I’m looking to start doing a bit of running. Nothing major just a jog 2/3 times a week from the house to boost the fitness. Certainly no marathon training or anything silly like that!

Yesterday I had a quick look for some trainers…Blimey you can spend some coin! So, is it worth going to a specialist running shop and getting fitted (£145 for a pair in one shop i looked at!!) Or will something from Sports Direct at £50-60 be just fine? I don’t plan on running marathons so assume getting proper fittings etc is total over kill?

Just spend £50 ish on the ones that feel most comfortable.

Get thee to Decathlon, Kiprun LD, £60 ish, cracking shoesfkr the money.

No such thing as “fitting” Try a few on and I would suggest one of the following. Nike, Asics or Saucony. Make sure you have 1/2 gap between your toe and the end of the shoe when you are standing.

Sportshoes.com normally have good deals on old models – should be able to get something for £30

Ok grand. So ignore all this over/under pronation, stability control, motion control etc etc stuff?

Yes – correcting your running style with ‘special people’ shoes will only end up giving you other injuries IMO

Sign up to park run and get a barcode (free). The barcode then gives you 10% off on all running goods at intersport.
Only thing i would say is match the trainer to where you will be running i.e. trail or road.

Get a ‘neutral’ pair first, but please don’t buy karrimor ones! Fit matters most. Don’t buy something made for speed/racing to start with.
My cheaper Salomons I use for the gym aren’t very well designed & would cut my feet to ribbons if i tried running in them. Whereas I wore my Asics trail pumps for a trail 1/2 marathon 1st time out and they were great!

I do most of my training in whatever happened to be on sale when I was buying. Currently mizuno something which were only 19.99. Cheaper models (so long as they actually are running shoes) tend to be ideal IME as they are not over-light or too fancy in any way. Just plain running shoes. I do have fancy lightweight shoes for racing too. Wouldn’t want to run in them every day and they would wear out pretty quickly if I did.

Just find a pair that’s comfy. Not all running shops will try to flog you the priciest pair, Start Fitness for example have always ended up selling me fairly cheap trainers when I’ve sought their advice.

Just find a pair that’s comfy. Not all running shops will try to flog you the priciest pair,

This. Mrs Binners has just started running. She went to a specialist shop, and they were absolutely brilliant, and sold her a pair they recommended that were nowhere near the higher end of the price range

Unfortunately there are not many shops where you can just go and try different brands to see what suits the shape of your foot.

I use Inov8 off-road shoes, used to use Saucony on road, recently bought some Saucony road shoes and they buggered my ankle, now got Inov8 road shoes too, they were not cheap at £80 however they are comfy and work off road too

Specialist running shops will likely have a treadmill, video and gait-analysis and advise you on the type of shoe that fits / suits you best. Looking at how your normal shoes wear will also help. Buying the wrong type of shoe could exacerbate any biomechanical issues. If you don’t want to go that route, buy a well-cushioned neutral shoe and see how you get on – running shoes only have an effective ‘life’ of a few hundred miles and worn-out ones lose their cushioning. I’m a big fan of Hoka shoes – the extra cushioning really helps reduce injury / improves recovery.

I’d disagree with some of the comments about fitting, A good specialist independent running shop will get you the best shoes for your running style, which could save you from long term injury.

http://www.shoeguide.co.uk/exec/content/advice

Agree you don’t need to spend a fortune, there are some very good shoes in the £50 – £80 range.

Great advice thanks. I popped in to DW Sports today expecting to be given the hard sell. Somewhat surprisingly (to me anyway, big chain store and all that) I was told not to buy anything as their running machine was broken. But instead to come back next week when it was fixed. He did put me on a glass thing that analysed the feet & took photos in various positions. Was told i needed “support” shoes but not to buy anything until they’d seen me run properly. Was quite impressed by that attitude to be fair to the chap.

video and gait-analysis

Snake oil I’m afraid.

Effectiveness of Gait analysis

A good specialist independent running shop will get you the best shoes for your running style, which could save you from long term injury.

They have no knowing what your likelihood of injury will be. As above I would go for a neutral cushioned shoe such as the Pegasus. I also like Saucony they are incredibly well made IMO and I remember fondly the orginal Saucony Jazz 🙂 I run in Hoka shoes and although I like them I only do so because at 52 with 35 yrs of competitive running behind me I have stiff toe joints which mean my toes are painful to flex. The “rocker plate is stiff which helps.
When you are trying them on make sure they are big enough. So many people wear shoes too small for them! Also make sure they are wide enough and they should feel like slippers in the shop. Thats all you can do. Build up slowly and your body will adapt.

Just spend £50 ish on the ones that feel most comfortable.

This

I also like the picture on your running analysis link Surfer that has the person running the wrong way on the treadmill- I wonder if this was intentional 🙂

Just to add OP, I have a PhD in biomechanics and there is no way any of this “biomechanical analysis/ watch you run/ foot shape” stuff should be used to fit shoes.

