Aiming to do a half iron man in May next year so need to up the running element of my general fitness. I have been doing a bit of running (up to 4 miles) using some trail shoes I have but after a while I start to get a cramp feeling in my calf. Roll on to the personal training session in the gym I’ve recently joined and he suggested that the calf issue is likely to be caused by the fact I run on the outside of my foot and worth getting some new shoes. Based on experience (or wild speculation) should I go to a running shop which will likely tell me to buy some shoes which force my foot into the correct position (I think I have high arches) or do I just go for something like the nike free (or equivalent)and let my body do its thing?

Im not a fan of shoes that “force” your foot into a certain movement for example structured control shoes nor very lightweight and flat shoes (other than for racing)
Without knowing more I would recommend a neutral shoe with a reasonable amount of cushioning. I like Nike shoes so would suggest maybe the pegasus or the pegasus trail which I use quite a lot.

Sounds like you maybe under pronate rather than over pronate, which the majority of people do to one extent or another (over-pronate that is). A neutral shoe wont force you to run a certain way and would let you do your natural thing.
It could also be that you are upping the mileage a bit and your body is adjusting to this?
BTW I’m no expert but have been running a bit more seriously for the last 18 months. Sometimes your body just hurts.

should I go to a running shop which will likely tell me to buy some shoes which force my foot into the correct position

Can open, worms everywhere!

To summarise, before the row starts: There are two schools of thought on this – lots of padding, or minimal.

Lots of padding gives you lots of cushioning and you can get more padding in certain places that helps to force your foot into the ‘right’ place. However, some peopel think this is bad, and your foot ends up being forced into a palce it doesn’t want to be.

Some people also think that having more padding allows your gait to be lazy and you aren’t using your muscles the way they are evovled to work. These people tend to think that a minimal amount of padding is better because it lets or even forces your foot work a bit more like if you weren’t wearinging any shoes, and hence more in-tune with evolution.

Some people think the above is all bollocks.

Many years ago I had to abandon my half marathon training (and donate my place to a mate) after getting shin splints. I was a couple of stone lighter then and was using proper running shoes (Reebok ones iirc). Fast forward on a few years and I decided before I started running again I’d get my gait analysed (I went to Go Outdoors of all places) – they said I over pronated and recommended some stability shoes. I chose a cheapish pair of Asics (replaced with similar ones after 500 miles). I’m now covered 700+ miles and so far have had no injuries (touch wood). Just my experience, YMMV.

EDIT: What I would say is run off road as much as possible. Less impact, less repetitive (foot strike wise) and a lot more interesting. If I had the option I’d never run on tarmac.

surfer – Member
Im not a fan of shoes that “force” your foot into a certain movement for example structured control shoes nor very lightweight and flat shoes (other than for racing)
Without knowing more I would recommend a neutral shoe with a reasonable amount of cushioning. I like Nike shoes so would suggest maybe the pegasus or the pegasus trail which I use quite a lot.

Exactly this except that I have narrow feet and don’t get on with Nikes at all. I have Adidas Bostons and they’re great (for me).

edit: Actually, I may have missed the point! Do you get “a cramp feeling” or do you get cramp?

If it’s not cramp, does it come on quickly and go away quickly or does it come on slowly and linger for a few days?

May be normal sore calves from an increase in mileage, may be shoe-related, may be related to a previous injury or may be a symptom of something else like misaligned hips or tight lower back.

should I go to a running shop which will likely tell me to buy some shoes which force my foot into the correct position

If you go to a running shop they will try to sell you shoes, it’s their job. If you don’t want new shoes I’d try and cut back on the distance / rest a couple of days, then build up even more slowly remembering to stretch well after each run*. It could just be your legs adjusting.

* No, there’s no real evidence that stretching after a run does anything. But then I’ve never seen any evidence that shows it does much harm, and anecdotally it seems to help me a fair bit.

Interesting, thanks guys.

Molgrips – out of interest more than any specific requirement to learn how to run I have read ‘born to run’ and found some benefit from the principles discussed. Specifically I used to thud my heel into the ground but used to get issues with my knees, particularly running downhill. Through reading the book I moved to a more mid/fore foot strike and it has removed the problem….although i’m pretty sure this is just running normally rather than running as I always had which was incorrect. Anyway, from my perspective the principle is useful but i’m not attached to desperately trying to run with those five finger things.

If you’re running more on your toes you will end up with more calf pain, at least until you adapt.

What trail shoes are you currently using?

Some scarpa ones that are a few years old. These…

They look pretty clunky – not sure I’d want to run a half marathon in those…

I’d probably head to a running shop, see what they say. If in doubt, go neutral like surfer says. But definitely get some new shoes 🙂

Thanks. They were bought as a do it all off road shoe rather than specifically for running but I hear what you’re saying. Will go to a running shop and see what they say.

I used to get a lot of injuries from running in the wrong shoes, including long-term dull calf pains. My feet have very high arches, and the shoes I started out in gave too much support.

I didn’t go to a running shop, but they’ll give you good advice. I did a wet footprint test, looked at the wear patterns on my old shoes, then spent a few hours googling shoes for different types of foot. Got some suited to my feet, and suddenly long distance running got a lot easier.

If you run in the wrong shoes, your body is basically fighting them, and that can have knock on effects on your feet, legs and back.

i’m not attached to desperately trying to run with those five finger things.

There’s a whole minimalism spectrum, from max cushioning through to protective covers for bare feet. You don’t need to wear five fingers!

I use New Balance Minimus of some road flavour or another, I forget what. Just flat shoes with a fairly soft sole.

I prefer my lightweight minimal shoes, they are way lighter for a start. The arguments make sense to me.

i’ll do a long and short on this… i run regularly, i had shoes recomended by a specialist, i suffer from tight ham strings and i’ve been having bouts of runners/swimmers knee… which i put down to being very lazy about stretching. anyhow, i had some inov8 255 trail shoes with very little rise, 6mm i think, and i love them off road. so when sportshoes.com had a recent 10%off and free delivery deal i bought some inov8 roadX 255 for about 37quid delivered, 9mm rise i think, its their introductory minimalist show, and quite why i’m not sure but in the month i’ve had them all my leg/knee probs have reduced hugely verging on non existent.