before playing basketball in the winter, picking up recreational running as an activity in the spring.  Following high school, I was a recreational runner, staying in shape while dealing with the stresses (and well-stocked cafeteria) of a college lifestyle. I ran my first marathon during my senior year, and have since run 5 more marathons, several half marathons, and shorter distances from 5K to 10 mile.  My running shoe style is neutral cushioned, and I've tried a number of shoes from different brands over the years, with the most prominent being the Gel Nimbus line from Asics.  I believe I went through 4 or 5 iterations of that shoe before switching to a different brand.

With that in mind, let's discuss my running shoe journey.

When I began running, I had no clue the intricacies associated with choosing a shoe (and it's highly likely that fewer of them existed back then).  As I had been a basketball player for many years at that point, the strategy that made the most sense was to wear basketball shoes while running.  I'm fairly certain that my shoe choices were based on two things at that point - style and price (the latter being something that my father made sure was an important factor).  I worried little about form and function of my shoes, and did the miles when appropriate.

The first big change came back before freshman year of high school, when I was beginning to become a "runner".  I still had little knowledge of the subject, but had the distinct advantage of knowing several marathoners, including both my parents (9 marathons between the two of them) and my uncle (27 marathons total, including a number of qualified Boston marathons).  I also knew (and this was pretty obvious back then) that I have a very similar foot shape to my mom.  This meant that whatever shoe she was wearing would probably work just as well for me in the appropriate size.  I believe my first real running shoes were a pair of Nikes, some sort of Air Max Triax deal that was discontinued not long afterward.  As I said, I capitalized on her experience and was able to run essentially injury free for my first few years in high school.

Looking to purchase my second pair of shoes, I then had the opportunity to go to the running store myself to try on the shoes.  This was my first opportunity to get the analysis and thoughts of fellow runners trained in identifying what types of shoes would work with certain runners.  As I had been somewhat experienced at that point, I had a reference point to work from, and after a few tries we settled in on a different Nike shoe that looked an awful lot like a basketball shoe (no idea what kind).  Again, it was a neutral cushion model similar to my previous shoe, and it seemed to work pretty well... until I managed to leave them in Mexico at the end of my senior year of high school.  Yikes.

I returned to the running store to get further feedback for my next few pairs of shoes.  I should point out how useful it is to go to a running shoe store (versus a department or big box type store), as the people working there are often runners themselves and usually have plenty of experience when it comes to picking out shoes.  If anything, you can give them a starting point (i.e. whatever shoe I was wearing before that), your thoughts on different features, and together can find a shoe that should work.  I went to two lightweight, neutral trainers (Nike Skylon, I think), which did well overall but had some durability issues.  I'm a big guy (6'1", 190 lbs), and the shoes had the correct pronation control features but not a lot of cushioning, so they wore out a lot faster than different pairs of shoes would.

And then... the Nimbus.  Like my early shoes, my mom was again the impetus for this purchase.  She had gone to the shoe store and been pointed to them, and suggested that I give them a try as well.  They are, as many have stated, probably one of the most cushioned shoes available, and they were great for long miles on the road.  Throughout college and my first few years of grad school, I went through multiple iterations, wearing out the previous shoe with marathon training and long runs, exploring the new features which really didn't change the performance of the shoe.  I was quite happy and brand loyal, not very willing to make a change.

But then minimalist running shoes happened.

Well, sort of.  As the costs of purchasing the thickly cushioned, top of the line running shoes have increased (I think there's a shoe that costs $200 now?  Seriously?), and the promises of potential increases in running performance and injury prevention with minimal shoes have become clearer, I've been changing my tune about what kind of shoe I want to have.  I actually used to take pride in the fact that I was quite the heel striker, something that I don't find so appealing now (the jury is out about whether I still do it, but at least now I don't say that it's one of my strong points).  After years of purchasing the same shoe (and, I might add, suffering from a chronic hamstring problem... probably the result of no stretching and overtraining, but still), I went back to the running store and asked to see what kind of minimal shoes they had available.  Unfortunately the list was small (mostly confined to racing flats), but there were some less expensive choices available, and I switched from the cushy Nimbus to the middle of the road Saucony Progrid Ride.  Less shoe, less expensive, and it seemed to fit and work as well as the Nimbus. 

