New Running Shoes

I went to a local running store to get my current running shoes. They are Brooks Adrenaline GTS 13s. I love them so very, very much, more than any other running shoe I've ever worn. I paid $110 at the running store. Online, I could find them for $5 cheaper, but then with shipping it would be the same or more. Even with free shipping, a $5 savings isn't worth it to me when I can actually get someone to watch me run, look at my feet and help me find something awesome.

I'm going to diverge from the advice given by previous posters and say that any competent shoe salesperson can give you what you need. You're just looking for sizing and width to be correct. Everyone telling you that you need to be matched for gait analysis and arch inserts...that's just not necessary for the majority of people. For some that's true but you'd know you were a candidate before you started buying running shoes.

I'm actually a believer in less is more when it comes to shoes. I don't think that barefoot is a good idea, but there's a good bit of research that supports the idea that a lifetime of wearing thick-soled, motion-control, anti-pronation shoes have systematically atrophied the intrinsic and extrinsic foot muscles and associated soft tissue like ligaments and tendons to the point that they aren't capable of rigorous use as they are. Think of it like a subtle life-long version of what a persons arm looks like after 2 months in a cast after a wrist break. You need to slowly strengthen those structures, not further protect them. People your parents age used to run marathons in Converse 'Chuck Taylors'. All that junk about shoes needing air-pillows and diferent durometers of rubber to control foot strike is just that: marketing junk.

If you are structurally normal, and have never been told you need orthopedic appliances, developing lower leg pain is a sign you're over-running your body. just progress slower.

TL;DR- get a shoe you think looks nice from a well known brand, and get the right size. then go wear em out.

I prefer Asics. I bought a pair of Saucony's and did not like them as much. I have heard Brooks are good too. But i agree, everyone is different and you need to see what works best for you.

I do not go cheap on my shoes, it never works for me.

Go to a running store and get fit for shoes. Then buy them online for cheap.

Only do this if you want your local running store to go out of business and not be able to fit you anymore.

Go to a running store and get fit for shoes. Then buy them online for cheap.

Excellent idea. For what it's worth, I'm a lifetime fan of New Balance and Zappos has some decent prices.

It is not ignorant to suggest that it is wrong to take up a salesperson's time when you know you aren't going to buy the product from them. Yes, they get paid by the running store. The issue is that for the running store to have the money to pay employees, it needs to be profitable. If everyone buys their gear elsewhere = no more running store. That's fairly simple math.

Why would you pay more (and let's be fair, generally you are talking about a tiny amount of money more)? To support a local business and local people and help to keep them around to help you out the next time you need shoes or gear.

Hi all,

Have to buy new running shoes for running. Not sure what to get, a friend told me about Asics, the guy at the store said Nike and Saucony. Anyone that runs what would you suggest of the 3?
BTW I am not rich so I need a decent shoe for a decent price...lmao


Thanks for your input.

If you have a store that is dedicated to running I would go in and get fit properly for a pair. We have a store here in Central Illinois that scans your feet for pressure points and watches how you run to fit you with the proper pair of shoes...Not gonna lie it's like angels hugging my feet while I run ;-)

I went to "****s Sporting Goods" and the guy there put me on a treadmill and recording my stride. He learned that I have a problem with severe over pronation and recommended two or three shoes that would give me the support I new to run/walk without causing me pain. A free service and well worth my time. Any good running store should be able to do the same analysis.

I'm going to diverge from the advice given by previous posters and say that any competent shoe salesperson can give you what you need. You're just looking for sizing and width to be correct. Everyone telling you that you need to be matched for gait analysis and arch inserts...that's just not necessary for the majority of people. For some that's true but you'd know you were a candidate before you started buying running shoes.

I'm actually a believer in less is more when it comes to shoes. I don't think that barefoot is a good idea, but there's a good bit of research that supports the idea that a lifetime of wearing thick-soled, motion-control, anti-pronation shoes have systematically atrophied the intrinsic and extrinsic foot muscles and associated soft tissue like ligaments and tendons to the point that they aren't capable of rigorous use as they are. Think of it like a subtle life-long version of what a persons arm looks like after 2 months in a cast after a wrist break. You need to slowly strengthen those structures, not further protect them. People your parents age used to run marathons in Converse 'Chuck Taylors'. All that junk about shoes needing air-pillows and diferent durometers of rubber to control foot strike is just that: marketing junk.

