The “truth” about running shoes
The painful truth about trainers: Are running shoes a waste of money?
Solid read, for the most part I have felt the same opinion over the last few years and now do all of my running in “performance trainers” for that reason.
I got a laugh when it mentioned the Asics Kinsei. I bought that shoe when it first came out, about three years ago. At the time I worked for Sports Authority Corporate, thus I got a discount, otherwise I would not have paid $160 retail for them. Anyway, I hated the shoe, I probably wore them for 70 miles before turning them into my Friday Casual Shoe at work, sunk cost.
One issue that I have is that I have read those statistics about injuries increasing over the last thirty years, even though shoe technology has improved. In statistics you learn that correlation does not always mean causation. In the 1970’s few people ran, those who did were serious runners, the average marathon time was around a 3:45, today it’s 4:30. Now the reason the time has gottens slower is not that people have gotten slower but that more people are running today than back then, thus the sample size has increased and with that it’s bringing the average marathon time down as well.
Thus, my guess is in the 70’s and 80’s you didn’t see heavy individuals signing up to run 5ks on the weekend or marathons for that matter. Thus, I don’t think you can compare the two eras, not with regards to injury rates, but they do anyway. I’m also willing to bet that they’re a lot more runners who go out and run races that they are not trained for, this is why you see people dying in marathons, they’re not equiped to deal with the heat and distance.
It also mentions that people who buy expensive running shoes tend to have more injuries than those who run in less expensive shoes. The problem is that people who buy the expensive running shoes are not the same as people who buy the cheaper shoes. The serious runners that I know are not the people paying $160 for running shoes. The folks that I see wearing the top of the line trainers are the people who workout at 24 Hour Fitness and run on the treadmills, once again the sample is not the same.
Regardless, great article, brings up some solid points. I’ll stick with the lightweight trainers, I’m finding that I have good luck with them and have been injury free now for almost a year.
Have to agree with you that shoes have little impact on performance and/or injuries. I sold running shoes at a specialty running shop, did the whole gait analysis, etc. I went from suggesting the “recommended” stability or neutral shoe to the over pronator or neutral runner to offering more subtle, neutral shoes for most runners. I firmly believe that as a runner gets some miles under his/her tootsies, he/she should gravitate towards a more minimalist shoe in order to strengthen feet and connective tissue and alleviate injuries. I used to especially feel guilty recommending that someone who didn’t make much money should get new shoes every 400 miles. I believe you get new shoes when your body tells you too.
there is a lot of newcomers lately to running – people in their late 30s or early 40s who never run a mile since they hit 20 and then in the middle of a mid-life-crisis they sign up for a marathon.
they go to a running specialty store, buy the best (and most expensive) shoe and all that comes with it. That is why i think there is an increase in injuries among runners.
i work in the sports industry so i might be biased, but on a personal base i have a very flat foot and i do need support while I run. at the same time the more i run the better i learned to do it and i progressively moved towards less structured shoes.
I had an interesting experience – throughout college and the first few years I just bought whatever shoe was on sale or felt good. I can’t remember which ones I ended up wearing consistently. But in 2006 I got injured and afterwards had residual knee pain while running. I had my gait analyzed and was told I needed to wear a stability shoes and the knee pain is pretty much non-existent anymore.
The injuries for the 30 and 40 years olds is because,
like me, they have sat in from of a computer for 10-15 years
and pushed their legs too hard starting out.
Happened to me. I had to back off for a few weeks due
to my hips, knees and ankles not being used to the impact.
Running just ~2.5 miles hurt my hips so bad I could hardly
walk for a week after. It was days before I could
put any real weight on the left side again.