Runners! How important is having multiple pairs of shoes?

Legs_McGee

I ran in just one pair of shoes at a time for years, but then I started trail running more often so I got some trail running shoes - then I decided to transition into a more minimalist shoe .... so now I have Merrell Road Gloves, Saucony Kinvaras for longer road runs, and Saucony Peregrines for trail.

SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage

Interesting thread. Currently training for my 5th half marathon and have only ever had one pair of shoes (at a time, not over the 5 races LOL). I guess I'm too cheap to purchase more than one pair at a time but I'm interested in all these responses and different perspectives.

DavidMartinez2

I have 5 pair of shoes in regular rotation. 2 pairs of Kinvara that I alternate for everyday use, 1 pair of Virrata I use for short (<5 miles) runs, 1 pair of Cortana for long runs (>15 miles), and a pair of trail shoes. As others have pointed out giving your shoes a break between runs allows them to recover and last longer. I strongly recommend using some kind of a tracker to record the miles on each set of shoes.

stumblinthrulife

I think if you are covering enough miles it's a good idea. By 'enough miles' I'd say enough to wear out a pair of shoes in 3 to 6 months. Shoes have a shelf life, as well as a running life. If you're able to wear a single pair of shoes for 18 months before they are worn out, then you're wasting your money buying 2 pairs at once.

As for why it's a good idea if you cover the miles -

I'm on my second pair of the year, and they are approaching the end of their life. This is extremely unfortunate, since I have a race on Saturday which I don't want to run on a new pair of shoes, especially since my previous model is no longer available. I could have avoided this problem if I'd looked ahead and bought two pairs. I could have alternated the pairs so I'd be running the race on a broken in, but still fairly fresh pair of shoes.

Live and learn.

99clmsntgr

There's a study that says runners who rotate shoes have a 39% less risk of injury

http://www.runnersworld.com/injury-prevention-recovery/study-backs-rotating-shoes-to-lower-injury-risk

Mayo Clinic just recently did a similar study. The big thing is that the elastomers used in the soles of the shoes need to be able to recover to their unstressed state after being impacted thousands of times during a run. If you're running every day, or even every other day, the shoes themselves don't have time to recover. Logically, this makes sense. The engineer in me nods and agrees.

Personally, I have three pairs of shoes I wear to work out. My newest pair only has about 100 miles on them, I wear them for my Tuesday run and my Saturday long run. I have a pair with 350-400 miles on them that I wear on my Wednesday speed work and I have a pair that have well over 600 miles on them, they're dedicated solely to cross-training. Once the middle-aged shoes get another 50 or 60 miles on them, I'll buy another pair and rotate. The 600+ milers will get donated.

I can't say that having multiple shoes has guaranteed that I have no injuries, I've been pretty lucky so far in that nothing major has happened to me. But I can't say I would be as lucky if I only had one pair. I just don't know.

Mr_Knight

All 3 stores I've talked to told me I should buy two pairs of sneakers and switch out.

Salespeople are telling you to buy more stuff? No way....!

karllundy

That said, if you are road running you should do the whole rotate out thing but don't buy both shoes at the same time - about halfway through the life of one pair get your new pair (don't forget, the life of your shoes doubles when you have 2 pairs), that way it spreads the cost and means you always have a 'fresh' set for races and long runs.

I am relatively new to running (about two years) and have found this to work. I then can use the older pair for outdoor / wet days and the newer pair for indoor and races as he said. Not sure if it is best, but works well for me. I have had no major injuries beyond occasional, minimal knee soreness after long road runs.

KeithAngilly

I have 11 pairs.... 8 for the roads, 3 for the trails.... I constantly rotate them..never wear the same shoe twice in a row.... they are all minimalist and all but one pair are zero drop... I am convinced the constant change is good for my feet, ankles, knees, etc because they are never getting repetitively beat on the same way day after day....

Plus I'm a shoe diva and can't stop buying them...

yup...this describes me to a T (accept for the all minimalist part, but I think I am headed in that direction)! I also make a point to occasionally run on sidewalks that I know are uneven, to give my stabilizer muscles a good workout, as well as the (very) occasional trail run . I believe there is a lot of merit to the idea of changing up the stresses as much as possible.

DeannaTN

In for the info. Thanks for starting this topic OP!

GiddyupTim

I have four pairs, not including the pair of Nike Frees I have but never wear.
I am not proud of it. But, there is is -- out there. Okay?

hmrambling

This is a great topic. I was just fitted for shoes today. I got a military discount at Fleet Feet and was wondering if I should go ahead and get a second pair. I was fitted with the Brooks Ghost 7 in the store, and I see that Ghost 6 is on sale on most sites. So for the benefits listed in this thread, I think I am going to go ahead and get the Ghost 6 for about half the price I paid for the Ghost 7. I can switch them out from one day to the next. I had a pair of shoes here and I was uncertain what type of running shoe they were so I searched them online. It turns out that they are trail shoes. I should be set with Ghost 6, Ghost 7, and some New Balance trail shoes. Thanks for this topic