Finding The Right Running Shoes

Finding the right running shoes is incredibly important for runners. More so than I think most of us realise when we first start running.

We all have a budget, especially when starting a new hobby or pursuit. With that, a lot of people will often either use old standard trainers or buy cheap new running shoes. This is understandable, but in my experience of speaking to people who are just starting out, they soon find they start picking up niggles.

Wearing the wrong shoes can lead to foot pain, knee pain and back pain to name just a few. For this reason, I often advise people to go to a proper running shop, not somewhere like Sports Direct, and have their gait analysis done.

I am however, not an expert in running shoes, just to clarify!

What is Gait Analysis?

To answer this I’ve copied a quote from the Runners Need website which also has more info on the subject;

“Gait analysis is a method for identifying biomechanical abnormalities in the gait cycle – in other words it’s a way of assessing the way in which you walk and run.”

Runners Need is one of a number of places that offer this service. The other two I know of local to me, in the Bristol area, are Easy Runner and Moti.

I have personally been to Moti in Bristol twice and found the team there knowledgeable, helpful and patient. I’m not sure about the others but Moti charge £20 for the service unless you buy shoes from the store, then it’s free.

I found that I over pronate on one side which means I slightly roll my ankle. This in turn means I need to wear a stability shoe rather than a neutral shoe required by most people. This severely limits your options but all the major brands do make at least one or two types of stability shoe.

All brands are different

This one may seem a bit obvious but it needs to be pointed out. Each brand have their own signature styles and types of technology they like to incorporate into their shoes.

Of course some of these will work better for some and worse for others. I think I had two pairs of Adidas running shoes that I wore for my first 2 half marathons from 2008 – 2012. After my first trip to Moti I moved on to a pair of Asics. I cant remember which model but I think it was either the GT1000 or GT2000.

All of those shoes were literally worn until they were either broken or the soles were wearing through. I had no idea about the general rule of thumb regarding mileage for a shoe being around the 500 mile mark.

When I started taking my running more seriously in 2016 I bought another pair of Asics GT2000. They served me well but I decided to have my gait analysis done again.

The result was the same, slight over pronation, but this time I fell in love with the Saucony Guide 10. While they weren’t the most stylish of running shoes, they honestly felt like slippers when I first put them on.

I’ve stuck with Saucony ever since. Having gone through another pair of Guide 10’s I then had the upgraded Guide ISO. These also didn’t disappoint in terms of comfort but the inside of the heel rubbed through which resulted in a blister.

What was disappointing, is at that point I had only done 250 miles in them, half of what I ran in my two previous pairs. This left me wondering whether it was time to switch brands again….

Trying something new

Trying something new is usually a good thing right? It wasn’t for me in this instance unfortunately. After looking for recommendations for different stability shoes, Simon, my running coach, suggested the Nike Zoom Structure 22.

His son Luke, who runs for England, wears them so that seemed like a good enough reason to have a look at them. After doing some research I decided that they looked great but had mixed reviews. To be fair, I found that most shoes also had somewhat mixed reviews.

I decided to take a chance so I ordered a pair. I was so excited when they arrived. That excitement was tempered when I tried them on. They were not like slippers like my Saucony’s were.

Having read in some reviews they can take some breaking in, I decided to give them a try. I ran a steady 6 miles in them one night after work and it wasn’t a pleasant experience. The right heel slipped for the first couple of miles and I found my left leg and knee didn’t feel right.

I went back to my Saucony’s for a speed session but tried the Nikes again on a longer run. That 10 mile run confirmed they weren’t the shoe for me. There was no give, not a lot of cushioning and next to no responsiveness when pushing off of my forefoot. No bounce if you will.

I was gutted, I had high hopes for them and they looked great but it has to be substance over style. I arranged to send them back as they hurt my feet where the “flywires” are. Luckily I was able to receive a full refund after performing an expert cleaning job on them!

Sticking to what you know

While change in life is undoubtedly good for you, change that causes you pain obviously is not.

So I did what I should have done originally and ordered a pair of Saucony Guide ISO 2. Again, they aren’t the best looking shoe but my word are they comfortable. As soon as I put them on they felt amazing, truly like a slipper.

They couldn’t be more different to the Nike Zoom Structure. They’re cushioned, responsive, have great bounce and in my first run in them I got my sub 19min 5k PB. Obviously, that’s not massively down to the shoes but I honestly felt they made a difference.

I held off writing this until I’d worn them enough to give a subjective view. I’ve run 75 miles in them, including a half marathon and a 14 mile long run. The only complaint I have is why I didn’t I order these in the first place!

As Simon said to me, running shoes are an individual preference. You could be reading this thinking I’m completely wrong about the Nikes but for me, I now know that Saucony running shoes are the ones for me.

I will, at some point in the future, get my gait analysis done again as its getting close to 2 years since I last had it done. Depending on the results I may find another brand I like but for now, I’m sticking to what I know.

Looking for new running shoes? My advice would be this; if you have a brand or model that work for you, stick with them. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it and all that. However, if you’re looking to make a change, try to get yourself to a running store like the ones mentioned at the top of this post. That way you can try them on and even run on a treadmill in them to give you a better idea of how they feel,

So that’s my thoughts, and experiences, on running shoes. I hope some of you out there find it helpful.