I ran on 2 pairs of the Ride 2 (the second of which brought me through a marathon), and stayed with online purchasing to get the Ride 3, which (at the time) had about the same cost as the Ride 2.  As before, I figured that I could stay with the same style and, even with the upgrades going from 2 to 3, have no problems.  Whatever the cause, I ended up getting shinsplints, and had to stop running for a little while. 

In thinking about my running career and what I wanted to do with it, I again considered the possibility that cushy shoes may not be as helpful as they seem, so I began to explore other options.  Through the internet and Runblogger, among other places, I settled in on the New Balance MT101 shoes, minimalist trail shoes that I could use for running on the grass (where I had been running because of the shin problems).  I think I got lucky in that I ordered these shoes online, without having tried them previously, and found that they fit pretty well.  Thus, a new paradigm was born - find inexpensive shoes on the internet which should fit, and give them a try. 

I recently tested this method again by purchasing a different pair of shoes, the Puma Faas 500, which were again inexpensive and matched the neutral cushioning type of shoe that I normally wear.  I found, however, that they were a bit narrow for my feet, and despite giving them a chance for a few runs I ended up returning them because they just didn't work for me, causing my hamstring injury to flare up.  Unfortunately this means that the new strategy has been met with its caveat - since you can't try out the shoe before purchasing it, you're stuck having to wait until you've actually purchased the shoe to find out if it will work for you.  For the record, I'm currently 1 for 2 in that department, and will be waiting for the exchange to be made to see if I will be successful on the next purchase (Asics Speedstar 5, which I decided on in a similar fashion to the one I returned). 

I should point out here that I purchased the most recent two pairs of shoes at Running Warehouse, a company that not only has free shipping for both purchases and returns (thank goodness) but also very helpful customer service.  I wrote them an email on a Sunday morning thinking that I wouldn't hear back for at least a day, and they promptly responded and were very flexible with their return policy for me.  I'd highly recommend them if you're looking to find a pair of shoes online!

In the end, there are a number of bullet points I want to bring up with purchasing your first, second, or (in my case, probably) 20th pair of shoes.

1. If you haven't had a pair of running shoes before, get to a running specialty store and talk to someone about what you're hoping to get out of your running.  They'll be able to watch you run and, based on your input and physical mechanics, offer some suggestions to what types of shoes you should try.  Other methods like the wet foot test can also be helpful, but I believe that there's research indicating that this doesn't always tell you the type of shoe that works the best.
2. Try your shoes out by both wearing them around the store and by running in them (something that most running stores will encourage).  You should feel comfortable in them from the get-go, and not have any screaming pain when running in them.  If you choose a pair, try to get to a treadmill or jog around your house for a little bit to decide if you want to stick with them.  I had one pair of shoes that were different from my normal shoe type, and after running on a treadmill for 5 miles I more than realized that I shouldn't have been running in them.
3. If you go to a running store to look at shoes, and you try out a bunch of shoes and pick one you like, buy the shoes from them.  I've gotten yelled at for suggesting otherwise. :/-
4. Once you've established what kind of shoes you want, feel free to look online for subsequent models, keeping in mind that certain shoes may change from year to year, meaning you may have to go back to the running store to see how different they feel before purchasing.
5. If you want to take the risk and try something new without going to the running store, use some sort of shoe-fitting analysis program first (Running Warehouse uses one) to see if you should wear a different size than you normally would wear (i.e. if the shoe you want is more snug than the one you have, you may have to size up a little)
6. Be sure to learn about the return policy for where ever you purchase your shoes, to make sure that they are not too damaged before you decide you want to send them back.  Most running shoe stores will be pretty flexible, but online retailers probably won't be as nice to you (Running Warehouse being an exception, in my case).
7. Don't be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone when it comes to shoe purchasing, but be sure to do the research before you do it to make sure you don't get injured/have to deal with returning shoes.  

Anyway, I hope that my personal experiences will be helpful to you when getting your shoes.  Running is something that I really enjoy, and having good equipment is always a helpful thing!

I'm Adam L.
Thanks for listening. :/-