Best Running Shoes

I found an article today that talked about running shoes vs. sneakers.  While it gave a lot of great information, not a whole lot was new.  Finding the best running shoes is much more than a matter of price, and even the cheapest running shoe is unbelievable better than a sneaker or cross trainer.  Now if you think that you can run just fine in an old pair of shoes, you should probably think again.

How do I know?  I can tell you from first hand experience.  When I first started running all I had was a pair of Adidas cross trainers.  They were NOT the best running shoes, in fact far from it.  After only a few weeks I had developed absolutely terrible shin splints.  They were so bad that I went to a massage therapist and paid her to spend an hour on my shins.  It didn’t help at all.

The next time I met my running partner I told him that I would need to quit running because of my shins.  He suggested that before I threw in the towel at running, I should go and buy a pair of running shoes.  Well, since I didn’t want to quit running only weeks after starting, I went to the mall and took his advice.  I purchased the cheapest pair of running shoes I could find (I think they were $50).

What happened next is nothing short of amazing!  We went for a 3-4 mile run.  It was my first ever run in real running shoes and they felt sooooo different than the cross trainers I had been wearing.  Now remember that these probably weren’t the best running shoes either, but they WERE running shoes.

By the end of that run, my shin splints were GONE!

The article actually talks about how improper pronation can cause shin splints and tendinitis.  I didn’t know before now that that was the cause, but it seemed magic that a pair of running shoes could fix what a massage couldn’t.  I’ve always purchased actual running shoes ever since and I’ve never had shin splints again.  And that’s over eight years of running so far!

Well, the article that I mentioned earlier talks about the differences between high and low arches and points out that there can be huge variation.  It explains typical classifications that manufacturers give to identify a particular type of shoe as it relates to your arches.  It also points out that fashion should take a back seat to what your feet really need!

Here’s the original article: Finding the right running shoe

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Posted on August 15th, 2008 under best running shoes • Tags: best running shoes. •  Print This Post •  Email This Post • RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback