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I've started to do a bit of running as a change instead of going out on my bike (shock, horror!), just something like 2 or 3 runs a week and maybe some of the 5km Parkruns I saw on another posting.
I picked up some cheap Adidas running trainers out of Sports Direct which dont feel as if they are supporting my arches and are realistically only good for wearing down the pub, or end up in the next charity bag.
So I'm now considering getting some trainers from a proper running shop, to make sure they are suited to my running needs, gait etc.
Are their any places ideally within central London that anyone recommends, where I can get a good fitting service and not too pricey?
Thanks.
if you can get to decathlon , one in south london and one in lakeside , they are normally good value for money .
try on loads, find ones that are comfy FOR YOU!!
are you overweight? flat footed? run on your toes?
"Runners Need" or "Run & Become".
Take the time, try them out for gait analysis. Worth it, very much worth it.
I would say a proper gait analysis is a must to get the correct trainer if you are to do any amount, it should be free if you buy the trainers after the testing. I learnt this the hard way with a knee injury due to over pronation from wrong trainers 🙁
I would say a proper gait analysis is a must to get the correct trainer
Not true. the gait analysis thing is a sales technique employed by shops to guilt you into buying a pair off them because you've had a free gait analysis.
I would firstly decide what type of running you want to do. if its a couple of km in a park/pavement I wouldn't spend a lot, just get one's that fit and have plenty of length (this is important and often overlooked) and heel cushioning.
if on the other hand you want to prgress to marathons and maybe even fell running/off road I would find a shop like the lakesrunner in ambleside who have actual runners that work there to size you and give you advice.
Not true. the gait analysis thing is a sales technique employed by shops to guilt you into buying a pair off them because you've had a free gait analysis.
The shop I used recomended a £40 pair, said we'll sell you what you like but these are what we recomend.
Have to admit I have wondered if it was a line. But certainly felt better when running.
Need some new ones now.
I fancy doing bit more trail running now. Is this gait thing ad important for trail running ? Tried running in some Salomon trainers but they were awful.
My local Decathlon did the gait analysis thing for me, listened to what I wanted, then more or less demanded I buy their second cheapest shoe. And they were right enough, they're just what I needed.
The running shoe industry has created a huge myth that you need to spend a fortune on shoes. However there is evidence that the more expensive the shoe, the more it can injure you by forcing you to run in an unnatural posture. Zola Budd ran very well bare foot, as Mankind did for the first few hundred thousand years but the industry soon sorted her out.
Buy the cheapest you can find and run properly on the balls of your feet.
Running shops will sell you shoes to allow you to run the way you run in their shop. However they don't tend to tell you if you're doing it the wrong way, I've found!
I'm completely sold on barefoot style running and the associated shoes. Google it if you are interested.
Not true. the gait analysis thing is a sales technique employed by shops to guilt you into buying a pair off them because you've had a free gait analysis.
+1
I did that, and got a pair that allegedly suited my running style. Since then, I've started doing a lot of trail running, so bought a pair of Sauconys, which were far cheaper. Trail shoes don't have features like over pronation and all that carry on, So you can buy off t'internet.
I now wear the Sauconys for all my running, no issues.
Gait analysis was developed by Nike, To sell ye dear shoes.
+1 for barefoot running. Well worth looking into before buying shoes with all sorts of unnatural cushioning and padding.
Im with Molgrips, google "vibram five fingers", thread closed
Yes - because you see people winning races barefoot or with those five finger shoes on? Nope. Didn't see any at the Bath Half Marathon last year, at any Park Run I've been to or anyone Mrs TT runs with. I'm not saying it is wrong, but it isn't mainstream and I'm not convinced that we're all naturally perfect runners so can do without correction and cushioning. We've adapted our world so we haven't had to run to eat, so the less-able-to-run-to-survive (most of us) use trainers!
Don't see anyone winning races on a Soul, Orange 5, Blur, Heckler, Singular, blah blah blah.....But that's what people ride?
you physically cannot run on tarmac with bare feet even amazonian hunters would have real trouble there with or without those gimmicky shoes designed to make it 'more' tolerable!
Watch the top 5k or 10k runners, they run off the balls of their feet, and their trainers don't have an inch of cushioning rubber for the soles. Barefoot is where its at.
another for barefoot here.
it takes time and patience but in my opinion it's so much better.
read the book, born to run, chill out with the running, i found it comes when i think the least and enjoy it.
merrel trail glove for the summer and a vivo something or other for the winter.
run on grass or softer surfaces to start and like i say chill with it.
Is that why all those top-end athletes run barefoot or in vibrams?
Despite being 18.5 stone and apparently having flat feet, these 'barefoot' shoes work well for me too. Bounce bounce.
Northwind - these top end athletes are not running in the same "running" shoes that the majority of people buy from sports direct.
Thats the point here
Have you seen any you like the look of ?
Maybe some nice red ones, or how about blue and silver ?
Sorry to sound like a smart arse but really any proper running shoe, (as opposed to a fashion trainer or gym trainer) will be fine.
One of the joys of running is not having to mess about with equipement.
Trainers on and out the door, doing what you love.... happy days
Slow down a bit...
