[Closed] Do running shoes really make a difference?

not run faster but support your feet and better for you imho

Faster? No.
More comfortable? Probably.
Less injury prone? Maybe.

Btw it's not about cost, it's about fit - whichever shoe fits best might be cheap or expenisve 🙂

not faster necessarily, although a good pair will be very light, but help stop you getting injured.

Yep really help with support and stop injury. If you can, get them fitted in a proper run shop as there is a lot of difference in shoes and feet!

I don't get injured really, want to go faster though. There's some the adizero, they call them the world's fastest shoe?!?

really? can they say that?

Cushioned running shoes do nothing to prevent injury. You can run in sandals if you have good technique.

Are they worth the money? No. Do they enable you to run with bad technique? Yes

Make little difference, and as for the fitted in a 'proper shop'... 🙄

The funniest thing is watching shoe manufacturers cope with the 'barefoot' running craze by designing shoes to allow you to run as close to barefoot as you can while wearing shoes...

You could go and get gait analysis, then choose a shoe based on the results, or just buy the ones you like the look of.

Sorry I should have said, looking at racing lightweight shoes.

really? can they say that?

does bolt wear them?

EDIT: no.

A guy at my gym brought some Adizero shoes. The bottoms started coming off, so he brought another pair. I think they've found thier target market.

Fit is the most important thing.

I've got very bad overpronation and I need plenty of arch support. Getting this sorted has enabled me to run without the aches and pains that used to trouble me. FWIW, I run five miles, four times a week.

If you know what you're looking for then you can find something useful in the discount sports shops, but if you're starting out then you might benefit from talking to someone in a specialist running outlet.

The funniest thing is watching shoe manufacturers cope with the 'barefoot' running craze by designing shoes to allow you to run as close to barefoot as you can while wearing shoes

It's not that weird. I could of course go barefoot but I don't want to stand on broken glass or sharp stones. Seems reasonable to me.

When I ran, I found proper running shoes were better at one thing over normal trainers, lightness. They really were astonishingly light. Apart from that I noticed little difference.

I see hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people running every week in Brizzle. I still haven't seen a barefoot runner. "Craze"? Nah.

emsz - Member
I don't get injured really, want to go faster though. There's some the adizero, they call them the world's fastest shoe?!?

really? can they say that?

I'm pretty sure these are what Haile Gebrselassie wore when he set the current mark for the marathon in Berlin. A little bit of 'artistic license' I grant you but not completely unreasonable.

Matt

My expensive asics where bought after a thorough gait analysis at a very reputable running shop. They are big and clunky and weight almost 200g per shoe more than my Nike's. My PB's are achieved in lighter shoes; I reckon lighter shoes (coupled with an non-injury inducing technique) will be faster. Attended a seminar by Newton which spouted some guff about the natural resonance of the sole being equal to that of the achillies; I wasn't buying into that.

undoubtedly some people can get away with running in plimsoles, not everyone can. Run in a pair of gutties then try some shoes from a running shop, if you don't find a difference then you've just saved yourself a lifetime of fancy running shoes.

It also depends on how far and how often you run, 'proper' running shoes are hardly a fad regardless of barefoot being in vogue. I used crappy shoes initially and ****ed my knees, been using proper running shoes for about a decade now and would never go back

I would get your gait analyzed to find out what shoes you need, alot of shoes for sale have differing levels of support.

If you heel strike I think there is a value (reduing impact on your knees) but as for making you go faster - please, that's your legs, not your shoes!

toby1 I run a 41 ish 10k, in pretty cheap shoes ATM (£30 nikes from sports direct) I was wondering if the shoes that are sold as racing shoes (lighter, less cushioning? ) would make a difference. I'm training to go faster, but it's bitten like a bug, and if I can get free seconds with trainers? **** it!

I thought it was training that made you go quicker, not the shoes that you wear? Or is that over simplyfying it for STW?

Find a brand that fits your foot basically.

Find a brand that fits your foot basically.

Don't find a brand, find a specific shoe!
Got back into running in January and got a gait analysis because the Salomon XAs I used to (quite happily) run in started ripping up my arches. After a god couple of hours of analysis, trying different shoes and chatting about the biomechanics, I ended up in Saucony Xodus trail shoes.
6 months of abuse later, back to the same shop for another analysis as the Xodus were starting to wear out and with an Ultra entry in the pipeline I needed something lighter and less bulky. Stepped onto the treadmill and started jogging, only for the shop manager (who is, admittedly, a mate) to watch in confusion, from different angles, for a good ten minutes. In 6 months, my gait has changed completely, without planning, without concious effort. I've gone from hypermobile with a normal heel strike to a more stable neutral mid-forefoot strike. So the shoes I would have bought, Saucony Peregrine, had I just gone off-the-peg, wouldn't have worked for me - and definitely didn't, when I tried them the second time round.

If you're thinking of trying minimalist shoes, look for places that specialise in that type of running, go visit, and spend a bit of time. They work with certain gait patterns, and same as with any shoe, you can do more harm than good if you try and force yourself to 'learn' that gait.

And emsz - if you say "you don't get injured, really", you're very lucky! I've had ankle, knee, back and hip problems for a few years, it's only regular running with a shoe that fits well that's helped me work my way from 5k's to a mountain 50 miler in 8 months.