If you are structurally normal, and have never been told you need orthopedic appliances, developing lower leg pain is a sign you're over-running your body. just progress slower.

TL;DR- get a shoe you think looks nice from a well known brand, and get the right size. then go wear em out.

Actually, I had no idea what I needed in a shoe until I had a gait analysis done and tried on different pairs. I didn't even know that I overpronated until I started running, and then if I had gone with what I had read online, I would have ended up paying quite a bit more for a heavier motion control shoe, whereas a knowledgeable salesperson who also runs thought to work in some of the more structured stability shoes to see which worked better for me. Walking around the store, it was impossible to tell much difference in support, but running on the treadmill in different pairs made a HUGE difference, and in the end saved me about $30 and some frustration down the road because I realized that the lighter Asics Exalts that were on sale were equally great at keeping me from overpronating without the weight of the Brookes motion control model that I was also interested in.

ETA: Also, I think that saying anyone working at a shoe department/shoe store can get you the right fit and size alone in a running shoe is a bit pie-in-the-sky. I can barely get salespeople to help me find properly fitting work shoes and formal footwear in most shoe stores, and that's without having to worry about the additional complications of how a running shoe may start to rub here or compress there around mile 6 based on the build of your foot.

How often you need new shoes will depend on a lot of things. The make of the shoe, your stride, your weight, the surface you run on, etc. I have gone through 3 identical pairs of shoes (Saucony Progrid Mirage II, in the same color even - yay stockpile!). The first pair died dramatically at 350 miles. The second pair made it to just over 400 miles. The third pair? Dead at 92 miles. WTF? Not sure what happened there, but they wore really badly on the outside which prompted my recent shopping trip for shoes. The store decided to try me in a neutral shoe instead of a stability shoe thinking the stability shoe was forcing me too much to the outside of my foot.

For me, it's literally, "painfully" obvious that I need new shoes. Knees start getting sore.

Actually, I had no idea what I needed in a shoe until I had a gait analysis done and tried on different pairs. I didn't even know that I overpronated until I started running, and then if I had gone with what I had read online, I would have ended up paying quite a bit more for a heavier motion control shoe, whereas a knowledgeable salesperson who also runs thought to work in some of the more structured stability shoes to see which worked better for me. Walking around the store, it was impossible to tell much difference in support, but running on the treadmill in different pairs made a HUGE difference, and in the end saved me about $30 and some frustration down the road because I realized that the lighter Asics Exalts that were on sale were equally great at keeping me from overpronating without the weight of the Brookes motion control model that I was also interested in.

ETA: Also, I think that saying anyone working at a shoe department/shoe store can get you the right fit and size alone in a running shoe is a bit pie-in-the-sky. I can barely get salespeople to help me find properly fitting work shoes and formal footwear in most shoe stores, and that's without having to worry about the additional complications of how a running shoe may start to rub here or compress there around mile 6 based on the build of your foot.

You're illustrating my exact point. Your internet research and industry hype led you to believe that you need expensive and very protective motion control shoes. A little time in regular 'supportive' shoe proved you didn't. Don't believe the hype. the vast majority of people are anatomically within normal limits and could run barefoot all day if the surface was appropriate to not cause abrasion. If you hadn't read a single word anywhere about shoes, and just bought a standard shoe by a brand you liked, you'd have ended up with virtually the same result you have now.

Careful with the 'overpronation' belief. Feet are supposed to pronate. That's why your big toe is...well...big.

I don't know what stores you shop in, but a school child with 5 minutes of instruction can properly operate a Brannock device to measure foot length and width. By all means, I support giving local running stores your business. I think they're great places for runners to meet and be a community, but please don't believe that they have some special magic and only they can fit a shoe.
I buy enough shoes to know. probably 5 pairs a year just for running the 1700-1800 miles that I'll accumulate in 12 months.