Running Shoes - Yes, We Need Them

by Harold Shaw

Over the past few years, I have bought far too many pairs of running shoes (about 20-25 pairs a year since 2012) - hoping or is that dreaming about the "right" shoes that will magically allow me to become the runner that I have always wanted to be.

A typical runner’s dream, isn’t it?

Unfortunately, as I have learned the expensive and hard way, there is no such thing as a pair of magical running shoes that are going to make you or I, a better runner. If you buy into that line of thinking you will spend a LOT of money searching for that magical shoe. 

I have.

Besides, just like everyone else my body changes a little each year and what would have worked for me as a younger person, doesn’t work for me now. Those Asics Excalibur GT’s that I loved in the ‘80s would kill my feet now and so many other shoes that I have loved over the years would not work at all for me in the body that I have now.

This is something I think that we tend to overlook when we look at running shoes, how much our bodies do change as we get older. The reality is that it really doesn’t matter what our age is, our bodies are always changing whether we 25, 43, 62 or 75 and the type/style of running shoes we need constantly change as well. 

What have I learned

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. So think twice and then think again about what you are reading, watching or being told.

Over the years, I have learned that there are no magical running shoes (although some claim otherwise as the current controversy over the Nike Vapor Fly line shows) and that the best ways to improve as a runner are to focus more on:

1. Running consistently - the more uninjured miles run - the better, in other words, training smarter, is more important to being a better runner, than what running shoes I am wearing.
2. Lose weight/eat better - getting rid of the extra 5-10-15 or more extra pounds of flubber and looking at what we eat, are far more important to running better, than how much different shoes weigh.
3. Be aware of the BS factor - When it comes to running shoes, we have to wade through the ever-present marketing hype, discussions, bluster, believe it or not maybe even a few facts -- in magazines, ezines, blogs, forums and yes even on Twitter or Facebook, along with our ever-present running buddies about running shoes over the past few years.  So much so that most of us runners do not really know what works versus what is hype most of the time. 
4. Have an open mind -  we need to figure some things out for ourselves by doing the research, actually thinking about what we are seeing or doing and even be willing to go beyond our usual authors, friends, coaches, websites or brands for information related to running. It might even mean - heaven forbid, that we need to think outside of the box from time-to-time and look at brands or ideas we have not used in the past. I know that I have been surprised by what works and does not work several times.
5. Don't jump on the next great bandwagon shoe or shoe style. Just because it is a certain design, style or the next best thing since whatever, it doesn't mean that it will work the same for you or that it is even the right thing for you and the way you run. The minimal, maximal, carbon plate bandwagons come to mind pretty quickly. All have led to mixed results and caused more or different injuries than have been reported or talked about.
6. That all the major brands have at least one running shoe style that we can or could run in - Not really what we want to believe, after all, such and such a brand couldn’t possibly work for me. While it is true that I run better in certain styles of running shoes and I tend to stay with the brands that have those styles. 
7. BE COMFORTABLE - this is the most important thing, find a shoe that you run comfortably in - one that you put on and forget about. Get beyond brand marketing, the salesperson's prejudices or preconceptions, the running store's limited selection and find the pair of running shoes that feel comfortable to you when you are running. 

Although I gotta admit that the wrong running shoes really do screw things up royally from time-to-time! The litany of injuries I have had over the years are a testament to bad shoe choices, training mistakes and just being stoopid.

Then you have the fun issue of when the brands update that style/model that you love and the new version is a different shoe than the one you loved. It sucks big time and happens all too often. Then we have to go out and start looking for a new running shoe all over again - it has happened to almost all of us who have been running for a while and yeah, it does suck.

The reality is that...

All runners are different, we have different likes, needs and wants from our running shoes and in today's world, most brands have a shoe that will satisfy that need.

The primary purpose of running shoes, in my opinion, is to protect our feet from the ground, tar, concrete, trail or whatever you are running on, which in turn allows us to run more safely or comfortably than without them (no I do not believe in running barefoot other than for drills - it doesn't work for most of us, especially in Maine in the Wintah).

While I believe that proper running shoes can make a difference (good or bad) for a runner, at the same time I strongly believe that I (and other runners) put too much emphasis on the importance of their running shoes and how much of a difference they actually make.

The biggest lesson I have learned over the past few years is that my running shoes are a lot less important to my running than what I am doing as a runner, but even so, I am ever hopeful that someday, I will find that running shoe that works for me and hope against hope that its updates continue to work for me.

Hmmm let me see what Running Warehouse has on sale this week. :-) 

Yeah, I know I am an incorrigible running shoe geek. Hehehee

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Harold Shaw lives in Sidney, ME and retired from the U.S. Coast Guard a long time ago. He has been a Striders member since 2012 and a running shoe geek for way too many years before that. When he isn't injured he tries to run 30-40 miles a week and someday will finish another marathon if he can ever stay healthy long enough. Maybe he will even find that magic shoe that will help him achieve that goal.