Running Shoes Question

Salomon SpeedCross 3's are great!
I have a great running store - the owner watches you walk, picks shoes for your type of walk & foot and your activity - then you try on and pick the one that feels best on.
Just tell them what you are looking for (ie: extra cushion in heel, knee pains, running on tough terrain or hard surfaces, etc) and hopefully they'll do the hard part for you and pick exactly what you need.

When you go, be prepared to answer the following questions (at least):
1. How many miles a week do you run?
2. What do you usually run on (pavement, track, offroad, etc.)
3. What is your goal (increasing speed, long distance, specific race training, etc.)
4. Do you have any current aches or pains when running?
5. Do you have any existing medical conditions that could affect your shoe choice that you're aware of?

There may be others, but those were the ones I was asked at all three locations I got evaluations. Everything else will just be found out and discussed during the evaluation.

If you can, bring the shoes that you are currently running in as well as the socks that run in. They can check out those for you as well.

During the evaluation they will measure your foot for length, width, and arch height. They will make you run and record your stride as you run, so make sure that you are running as close to how you normally do as possible. I tend to run on a much more of a toe-strike stride when just running short bursts but I actually have a midfoot-strike when I'm running longer distances, so I had to make sure I was running in that stride since that's what I needed the shoes for.

They will likely also have you stand on a pressure mat to see where you put the most pressure on your feet when you stand, again, just stand as normally as possible, don't try to straighten your stance or get an even reading, you want the natural oddities of your own stance to be recorded.

Finally, they're going to bring you out number of shoes that match everything they've evaluated. Run around the store in them and if it's not that big of a store, ask to go run outside for a bit. You want to really feel how the shoe fits and feels on your foot when it's in that action and walking around isn't going to do it. One shoe I put on I thought was the most comfortable shoe I'd ever worn, as soon as I started running, I could feel a spot in the shoe touch my foot in a way that would quickly become a chafing point, so I had to ditch them.

A good general rule is that the shoe shouldn't feel like you need to break it in. It should feel like you could go out that afternoon and do a 10 mile run without any shoe issues or foot pain. And there shouldn't be anything that touches your foot in a specific point because that will just end up rubbing your foot over the miles.

Finally, trust them. If you've been buying size 8 shoes all these years and they tell you that you need an 8.5 or even a 9, believe them. Our feet have different needs when they are running than when we are walking around throughout the day. My running shoes have all been a half a size to a size larger than my regular shoes and I wouldn't have it any other way. Especially when I can feel my feet swelling in my shoes at the end of a long run on a hot day. There's a reason my old shoes, that I bought without evaluation, were splitting along the sides at the widest point of my foot. lol

Good luck and enjoy your new shoes!

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