Heavy Rotation

It may seem like an extravagance, but rotating your running shoes is better for your body — and your wallet.

To many treadmill jockeys, multiple pairs of running shoes may seem like pretentious overkill — akin to the mediocre pool player who shows up to the billiards hall with his own cue in a black case. But here’s the thing: if you’re even the smallest bit more serious about your running regimen than those workaday joggers, a regular sneaker rotation is the smarter play over the long run.

Just ask Mario Fraioli, running coach and founder of the newsletter and podcast The Morning Shakeout. “Rotating your running shoes can actually help them last longer,” he says, “allowing the midsole foam ample time to fully rebound between runs.” A similar logic applies to your feet. Not unlike how switching up weight training workouts hits your muscles in new ways, different shoes stress your feet differently, which can keep them fresher — and make them stronger.

There’s a mental benefit, too. “Wearing different shoes for different types of runs can help put you in the right mindset for the specific task at hand,” Fraioli says. “When I pull out my lightweight trainers for speedwork, I know I need to focus because there’s a tough workout on tap, whereas sliding on my heavier everyday trainers for an easy run puts me in a more mellow, relaxed mindset.”

So how many shoes are ideal? Fraioli recommends three: one pair for speed days, another for long/recovery days, and a third for tempo runs — those sustained, near-max efforts that make your body better at moving blood and oxygen.

Granted, springing for three pairs of shoes at once can feel like a big hit to your wallet. But considering the fact they should last at least three times as long as a single jack-of-alltrades pair, while also making you a better, healthier runner, the question you should really be asking yourself is, Can I afford not to begin a little rotation?