Recently my girlfriend Lisa needed a decent pair of running shoes as she has taken up road running more seriously, after explaining to her regarding what to check for when buying new shoes, I decided to put together this article for anyone else who may need some pointers. Runners feet differ in various ways, making their requirements in a shoe personal to them. A range of things for instance - the surface you run on, the shape of your feet, your weight and your biomechanics means that a shoe which is ideal for you can be bad for another person.There is no single 'ideal shoe'.
Shoes can be divided into three main categories:
Cushioned
Motion control
Stability
and then divided into a further three more sub catagories:
Off-road
Preformance training
Racing
The main catagory covers everyday options and are mainly categorised by your biomechanical needs. The sub catagory covers more specialised needs and often only used for second shoes.
You need to know how your biomechanics perform.
A good running specialist shop should be able to check this out for you, they use various types of equipment i.e. The London Marathon Shop in Covent Garden, London uses a rubber mat linked to a computer that takes a print of your foot strike and roll as your feet strike the mat when you run across it. Runner's Edge in Southend on Sea, Essex use a treadmill and a video camera with a slow speed to to film your foot strike, roll and gate.
or
You can check this out yourself by wetting your bare feet and making your footprints on a smooth dry floor or paper. This will show you roughly the amount of stability you may need in a shoe, it will also show you what features you should look for and give you the basic knowledge needed to make the most of the 'Shoe Finder' from Runner's World, the next step of your search.
The Normal Foot
Normal feet have a normal-sized arch and will leave a wet footprint that has a flare, but shows the forefoot and heel connected by a broad band. A normal foot lands on the outside of the heel and rolls inwards slightly to absorb shock. It’s the foot of a runner who is biomechanically efficient and therefore doesn’t need a motion control shoe.
Best shoes: Stability shoes with moderate control features.
Next step: RW Shoe Finder
The Flat Foot
This has a low arch and leaves a print which looks like the whole sole of the foot. It usually indicates an overpronated foot – one that strikes on the outside of the heel and rolls inwards (pronates) excessively. Over time, this can cause many different types of overuse injuries.
Best shoes: Motion control shoes, or high stability shoes with firm midsoles and control features that reduce the degree of pronation. Stay away from highly cushioned, highly curved shoes, which lack stability features.
Next step:RW Shoe Finder
The High-Arched Foot
This leaves a print showing a very narrow band or no band at all between the forefoot and the heel. A curved, highly arched foot is generally supinated or underpronated. Because it doesn’t pronate enough, it’s not usually an effective shock absorber.
Best shoes: Cushioned (or 'neutral') shoes with plenty of flexibility to encourage foot motion. Stay away from motion control or stability shoes, which reduce foot mobility.
Next step: RW Shoe Finder
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