Hmmm...time to replace my running shoes?

omma_to_3
omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
They still look brand new...on the top. On the bottom, the tread is starting to wear. There are little pink bits and parts of those are completely worn off. I thought I had more time, but maybe not? They still feel OK, but not as good as when they were new.

When do you replace your running shoes? I've had these for 6 to 7 months. I've run about 230 miles in them and walked another 130ish miles. I bike in them too, but that shouldn't matter so much.

Thoughts?

These are my shoes (and I do have another pair waiting in my closet): http://www.roadrunnersports.com/rrs/products/SCN997/

I may finish out the bad weather winter running in them before breaking out the new ones.
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Replies

  • miracole
    miracole Posts: 492 Member
    I replace my shoes every 500-600km (so every 300-400 miles approx) or whenever I feel that I'm not getting the traction or support that I need. Is a bit trickier now that I've moved to minimalist shoes but the rule of thumb still applies. If you're feeling your foot strike to the point that you're really noticing it when you run I'd say it's time to consider the switch out- though I do tend to hold on to my older pairs when it's snowy because I don't want to ruin new shoes too quickly!
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
    Every 300-400 miles or when things start aching more than usual.
  • Doodlewhopper
    Doodlewhopper Posts: 1,018 Member
    Having to replace your running shoes every 500 miles is a big myth that continues to be repeated as fact.
  • MbiggsHFD319
    MbiggsHFD319 Posts: 427 Member
    My Dr. Told me to replace my shoes every 250 miles and never wait more than 300. Not sure if that is the rule fore everyone or just his recommendation for me because of my issues with stress fractures, in all 3 leg bones, and swelling in the marrow.
  • drgndancer
    drgndancer Posts: 426 Member
    Having to replace your running shoes every 500 miles is a big myth that continues to be repeated as fact.
    And yet, after about 400 miles I start to get strange pains that go away after I replace my shoes. Also the tread is mostly gone on the high wear areas after about 500 miles.
  • jaxCarrie
    jaxCarrie Posts: 214 Member
    I usually let my body tell me when it's time to replace (which is usually around 300-400 miles). Like you, I walk and run in mine... I look for the wear on the tread but usually my shins start 'insisting' it's time to get a new pair.
  • mnstrpc
    mnstrpc Posts: 109
    I replace mine at about 400 miles but if the tread is starting to wear off, that seems like a sign to me.
  • scorpio516
    scorpio516 Posts: 955 Member
    Every 300-400 miles or when things start aching more than usual.

    +1 but that happens between 250 and 300 miles for me

    Then they get retired to everyday shoes.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I seem to get about 6 months out of a pair of shoes. My ankles get sore when it's time to replace them.
  • ejwme
    ejwme Posts: 318
    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.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    Here's an interesting gallery of tread wear: http://walking.about.com/od/shoechoice/ig/Worn-Out-Walking-Shoes/
  • Scoochie1
    Scoochie1 Posts: 121 Member
    I'm glad I read this, I thought I was 'going through' my shoes too quickly but I'd walk/run 4kms daily so 5-6 months really is all I should be getting out of them.
    Phew! :happy:
  • dsjohndrow
    dsjohndrow Posts: 1,820 Member
    It's hard to say exactly. Mine go 350-550 miles. What is more important than the tread wear is the cushion break down and stability. I pretty seriously hurt my Achilles and brought on a second bought of plantar fasciitis with worn out shoes that kept me out for a month. I know, it's a bummer you pay like $120 for them, but replacing them regularly is important. I have 3 pairs going so I don't get caught trying to break them in for a race. I use the new ones for my 3 miles runs for a few weeks, the middle-use ones for my 5 mile runs for a few weeks, and then finish them off with long runs. Then I use them for the gym.
  • FatUncleRob
    FatUncleRob Posts: 341
    +1 but that happens between 250 and 300 miles for me

    Me too, I seem to be pretty hard on my shoes. I definitely notice a difference when I get the new pair.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    It seriously varies, pay attention to your body (more than the shoe).

    Problem with that is, I've been increasing mileage over the last few months so hard to attribute aches and pains to any one thing. I suppose the answer is to get out my new pair and see if they feel better!
  • mnstrpc
    mnstrpc Posts: 109
    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.

    THAT is an excellent explanation.

    I've actually never seen really bad tread wear on any of my shoes, and I think I probably am pretty "easy" on them e.g. I don't overpronate, for example.

    BUT I tend to notice myself getting what I lovingly refer to as "gimpy knee" if I go much over 400 miles in a pair of shoes, so before I get to that point is when I try to replace.
  • djenah79
    djenah79 Posts: 23
    not sure how much help i'll be, but my daughter runs track/cross country, and her coaches require that they get new shoes every 3 months. she runs every day anywhere between 4-10 miles.
  • ejwme
    ejwme Posts: 318
    If you can afford it, the worst thing that happens is you then have TWO pairs of shoes to run in. And a built in back up for when the oldest starts to go.

    I'm in the first month of a marathon training program, and my current shoes are likely to wear out (based on my past history) about even with the race - I can't race in a brandy new pair of shoes, but I'm also worried that 26.2 miles of pushing myself in shoes that are pushing it will hurt WORSE than usual, so I'm likely going to pick up a second pair soon. I just hate keeping a log of mileage on more than one shoe, it's annoying.

    It's not the worst dilemma to have ;)
  • dsjohndrow
    dsjohndrow Posts: 1,820 Member
    Every 300-400 miles or when things start aching more than usual.

    ^^ This!
  • dsjohndrow
    dsjohndrow Posts: 1,820 Member
    If you can afford it, the worst thing that happens is you then have TWO pairs of shoes to run in. And a built in back up for when the oldest starts to go.

    I'm in the first month of a marathon training program, and my current shoes are likely to wear out (based on my past history) about even with the race - I can't race in a brandy new pair of shoes, but I'm also worried that 26.2 miles of pushing myself in shoes that are pushing it will hurt WORSE than usual, so I'm likely going to pick up a second pair soon. I just hate keeping a log of mileage on more than one shoe, it's annoying.

    It's not the worst dilemma to have ;)

    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.
  • KirstenTheFamilyCoach
    KirstenTheFamilyCoach Posts: 327 Member
    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: 275 Member
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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.

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