… what I know now, I could have saved myself several hundreds of dollars in unneeded running shoes. Going to the “experts” for guidance and direction often seems pointless as the reviewer of shoes many times has a conflict of interest to promote certain brands and not piss off the manufacturing gods. The makers of course are in the business of selling shoes and will tell you anything. What shoe is comfortable, cushy or yields great performance for one person, rarely does so for everyone.

A person could hardly afford to buy all the shoes of one line say Nike, let alone all the shoes of the dozen or so major brands! And since the shoe is pretty much ‘it’ when it comes to equipment for this hobby, choosing the right one is critical. I have seen it happen where the over pronator is not aware of their problem, and seriously undermine the health of their knees, hips and back because they did not realize they needed something as simple as a stability shoe!

What I have pieced together from my own experience and that of others, is that it is good to have 2 pairs of shoes for running. The variety of experience for your foot helps prevent repetitive stress injuries. The same goes for varying your route. Your body benefits from mixing things up. Its amazing all the things a person can learn via the internet in a relatively short time about a subject they knew nothing about! The difficulty is separating the wheat from the chaff.

The 2 types of shoes it seems a person wants are somewhat contradictory. A cushier more protective shoe for the foot and another more minimalist one that “exercises” the foot. Cushioning and support is good, yet its also partly like a back or knee brace, you don’t want that part of the body to become dependent on it or it will never grow strong. In the same vein you don’t want to always be taxing your foot to the max with a minimalist shoe especially on long runs!

This of course would only apply to someone of normal height and weight. A large person on the other hand (over 200 pounds for men, over 150 for a woman) would always want a supportive shoe. A podiatrist on YouTube going over the Brooks line made this recommendation. A lean person could likely get away with about anything as the stress is so much less on the body. I can’t help but feel my plantar fasciitis was helped tremendously by the loss of weight combined with the exercise of the foot through running.

When you first get plantar fasciitis  you question whether you’ll ever walk again! I’m happy to report that after 7 years, many orthotics  and exercise, my feet seem to be in the best condition ever. I suppose that contributes to the obsession with getting good shoes that don’t set you back in the rehabilitation of your feet. You can get a cushioned neutral shoe in the lower 9 ounces from both Hoka and Nike. The durability edge going starkly to Nike. (Another cushioned shoe that is said to be fairly lightweight is the New Balance Vazee Pace.)

The only lightweight shoe in the 8 ounce range that I have found that has a comfortable fit and reasonable cushioning at a good price is the New Balance Zante. There are other lightweight shoes out there, but the ones I found were too tight and too hard or too expensive. The Nike Free line would seem to have a lightweight shoe with good ground feel, but come with a host of con’s (too narrow, no control on corners…).

The last major consideration after comfort, fit, durability and performance, is price. I refuse to contribute to the move towards the $180 running shoe. These shoes made in Asian countries with dirt cheap labor, have no business charging these outlandish amounts. Which brings me to the last and perhaps most important point, buy last years outgoing model! While new models come out throughout the year, a majority of the new lines come out in the spring. Starting in January or so and continuing through at least July, you can routinely pickup last years outgoing model of shoe at a greatly reduced price. A $150 dollar shoe for $99. A $100 dollar shoe for $65 AND free shipping. The other benefit is that by a time a shoe has been out for a year, all the quirks and mistakes have been identified by other buyers, so you know which shoes NOT to buy!

The last point is to identify your foot type and if you have a tendency to over pronate. Over pronators have flat feet. You need a knowledgeable person to steer you into either a stability or motion control shoe. What I have been talking about applies to a “neutral” runner, someone with a normal arch and stride. As a neutral runner the wear on my shoes goes in a diagonal from the outside of the heel, up to the big toe at the front.