Running shoe conundrum speeds up
Most of us overthink things, experts say
Choosing the right running shoes has never been easy. Besides such usual variables as style, price, make, model, comfort and fit, runners also spend time considering more technical features like cushioning and stability.
In recent years, however, the debate about what runners put on their feet has heated up. From the au naturel crowd who think shoes are unnecessary, to the more conservative wave of runners who believe in shoes but not their technology, there’s a distinct shift away from the old rules of choosing shoes.
Cushioning, once considered the primary measure of a shoe’s worth, has dropped down the list of a shoe’s must-haves. So, too, have stability features, which are designed to correct biomechanical flaws. Today runners are told to rely on perfect mechanics instead of the perfect pair of shoes if they want to reduce the risk of injury.
Those mechanics include shifting from striking the ground heel first to landing mid- to forefoot first. In fact, say those who support a forefoot landing, switching from landing on your heel to landing on the front of your foot reduces so much of the impact stress that running shoes no longer need their customary well cushioned heel to reduce the risk of injury.
That shift in philosophy has caused considerable confusion among those who have spent most of their running lives pounding the pavement in cushioned shoes laden with technology. Add to the fact that there’s no proof changing your shoes or how your foot makes contact with the ground will keep runners injury free, and the confusion is justified.
“We’re in a muddy area when it comes to choosing shoes,” said David Pearsall, a professor of biomechanics in the kinesiology and physical education department of McGill University.
Pearsall believes the barefoot fad has died down, leaving most runners to choose a shoe that lands somewhere between the technology-laden model of old and the minimalist style that features little more than a thin sole and upper.
Reed Ferber, an assistant professor in the department of kinesiology at the University of Calgary and director of the Running Injury Clinic, a lab designed to evaluate running mechanics, agrees with Pearsall.
“Runners need to calm down when it comes to choosing their shoes,” Ferber said.
Contrary to most of the propaganda around running and running shoes, he says, the majority of runners have pretty typical mechanics and do well in a neutral shoe with very little added stability.
“Run in something comfortable,” he said. “That’s the best measure of a good shoe.”
Runners need to calm down when it comes to choosing their shoes. Run in something comfortable. REED FERBER