A Brief Guide to Running Shoes
Your shoes play a huge role in helping you run comfortably and stay injury free. Regardless of what type of runner you are or how often you run, having the right running shoes is crucial.
Thankfully, the days of having to run in basic, ill-suited running shoes are over: there’s a running shoe today for every conceivable type of runner and foot shape. Read below to find out a little more about what’s available.
What’s the best type of running shoe for me?
’The best running shoe’ is extremely subjective. Every runner differs in how they train, how they run, and the amount of time they spend doing so.
The best kind of running shoe depends on your foot shape, the amount of running you do and your biomechanics. Choose wisely, and these shoes will protect your feet from harsh roads, cushion your landing, give support and even provide traction on various surfaces.
Good running shoes can handle shock 2.5 times that of your body weight, every time your feet strike the ground. When you’re running, you must have excellent cushioning at the forefoot and heel so that you can easily handle this impact. Those runners who run extremely regularly should be even more careful when choosing a pair of shoes.
Key points for choosing the right running shoes
If you love to experiment, you’re not the only one. Choosing the right shoes for running is more art than science, and many runners experiment with different models and brands over the years until they find the shoes that fit best.
To avoid an endless, costly trial and error process, it’s useful to know the following information.
Feet First
Before you even start looking, it’s important to know what type of feet you have. Loosely-speaking, people can be divided into three types of runners: those who over pronate, those with neutral pronation and supinators.
Take a good look at your feet. Do your feet have a wide forefoot and a flat arch? Or do they have a very high forefoot and raised arch? It’s vital that you examine your feet properly in order to get the perfect fit.
Over-Pronators
Stand up straight and divide your weight equally between both feet. Now take a look at your foot arches. Do they touch the floor? Does your ankle or your foot roll in?
If so, you may be an ‘overpronator’ and require a ‘motion control shoe’ that emphasises medial support by employing features such as dual-density midsoles, roll bars or foot bridges, thus slowing the over pronation.
Supinators
People with very arched feet have the opposite problem to overpronators. So-called ‘supinators’ usually have much higher arches, meaning that their feet roll to the outside when they run. Supinators require shoes with greater shock dispersion in the midsole and/or outsole, thus protecting the sensitive outer side of the foot from hitting the ground too hard.
Neutral Pronators
If you are neither flat footed nor have particularly high arches, you’re lucky enough to belong to this group. A ‘neutral’ foot is the easiest to fit assuming that you face no other issue, allowing you to run comfortably and efficiently with many different shoe designs. Neutral pronators should look for ‘stability shoes’ that have general cushioning and support features incorporated into their design.
It’s also worth noting that running shoes designed specifically for off-road running are also available: check out our great range of trail running shoes.
As always, check the product descriptions to find detailed information about the intended running style.
Find your perfect running shoes at Addnature
Here at Addnature we stock an extensive range of running shoes to suit all tastes and budgets. Avoid disappointment and shop from the comfort of your own home today: enjoy our hassle-free delivery and returns, 100-day money back guarantee and great customer service.
