Best Running Shoes

You’ve heard the old addage that you get what you pay for, but how can you know whether it’s necessary to pay a lot for running shoes and what you really get out of it?  This was the topic of a recent article published in Consumer Reports about running shoes.  Their analysis consisted of two dozen brands of shoes for both men and women, but can you really trust their results?

The reason that I bring this up isn’t that they weren’t scientific in their approach, in fact they were very thorough.  The potential issues is that they ultimately had to rely on a panel of “typical runners” to essentially grade each shoe.  Now this might not be a huge deal, unless you don’t match their profile of a “typical runner”.

With that said, they do mention at the end of their article that no one should buy a pair of running shoes that don’t feel right just because they scored well in their ratings.

Now, what could the difference possbily be between a $30 dollar pair of running shoes and a $120 pair of running shoes?  The answer, according to Consumer Reports, comes down to how well the shoes fit.  And, as it turns out, there is only one brand that comes in under $80, and that one has the poorest fit, but that’s not to say that it’s a terrible fit.

In fact, if you’re a casual runner (by the way, when I say casual, I probably mean less than four miles a week), a less expensive shoe might work out just fine for you.  But once you start to run more consistently and put in more miles, it’s not worth it to wear lesser shoes.  You don’t necessarily need to have the best running shoes, but certainly you want running shoes that have a good fit and provide proper support.

Well, as you might have guessed, Nike was at the top of both the mens and womens shoes lists with their Air Zoom Vomero+ 2 model.  These were rated by panelists to have excellent fit and cushioning.  They were rated very good for stability and flexibility and breathability was either very good or just good.  These came in at $120.  I guess that you might expect this from the industry icon in running shoes.

At the low end appeared the running shoes brands Champion and surprisingly New Balance.  I say that seeing New Balance is surprising not because I like them, but they seem to have a lot of brand recognition and I would have expected them to perform better.  I’ve personally never liked New Balance when I tried them on, but that’s not to say that someone else might not find them to have a great fit.  These brands scored lower for breathability and good for fit, cushioning and stability.  The Champion’s cost around $30.

One point worth mentioning is that there isn’t always a lot of selection when it comes to width of shoes.  This can be a big problem, since a lot of people have wide feet.  Another issue is the arch support.  Keep both of these in mind when making your purchase.

A final point is that you want to spend some street time in running shoes before making a final decision.  Some of the higher end running stores encourage this, actually letting you run around the block.  Some go so far as to let you run in them for a few days and bring them back if they’re not working out.  This is more difficult at discount stores, but not impossible.  With all that said, a new pair of running shoes should feel good right off and generally won’t require any break in time.

Remember, they don’t have to be the best running shoes for anyone other than you.

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Posted on August 25th, 2008 under best rated running shoes, best running shoes, discount running shoes • Tags: best running shoes, champion running shoes, consumer reports, nike running shoes. •  Print This Post •  Email This Post • RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback