It Just Makes Sense

Athletic shoes must be suitable for the sport involved. Basketball boots or aerobic cross-trainers, for example, are ill-suited for middle distance running, as the sports’ biomechanics differ and require different motion control. Inappropriate shoes for running frequently cause blisters and sore feet after only one run. Such appropriate running shoes as well-chosen Nike trainers, however, are always easy on the feet during runs, so the way that runners’ feet feel immediately after the first run with them indicates if they’re good for them.

The Biomechanics of It

Feet do two things biomechanically. They pronate, which means their arches flatten, and supinate, which means they rise. The feet of people with a normal stride do both with every step. Feet that do either abnormally cause problems. Those that over-supinate are too rigid and absorb shock poorly if not corrected by the proper shoes. The most common symptoms resulting from uncorrected overly pronating feet are pain in the heels and arches, generally due to inflammation originating at the bottom of the feet, calluses, shin splints, and pain in the outside of the knees.

Big brand sports designers such as Adidas and Nike design trainers to suit the mechanics of all types of feet. Beginning runners therefore need to go to a qualified sports-medicine professional, or at least a specialist running-shoe store, to have experts evaluate their feet biomechanically before they select their shoes.

When To Replace

Running shoes usually wear out after about 500 to 700 kilometres, depending on such factors as the runners’ sizes, their types of training, and the types of surfaces upon which they run, so it’s important for serious runners to keep a log of how far they run. Beginning runners, furthermore, also need to listen to their bodies carefully for such signs as the onset of mild pain in their knees and shins, note how far they’ve run, and replace their shoes after that distance in future.

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