Try a load of shoes on with an open mind and go for the ones which are most comfortable. Don’t wait for the whatever analysis to be up and running to be BS’d to. It is a sales tool pure and simple to impress a buyer much like it seems to have done

They have no knowing what your likelihood of injury will be

not saying they do. Perhaps my post was written badly. I’m not saying having gait analysis will save you from injury, Im saying if you do a lot of miles in a pair of shoes you chose solely on price or colour you may be more likely to pick up a niggle than if you had advice from a decent shop.

Sadly I have experience of this

When i took up running, in a pair of cheap, but proper, neutral running shoes, i was always having ITB issues on my dodgy leg. I had my gait analysed and I over pronate a lot, so tried some stability ones (mizumo wave inspire’s … Not that pricey, £60 iirc). Massive improvement. Always used stability shoes since.

Possible massive coincidence, and a sample size of 1 and all that, but it worked for me.

My only tip is to try them on and run for a while on the treadmill, as I’ve often found that the ones that suit me aren’t necessarily the most pricey.

if you do a lot of miles in a pair of shoes you chose solely on price or colour you may be more likely to pick up a niggle than if you had advice from a decent shop.

I didnt mention “price” or “colour” I talked about fit and comfort. Anything more in depth you are unlikely to glean from a person working in a shop possibly on minimal wage.

I didnt mention “price” or “colour”

I didn’t say you did. I was referencing my OP.

I think you have an axe to grind, I’m out

I think you have an axe to grind, I’m out

Ok Pat12, see ya

You are right though. When it comes to running I have learned a lot over the last 35 years (much of it trial and error and much of it painful) it irks me when people give advice based on fads and what they have read in the latest “jogging” magazine. I dont contribute to areas I have no knowledge of so I do get a wee bit miffed when people make claims based on no evidence about areas I do.

Unfortunately Pat, the article you linked is the common sales approach to picking a shoe but none of it is rooted in anything meaningful.

Picking the most comfortable shoe is bizarrely the scientifically best way to reduce the likelihood of injury which can be different things to different individuals and is very hard to quantify. Hard for a beginner, but you have to go with the shoe that feels best and not complicate it further than that.

If people put the same money and effort in to running technique as they did buying shoes then that would make a hell of a lot more difference too but that’s another story!

I’m not saying having gait analysis will save you from injury

I suggest that having a lifetime’s worth of walking/running without specialist shoes then suddenly having your gait adjusted has the potential to actually cause injury – you are suddenly putting pressure on points not used to it, muscles and tendons having to adjust etc.

When I had a pair of special shoes, they did the usual gait analysis etc then they just sold me a pair and off I ran.

More recently, after picking up a running injury (not related to shoes – I have lower back stiffness and it triggered a sciatic problem) I went to see a specialists running injury physio and she was horrified that they didn’t tell me to take it easy with the new shoes, wear them around the house for 30 or so minutes at a time and slowly build up when my body had adjusted to the ‘correction’ and she strongly recommended I didn’t even start to try to correct my gait (ie, use neutral shoes) before my London Marathon attempt (which unfortunately I have had to withdraw from due to my sciatica).

(I had already worked this out for myself and was training in neutral shoes anyway, but I took the special shoes with me too so I could get her advice).

latest “jogging” magazine

Ah, the snobbery of racers… 😆

Yes – correcting your running style with ‘special people’ shoes will only end up giving you other injuries IMO

As someone with flat feet, and therefore a tendency to overpronation which causes hellish shin splints, I suggest your opinion is not correct. I basically cannot run without ‘special people’ shoes.

There is a lot of faddy crap out there and selling people things that they don’t need. Getting shoes that support your foot in the way your foot needs supported is sensible, not faddy crap.

Most people need nothing special. A good shop will not sell you anything special if you don’t need it. For those of us that need something a little different, a good shop will help you find the right shoe – in my case one with enough support but not too much.

OP, are you intending to run on or off-road? I found that running on road would cause more injuries than off-road probably due to the repetitive nature of the surface – every footfall is near identical whereas off-road your ankles are turning this way and that to adjust to the terrain.

grumpysculler – Member
As someone with flat feet, and therefore a tendency to overpronation which causes hellish shin splints, I suggest your opinion is not correct. I basically cannot run without ‘special people’ shoes…

I have very flat feet.

When I was a kid I was made to do exercises, such as picking up a towel with my toes for ½ hour every day. Eventually I could write with my feet. 🙂

I don’t run much now because of other issues, but I never had a problem running distance so long as my shoes were fitted. I have always run offroad though – probably what you’d call jogging these days because I was aiming to cover ground, not racing.

As a kid I used to run barefoot, then as I got older I used running shoes that had a thin leather sole and no padding. I had a break while my kids were young and when I started again the modern style running shoe had become a thing.

The hassle I had was there were very few with a wide enough fit, and they tended to be the el cheapos, so that’s what I used. They worked ok, but I’d flatten out the padding in a few months.

The only problem I’ve had was when getting out of bed in the mornings. My feet would be quite painful after a previous day’s run which was usually 1-1 ½ hours, sometimes longer. Shorter runs, no problem.

The pain would disappear quite quickly if I walked around for a while barefoot and keeping my heels off the ground – it felt like I was stretching my foot back into shape.

