May 16 2007
Shoes: Tips for Runners
1. Consider buying your shoes at a specialty running store. The shoes may be a little more expensive, but you should be able to talk with a trained professional who knows about shoes, socks and foot types.
2. Have your feet measured while standing with your socks on. Socks can change the size of your feet enough to make a difference in fit. The measurement should include the heel to toe measurement, the heel to the ball of the foot measurement and the width taken while standing.
3. Make sure the shoe bends at the toes, and only at the toes.
The shoe should not bend in the middle (stiff shank). You want the running shoes to be supportive. To test this, place the toe of the shoe on the ground vertically, grab the heel and press down. If the shoe collapses on itself, it is too flexible and won’t be supportive. The shoe should bend only at the toe area, where the foot bends. Look at this example below of the running shoe and trail runner/hiking shoe. The trail hiker collapses with pressure. This is only about a few pounds of pressure, imagine what happens to the shoe under your body weight. If you see this, even to a lesser extent, with a new shoe, just put it back on the shelf and keep looking.
4. Take your inserts. If you wear orthotics or use certain inserts or arch supports in your shoes, make sure you take these with you as they are key to the fit of your shoe. Not all runners need an orthotic, an insert or an arch support. A well made, properly fit shoe is actually more important.
5. Check the heel counter. The heel counter is the back of the shoe where your heel sits. You want to make sure the heel counter is not too rigid. When you grab the back of the shoe, at the heel area, it should flex a little, but maintain it’s shape. If there is no flexibility at all and it is too rigid, this can be uncomfortable and contribute to blister development. Both too rigid and too flexible heel counters can contribute to blistering. In the picture of this hiking/trail shoe, you can see how the heel counter collapses with pressure. This is considered a little too flexible and this heel counter will not support the heel well. Too much flexibility can also result in the heel sliding within the shoe.
6. Leave wiggle room for the toes. The general rule is to have a fingers width between your longest toe and the end of the shoe. Your toes should not be seated up against the end of the shoe. You should be able to move your toes freely within the toe box. A large toe box is especially important for those individuals with bunions and wide forefeet.
7. Check for side to side support. Place your hand in the shoe and extend your hand out to the toe area. Brace the back of the shoe. Move your hand against both sides of the toe box of the shoe, trying to move the shoe material from side to side over the sole. If there is a lot of movement, the shoe is not supportive enough to hold your foot on the sole of the shoe. Without side to side support, you have a greater chance of developing blisters on the outside of your feet and more likely to develop tendonitis on the outside of your calf and you will have a higher chance of spraining your ankle. In this picture below of the running shoe, you can see there is only a small bulge with pressure. This is amount is ok. For those prone to the problems above, more side to support may be needed. For those with bunions or wide feet, a little give at the toe box is probably a benefit.
8. Put on both shoes in the store. Don’t just try on one shoe and stand up. Try on both shoes and walk around the store. If they are uncomfortable in the store, slip at the heel, push on your toes or press strangely on your arch, there is a good chance they will do this when you take them home. If they are comfortable, then take them home and wear them around the house before you head out on a run.
More information on shoes and shoe fit.