subject: Looking to Buy Running Shoes - Read This First [print this page] Hi! To tell you the truth: one of my favorite hobbies is running and I have been a marathon runner for quite a few years already. In this article I would like to talk about the importance of choosing the right shoes and the right surface to do what we love must, that is running of course.
Back in the time, when I was based in Europe, I started to participate in a few halfmarathons in Switzerland. It was a wonderful place to practice that kind of activity back then. The scenery is so majestic and the mountain air so clean in this part of the world.
While I was there I did quite a lot of full marathons in Switzerland and France as well, may be around 25 and 3 times a 100km race, the famous Biel 100km Race. The 100km run, what a real experience! Back then we started the race just before sunset around 8pm I think, with an average of 3000 to 4000 participants each year. The first arrived to the finish just around sunrise, as this race took always place in summer; the nights are pretty short there in the summer months.
Back to the main subject of this article I really believe in the importance of choosing the right shoes and the right surface as well, for the long daily training sessions. Why is that? It is very simple in fact: to save the "machine", by that of course I mean our body and especially our legs and articulations. They are the most precious pieces of equipment for a runner, the knees and the ankles being the most exposed to injuries and pain.
First regarding the shoes, to save our articulations we really need to wear good quality shoes that are right for us. Now to get a good quality shoes is quite an easy task nowadays, with so many great brands available on the market, if we buy one of the 5 top brands shoes we are almost sure to make a good buy.
One very important deciding point also must be the way you feel inside the shoes that you are ready to buy. One must feel very comfortable in those new shoes, do not take them too small of course, just a bit bigger to allow your feet to expand as the feet temperature goes up while running.
One good piece of advice now is: When you go to the shoe shop take your old shoes with you; then the specialist at the shop will inspect those old shoes to see the way they are worn out. From this inspection he will be able to find out the way you run and the way you position your body in those shoes while running. He should then be able to tell you if you are a neutral, overpronator or underpronator (supinator) runner. This is something very important to know before you buy a new pair of running shoes; because this knowledge will guide you to decide what kind of shoe is best suited to you personally.
A few words about pronation:
Neutral Pronation: A runner who neutrally pronates initially strikes the ground on the lateral side of the heel. As the runner transfers weight from toes to the metatarsus, the foot will roll in a medial direction, such that the weight is distributed evenly across the metatarsus.
Overpronation: A runner whose bone structure involves external rotation at the hip, knee or ankle will be more likely to overpronate than one whose bone structure has internal rotation or central alignment. A runner who overpronates tends to wear down their running shoes on the medial (inside) side of the shoe towards the toe area.
Underpronation (supination): A runner who underpronates also initially strikes the ground on the lateral side of the heel. As the runner transfers weight from the heel to the metatarsus, the foot will not roll far enough in a medial direction. The weight is distributed unevenly across the metatarsus, with excessive weight borne on the fifth metatarsal, towards the lateral side of the foot. In this stage of gait, the knee will generally, but not always, track laterally of the metatarsus. Like an overpronator, an underpronator does not absorb shock efficiently but for the opposite reason. The underpronated foot is like a diving board that, instead of failing to spring someone in the air because it is too flimsy, it fails to do so because it is too rigid. There is virtually no give. An underpronator's arches of ankles don't experience much motion as they cycle through the gait.
We always have to remember that the feet strike the ground about 1,725 times per mile while running with up to approximately 4.5 times the body weight. It is now very easy to understand the importance of choosing the right running shoes, if we want to run many years longer without injury.
Knowing that most of the manufacturers like for example Brooks and Asics produce all kind of shoes that are suitable for each running style namely: neutral, overpronator or underpronator. We just have to make sure to choose the right model suitable to our gait.
It is now very important, if you have had pain or injuries, that you see a specialist before you buy a new pair of running shoes, a podiatrist will tell you straight away what kind of runner you are and what kind of shoes you should be wearing to minimize the risk of further injuries.
Another good tip to save those precious legs is to make sure that you change our shoes on time. It is very important not to wait too long before changing to a new pair of shoes. A pair of running shoes too worn out can do some significant damage to your articulations only just after a few months, without you noticing it.
Another aspect of running that we have to take care as well is on what surface we do our long training session. Again to save those precious legs and articulations for the future it is much better to do those sessions on grass or dirt or even sand as opposed to asphalt. Soft surface will able you to run for many years longer without major injuries.