Foot anatomy is complicated and there are a number of different needs. What suits one person may not suit another. Racing flats/ barefoot take a fair bit of work to get used to.
Try on 10 pairs of different shoes from different brands and buy the most comfortable.
For what it's worth, there's no 'best' way to run. Elite distance runners run in different ways - forefoot, midfoot or heel-striking. There was some research done at the Tokyo mara which showed no performance benefits from any particular running style. Just go out there and run how you feel comfortable.
Yes - because you see people winning races barefoot or with those five finger shoes on?
What do they run in then? Only post if you actually know and are not just assuming.
It is perfectly possible to run on tarmac in actual bare feet by the way. Your feet need a lot of toughening up mind.
One of the joys of running is not having to mess about with equipement.Trainers on and out the door, doing what you love.... happy days
Yep. But it is worth spending a little time getting the right trainers in the first place.
Morning Yeti.
Morning.
I bought some new Asics racing flats last weekend. Minimalist but not barefoot.
I look fast in them.
Don't rush into the barefoot thing, better to get something with less heel lift than many of the common running shoes, but still cushioned and spend the first 6 months working on your technique (running on the balls of your feet, slight knee bend, head high, slight forward lean, high cadence) still with some cushioning underfoot.
some options
http://www.saucony.eu/en-GB/1667/progrid-mirage.html
http://nikerunning.nike.com/nikeos/p/nikeplus/en_US/products/free_pdp2?pid=384354
[i]I picked up some cheap Adidas running trainers out of Sports Direct which dont feel as if they are supporting my arches[/i]
Out of interest, why would you want them to feel like they are supporting your arches?
Personally (and the emphasis is very much on the personally) I can't stand the sensation of something pushing on my arch in a shoe, just feels weird.
Have you had a diagnosis elsewhere that says your arch need support?
Do you walk around at home without shoes? And if so does your foot feel unsupported?
When I was investigating my gait I wanted shoes with less heel - I picked some up in the shop that looked pretty flat and were told they were racing shoes and would not last long - fair enough, but they did look like what I wanted.
These are my flat shoes:
http://www.barefootathlete.co.uk/Shoes/New+Balance/Minimus+Trail+Shoe.html
I could see some sense in shoes like those if you're only running off road... on-road though... you'd have to be nuts.
Having said that I've run less than 100 miles in the last couple of years so what do I know?
Why would I have to be nuts yeti?
Barefoot running makes sense off road... in a more natural environment akin the the terrain we evolved to run across.
We didn't eveolve to pound tarmac for mile after mile.
Just my opinion, but it's clearly right.
We didn't eveolve to pound tarmac for mile after mile.
If your techniques good the surface makes little difference, but its fair to say we didn't evolve to smash our heels into tarmac for mile after mile.
The ground in East Africa is pretty hard you know.
Anyway it works. Your ankle and calf are your shock absorber - let it do its job.
Fair points... out of interest though, how many elite endurance runners run barefoot?
From what I can gather they race in the above-mentioned racing flats.
The question should be how many of them heel-strike? The only reason I have barefoot style shoes is because I wanted no heel - making it easier to forefoot strike.
The Southern Yeti - Member
Fair points... out of interest though, how many elite endurance runners run barefoot?
Dunno about barefoot (though I suspect that if you go to Ethiopia you'll find a few) but only 1.4% in this study forefoot strike:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17685722
Fair points... out of interest though, how many elite endurance runners run barefoot?
Probably the majority of them.
Interesting teaboy. However I cannot work out how heel striking could be in any way more efficient. The impact of your heel out in front of you acts as a brake, it has to.
They must be heel striking in a different way to how I was doing it, would like to see the videos they took in that study.
if you go out and sprint 100m, you're likely to run on your toes the whole way - because you're running faster, you land more on the mid-foot, or even the forefoot.Sprinting as you are, you'll probably cover 100m in 14 seconds, which puts you only 1 second ahead of a Bekele or a Gebrselassie in a 5000m race, so is it any wonder they are midfoot strikers on the track - they're running as fast as most of us sprint?
http://www.sportsscientists.com/2008/04/running-technique-footstrike.html
Well there's heel striking and there's heel striking init.
you've got your leg out-stretched, foot a 45 degree everything going through your heel heelstrike, and you've got your heel gently kisses the ground first, followed by the midfoot taking the load type heelstrike.
Maybe two terms are needed to differentiate between the level of violence being inflicted on the heel - maybe Heel Strike and Heel Kiss, or bad aids heel strike and good aids heel strike 🙂
Eg. Heel strike
[img] 
[/img]
Heel Kiss.
[img] 
[/img]
However I cannot work out how heel striking could be in any way more efficient. The impact of your heel out in front of you acts as a brake, it has to.
I think the important bit is the contact time. Bear in mind these guys are elite, so probably running about 5min miles. The time their foot is in contact with the ground is so short they're pretty much skipping over the ground, rather than pounding it.
Edit - yep, just like that pic ^
Good pics Ian 🙂
Agreed.. good pics. I'd bet the kisser is running a fare wack faster than the striker could ever hope to...