How often should you buy new running shoes

Mine start breaking down between 300-500 miles. I usually start getting odd pains, especially in my knees, when they start losing internal support. I'll continue to wear them for walking for a while, but when the pains become an issue, it's time to toss them.

Easiest way to tell is look at the wear and tear on the bottom of the shoe.

Different shoes will wear out at different rates. You also have to factor in usage (do they get wet often, what surfaces, do you wear them everyday, etc). Plus, how heavy you are and how your foot strikes the ground can impact shoe life as well. Just looking at the bottom of the shoe doesn't reveal the real issues with foam inside the shoe.

In general, you can expect most decent shoes (not cheap *kitten* ones purchased at a big box store) to last 400+ miles. Pay attention to how your legs feel after you run. If you start getting aches and pains that aren't normal then it may be time to replace them.

I'm thinking weight might come into it a bit as well. I'm 200 lbs and start looking at sales at around 400km, making sure to have them ready by 500 km. Shin splints tell me it's time to retire shoes and the pair I've been using are getting awfully close.

They look fine to my eye, but I'm starting to get a bit of a twinge in my shin.

I run a lot and generally get around 3 months out of a pair of running shoes before I retire them to bootcamp. Probably around 350-400 miles

FL_Hiker wrote: »

Sambo_fitness wrote: »

Easiest way to tell is look at the wear and tear on the bottom of the shoe.

Not sure why this was woo’ed, when I went to the professionals at the running store they checked my treads to see how worn they were.

They may have checked the tread to see how your foot impacts, and help determine what type of shoe would suit you best.

It's the mid sole cushioning that determines the life of the shoe, not the tread.

Although minimalist/barefoot running shoes have no mid sole cushioning so checking the tread would apply to them, and they will be good all the way up until the sole wears through.

I would not limit it to just knee pain. Different people run differently. Some may start feeling it in their shins, or hips, or feet, depending on how they run.

I would say any stress that does not feel like the usual stress.

FL_Hiker wrote: »

Sambo_fitness wrote: »

Easiest way to tell is look at the wear and tear on the bottom of the shoe.

Not sure why this was woo’ed, when I went to the professionals at the running store they checked my treads to see how worn they were.

I can understand it. Tread wear will indicate gait peculiarities, so might suggest whether one type of shoe is more appropriate than another.

Most of the wear in a shoe is about the midsole, the heel cup and the instep banding. None of that is visible.

Whoever said it was right.
Different shoes, different longevity.
Just like everything else: They engineer shoes to reach replacement at a specific time, and they are pretty good at it.
Those new, $250 Nike Vaporfly shoes are designed for 250 miles.
Point is: Ask the salespeople when you buy the shoes. If they are good they should know. Otherwise, use the google.
When you get experience, you can usually tell when your shoes need to be replaced. For me, the sole breaks down long before the upper gets worn and I can tell when that happens.
Course, I am a cheapskate and I go another 200 miles on a pair of shoes after I notice they are dead. But I also usually have more than one pair going at once so I am not running on the bad shoes every time I go running, which might result in injury and/or soreness.