Hmmm...time to replace my running shoes?

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  • KirstenTheFamilyCoach
    KirstenTheFamilyCoach Posts: 327 Member
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    go into RoadRunner and bring your shoes - they'll look at them and tell you if they are wearing correctly and if you need new ones yet. Everyone runs differently and there is no "rule" that works for everyone regarding when to replace.
  • irjeffb
    irjeffb Posts: 274 Member
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    Sounds a lot like my shoes. They're probably about 8-9 months old, and I'd estimate that I have 300-400 miles on them. The tread is starting to look pretty worn, but they look almost brand new on the top.

    I'll probably put it in February's budget to replace them.
  • ejwme
    ejwme Posts: 318
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    Write on the bottom with a Sharpee. If you are doing 25 mile a week, you get about 12 weeks. Then use your other ones for the long runs.

    That's my main problem - I do between 25 and 60 miles a week, anywhere from 3 miles to 20 miles on a single run - way too varied to estimate mileage (it depends on what I'm training up for). I'm talking myself into getting two of these: http://www.indiegogo.com/milestonepod But I keep thinking "no, just listen to your body, stupid, you should be able to tell if you need new shoes, if not, listen harder, you know how this works"... I hemmed and hawed for two months over a GPS/HRM watch, too, but will never look back. I'm just too cheap to part with the cash easily.
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
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    I'm not recommending anyone do it like me but I have around 2300 miles on my current pair of Brooks Pure Connect. I'm not particularly light either at 173 lbs. If you are wearing neutral shoes there is no support to break down and cushion is over-rated, particularly if you also run in vibrams.

    There is evidence to suggest that a whole lot of extra cushion not only doesn't reduce impact forces on the legs but also makes the footstrike unstable. You only really need enough to protect your feet from stones and other objects on the road.

    Unless a shoe is giving you particular problems there is no reason to replace it at some arbitrary mileage number.
  • ejwme
    ejwme Posts: 318
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    If you are wearing neutral shoes there is no support to break down and cushion is over-rated, particularly if you also run in vibrams.

    Not quite... There's less to breakdown, but everything between the sole of your foot and the ground will break down under the repeated stresses of picking up/putting down your foot - eventually holes will get worn in them. Cushion in a running shoes is incredibly overrated, I agree with you there - but correction isn't. For pronators, thankfully, they now have appropriately corrective shoes with minimal cushion, so they too can enjoy longer lasting shoes. It used to be that with correction necessarily came excessive, and easily broken down, cushion.
  • bluelena
    bluelena Posts: 304 Member
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    It's not the mileage that makes a shoe need to be replaced, it's the breakdown of the shoe. Breakdown is caused by mileage, but is also dependent on the shoe's composition, a person's gait, the surfaces they run on, etc. The 300-500 is a rule of thumb - your thumb may be different, but that's where it comes from.

    Cushier shoes will break down faster, firmer soles will break down slower (gotta love fatigue mechanics!). Pronators and people who twist their feet on the grown will break down shoes faster than people with a lighter, more even (less twisting) gait. I suspect roads vs. trails also break down shoes differently, but as I think through the scenarios and variables can't reach a conclusion personally (and haven't read anything convincing one way or the other).

    I've had shoes break down at 300 miles and everything starts to hurt, and I've had shoes never cause pain but need to be replaced (upwards of 1200 miles) due to giant holes in the tops. It seriously varies, pay attention to your body (more than the shoe).

    I have noticed that when shoes breakdown, it happens over the course of a few weeks - but it's fast, not slow (for me). First time it happened to me, I went to the doctor over weird knee pain, was told I injured it, and advised to wear a brace, nothing got better, had a follow up appointment but coincidentally got new shoes and a few runs later everything was fine. That's when I learned - nebulous pain with no obvious event causing it? Get new shoes. I have a special "new shoes" savings account that I keep topped up just in case, so I'm never stuck.

    Bump
  • Luthien007
    Luthien007 Posts: 281 Member
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    The app I m using -ismoothrun - keeps track of mileage in my shoes. You set up your shoes and bikes and can set mileage already done.

    I wear Skechers for walking and asics for running.
  • Thesoundofwolf
    Thesoundofwolf Posts: 378 Member
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    The military recommends you replace both shoes and inserts every three months or sooner. This is with, keeping in mind, daily use of said shoes for PT.

    Two cent advice- only use your running shoes for running, have a separate pair for working out in. Need different shoes for such activities.
  • Laceyfitmiss
    Laceyfitmiss Posts: 2 Member
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    Thanks ejwme, that was a helpful reply, even though this is not my post. I've been experiencing knee pain and it probably is my shoes. :)
  • dsak
    dsak Posts: 367 Member
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    Mine only last me about 250 miles. I'm a heel striker (sigh... working on changing that), so I tend to wear the outer part of my heel faster than other parts of the shoe. But... I know it's time to swap out new shoes when my feet, legs or hips start to ache more for no reason.
  • stumblinthrulife
    stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
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    On the subject of knee pain, I've suffered from it my whole life. I just recently started running again (couch to 5k), and just threw on an old pair of training shoes which were well used and abused. Three weeks in, and the knee pain was getting so severe that it was holding me back more than my stamina. Got some knee straps, which took the edge off, but still left me in enough pain to know that I shouldn't be running. Talked to the doc, and he suggested a trip to the pedorthist at New Balance or Fleet Feet (local running store).