All of this is a long winded way of saying, so long as it fits, I can run in it despite flat feet – even boots.

The difficult thing is getting a wide enough fit.

There is simple test you can do to find out if you could do with a stability shoe or a neutral shoe , take a look on the running section on wiggle site , with a damp foot make a footprint on a flat surface and compare it to the image shown , it is most likely that you will need a stability shoe .

I had a look at that.

I wonder if the researchers have ever looked at the feet of people like Africans or Australian Aborigines who have spent their lives barefoot. I think they all look like that over-pronation pic.

Maybe it’s shoes that are the problem. 🙂

video and gait-analysis

Snake oil I’m afraid.

But ironically that link you provided is actually just promoting [their own] video gait analysis:

https://runnersconnect.net/improve-running-form/

To do this, we start by conducting an in-depth video analysis of your current running technique while also teaching you the basics of running biomechanics. We’ll educate you by using an easy-to-follow, step-by-step process that breaks down each aspect of the gait cycle into easy to understand sections.

so it would appear that you are somewhat contradicting yourself with your sources.

I’m surmising that perhaps what you actually meant was that the ‘gait analysis’ that is currently offered in some running shops and which focuses primarily on the feet is potentially of limited value in determing which footwear you should be buying – as opposed to just crying ‘snake oil’ … (but then this is STW)

Sorry, not checked the thread for a few days. To answer the question, on road for now. I intend to do some off road at a later date but just concentrating on the road stuff for now.

Seems a proper hot topic all this foot analysis stuff! Bit of a can of worms!

I’m surmising that perhaps what you actually meant was that the ‘gait analysis’ that is currently offered in some running shops and which focuses primarily on the feet is potentially of limited value in determing which footwear you should be buying – as opposed to just crying ‘snake oil’ .

I cried “snake oil” as that is exactly what we are talking about. Gait analysis can be useful but unlikely to be when carried out in running shop by an unqualified person who’s goal is purely commercial. I thought this was clear as I explained it further in another post. Anyway maybe I am aiming high, it is STW after all.

I would also say HR monitoring is pretty useless for the vast majority for the same reason. There are too many parameters and your everyday bloke is unlikley to be able to “control” or factor in most of them. Useful for highly trained and advised athletes but little value for “us”

Gait analysis can be useful

I’m confused – are you now saying it is or isn’t ‘Snake Oil’?

are you now qualifying or contradicting your earlier sweeping generalisation?

Regarding HR monitoring:- surely it depends on what you are using it for?
To dismiss HR monitiring as ‘useless’ for ‘your everyday bloke’ is a little ‘binary’ wouldn’t you say?

*one* of the useful features [for me] of my Suunto Ambit 3/HR is the ‘Training Trending Load’ YTD/Month graphs on MovesCount that enable me to see at a glance whether I’m factoring enough recovery time into my activities.

But I digress as we weren’t discussing your other pet hates/agendas on this thread were we?

You are clearly easily “confused” but by the miracle of copy and paste lets have another go 🙂

I cried “snake oil” as that is exactly what we are talking about. Gait analysis can be useful but unlikely to be when carried out in running shop by an unqualified person who’s goal is purely commercial. I thought this was clear as I explained it further in another post. Anyway maybe I am aiming high, it is STW after all.

Concept of “gait analysis” not “snake oil”
When done in the above environment “snake oil”

Interestingly:

Just to add OP, I have a PhD in biomechanics and there is no way any of this “biomechanical analysis/ watch you run/ foot shape” stuff should be used to fit shoes.

Regarding HR monitoring:- surely it depends on what you are using it for?
To dismiss HR monitiring as ‘useless’ for ‘your everyday bloke’ is a little ‘binary’ wouldn’t you say?

*one* of the useful features [for me] of my Suunto Ambit 3/HR is the ‘Training Trending Load’ YTD/Month graphs on MovesCount that enable me to see at a glance whether I’m factoring enough recovery time into my activities.

I use the same device and as much as I would like to believe them I dont think you can realistically determine effort, recovery rate etc with the minimal amount of data involved.
Yes my view on HR is binary for “most” people. Again the concept is fine and the science behind it I am sure is true. The “majority” of people cant control their external environment enough to avoid fluctuations therefore it just becomes a very rough guide.

Concept of “gait analysis” not “snake oil”
When done in the above environment “snake oil”

Ahh ok – thanks for clarifying your earlier sweeping “gait analysis = snake oil I’m afraid” statement 😉

The world we live in is rarely as black & white as you seemingly portray is it?

The “majority” of people cant control their external environment enough to avoid fluctuations therefore it just becomes a very rough guide Trend Analysis.

Hope that helps! 🙂

Jeez, talk about getting hung up on minor details and ignoring context 😉 🙂

“Biomechanical” stuff in shops to sell shoes is designed to sell shoes

Buy shoes that feel good

Biomechanical analysis in the true sense and coaching helps you run more betterer and there’s only a handful of people in the world who do this

Simple 🙂

Jeez, talk about getting hung up on minor details and ignoring context

STW innit. Parsing 🙂

Hope that helps!

It really doesnt but loving your work 🙂