    Well, the wife works in healthcare and is on her feet all day, and swears by New Balance shoes. So I went in and had a consult. He found that I supinate really badly, have really high arches, and put almost no weight on the largest tarsal in the ball of my foot - it's all on the heal and the 4 smallest tarsals. Got a pair of new runners (on sale, which was nice), some wedge inserts and arch supports. I was skeptical, but willing to try anything.

    Lo and behold, my next run came and went with no knee pain at all. Subsequent runs came, increasing distance every time, still no pain. I ran 20 minutes straight this morning and, though I thought my heart might explode, no knee pain.

    Was it the new shoes alone? The wedge inserts? The arch supports? A combination? I don't know for sure, but I'm not prepared to experiment when it's working!
  • daj150
    daj150 Posts: 815 Member
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    It really depends on the type of running you are doing. But as a general rule of thumb, anywhere from 250-300 miles. If you are only doing treadmill running, you can usually get 300-350. If you run on the road, and hit the trails occasionally, then you may get less than 200. I have heard people compare running shows to car tires...when the treads wear, replace. This isn't entirely true, but if you are not a barefoot runner, and are noticing minimal to no support in your shoes now, that is usually a good sign to replace. Some people wear their shoes until they fall apart. Some replace as soon as the support seems to be going. Some have multiple pairs at a time. Personally, and I have been running for a very long time, when I start to notice my legs and/or feet feeling too much stress from a normal run, that usually means it's time to replace my shoes. So...sometimes I replace them when they fall apart, sometimes I am replacing them after 350-400 miles....once I get back into my training season I will be doing about 40 miles per week on average...that technically means I should replace my shoes every two months. I can't afford that, so I usually replace every 4-6 months, unless, like I said, I notice something going wrong.
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
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    Having to replace your running shoes every 500 miles is a big myth that continues to be repeated as fact.

    Making generalization about generalization is just as dangerous as making generalizations.

    I replace my shoes when I notice that my feet start to hurt during a run. For me, this has consistently been around 500 miles.

    I have a running friend who can't go more than 300 miles on a pair of shoes.

    It depends on a lot of things. Your foot strike, the shoe, how "heavy" you run. Lot's of factors.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    The 2 pairs of shoes I currently run in have approx 450 & 550 miles on them. I dont expect to retire them very soon. Especially the 450 pair, they look in great shape. If my legs hurt from one of the pairs I'll retire them, but until then as long as the bottoms have grip & the tops have no holes, I'll keep on chugging.
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
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    Write on the bottom with a Sharpee. If you are doing 25 mile a week, you get about 12 weeks. Then use your other ones for the long runs.

    That's my main problem - I do between 25 and 60 miles a week, anywhere from 3 miles to 20 miles on a single run - way too varied to estimate mileage (it depends on what I'm training up for). I'm talking myself into getting two of these: http://www.indiegogo.com/milestonepod But I keep thinking "no, just listen to your body, stupid, you should be able to tell if you need new shoes, if not, listen harder, you know how this works"... I hemmed and hawed for two months over a GPS/HRM watch, too, but will never look back. I'm just too cheap to part with the cash easily.

    I always have two pair (sometimes 3) that I rotate on a daily basis. I track my runs on RunningAhead.com and it keeps a shoe mileage total for me. If I have two identical shoes, I write a number on the bottom in a spot that doesn't touch the ground so I can keep track of them.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
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    I am a very heavy footed runner, so I probably do need to consider replacing them. I run mostly outside on paved trails, but do hit the treadmill sometimes and the trails once in a blue moon. Thanks for the advice all!

    Oh, and I track my mileage with Runkeeper.
  • jtslim42
    jtslim42 Posts: 240
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    About every 300 miles...
  • Doodlewhopper
    Doodlewhopper Posts: 1,018 Member
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    I'm not recommending anyone do it like me but I have around 2300 miles on my current pair of Brooks Pure Connect. I'm not particularly light either at 173 lbs. If you are wearing neutral shoes there is no support to break down and cushion is over-rated, particularly if you also run in vibrams.

    There is evidence to suggest that a whole lot of extra cushion not only doesn't reduce impact forces on the legs but also makes the footstrike unstable. You only really need enough to protect your feet from stones and other objects on the road.

    Unless a shoe is giving you particular problems there is no reason to replace it at some arbitrary mileage number.

    Seems like you and I are the only two here who have seen the light. I kept 3 pairs of Asic Kayanos in rotation for years until I started considering what those goofy barefoot running nuts kept saying. The shoe companies have addicted us runners to magic shoes and magic shoes have left our feet weak & flaccid.

    Arch supports weaken our arches. Weak arches lose their shock absorbing qualities and cause over pronation; (though supination & pronation is necessary). Cushioned shoes neutralizes natural foot dynamics, nurtures heavy foot strike and bad foot plant - dynamics that cause joint pain.

    Too many runners now have sissy weakling feet thanks to the shoe manufacturers.

    I now have a pair of New Balance/Vibram Minimus that I plan to run until they are rags. Hope I get at least 2300 miles as you did.

    Yall be careful & watch out for cars guys.
  • tappae
    tappae Posts: 568 Member
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    My Vibram Five Finger Sprints got a hole in them at 229 miles, mostly on tarmac and concrete. My New Balance trail shoes were hurting my feet by 300 miles and I had to get rid of them. They hurt even walking around for a few minutes. I've put just over 100 miles on my VFF Komodosports and I hope they'll last a lot longer than the Sprints. They're looking good so far. I do need to find something to have as a back-up, though.
  • Superbritt2drescu
    Superbritt2drescu Posts: 273 Member
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    Mine typically last around 300 miles then I notice the aches and replace.

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