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How can I tell what type of shoe I need?Comfort is the byword for a running shoe. If a running shoe is comfortable, and does not cause any pain in the foot, ankle, or knee, then that is the running shoe for you, regardless of what it’s called. Try out shoes by jogging in them, to feel for anything that might become a problem. Find the features that work for you, and search for them in the descriptions of various running shoes.What is your comfort zone? Long-term runners know when the cumulative effects of a bad shoe are evident. The twinges in the ankles and knees, the ache or sharp pain in the arch, ball, or heel of the foot – but new runners may just associate these pains with the initial effort of running, and expect them to fade in the two to three weeks it takes for the body to become accustomed to the new routine. See a health professional immediately if you suspect an injury. Don’t wait for joint and foot pain to grow worse. If the joint and foot pains occur during and just after a run, take this as a cue to find another shoe – one that doesn’t cause pain or exacerbate previous injuries.When do I need a stability shoe?The sense of balance feels off when you stand or run.Ankle, knee, and foot pain from landing on the wrong part of the foot, or a misalignment of the limbs. Training on how to correct your gait may also take care of these issues.The feet need extra or firmer support from thinner cushioning and soles.*Stability and neutral brands are not the same across the board. Find the one that suits you best by trying it out before buying.*Talk to your podiatrist before purchasing athletic shoes if you have persistent injury issues.When do I need extra cushioning?Weight puts pressure on the joints and feet. A 6 foot, 200 pound man may need more cushioning than a 5’4’’ 135 pound woman to offset the extra pressure.Running on hard-packed roads and concrete, rather than softer trails, tracks, or sports fields.Very long marathons where the shoe will compress.When do I need a lightweight shoe?When foot heaviness impedes training.For lighter feet during an endurance run or race – but try them out before the actual event.Beginners just starting out, to help muscle fatigue.Brands express the features of a type of shoe in different fashions – so even if one brand calls a shoe type stability, it may share more features with another brand’s neutral shoes. So, use the category as a clue to what you need, but first focus on how the shoe makes you feel, and keep your favorite shoe types in rotation when you discover one.Different Types of Running ShoeStability Shoe Features: Medial post: Often made of EVA, this dense post in the center of the midsole provides firm structure for a stability shoe. Often touted to reduce over-pronation. It adds weight to the shoe.Shank: Hard supportive material on the outsole that reduces torsion at the waist of the shoe. Contoured midsole: A stability shoe may include a midsole that is contoured to support the arch of the foot, or to cause the foot to roll to one side or the other as another pronation counter.Straight last: A mold of a foot that aims straight forward rather than curving slightly to the inside or the outside. See lasts for more information.Wide Heels: A stability shoe may have heels that are wider than the rest of the shoe that flare out to the sides to provide support.Lightweight Shoe Features:Stability features: Lightweight shoes are a very diverse group of shoes that may include features from other stability or neutral shoes, but which may also be incredibly minimal, offering nothing more than a single layer of material between the wearer and the ground. The only true feature they share is being light weight. Men’s lightweight shoes are often 8 ounces or less, and women’s are 7 or less.Foam midsoles: Instead of the thicker, heavier features, lighter foam and rubber make up the soles. This lighter material may sacrifice a bit in durability.Smaller heels and soles: If the soles are created from a heavier, firmer foam or rubber material, they may be thinner to make up the weight, while still providing stability for the runner.Fewer heavier overlays: Lightweight shoes may seemed stripped down in terms of the decoration of their heavier counterparts.Cushioning Shoe Features:Heel Drop: The difference between the thickness of the sole at the heel and at the forefront of the shoe. Cushion shoes may have a greater drop than the other categories depending on the thickness of the sole. Neutral shoes have little to no drop, and often have less cushioning.Very thick mid and outsoles, to provide shock absorption for heel strikes, or for very long endurance runs.Gel, dual foam, and rubber cushioning, usually in a combination with each other to provide the maximum cushion.When do I need to buy a new pair of shoes?If shin splints or joint pain happens while you run, note whether you are at the end of your shoe life, have a new pair, or are between the two. Old Shoes: Running shoes are made to be used. Like cars, they accumulate mileage before they wear down. A very general rule is to switch out your shoes every 300 to 500 miles. Wear and tear can accelerate or take longer due to weight, running surfaces, and running style. Every runner is unique, and every pair of shoes has different durability, so pay attention to the cues that your shoes are wearing out. At the 150 mile to 250 mile mark you should rotate in a second pair of shoes to get used to running in them and extend the life of your first pair. It will also be easier to compare the effects of the two to know when the first pair should be replaced.Pro-Tip: Mark when you bought your shoes on a calendar. If you wear a fitness tracker, set a new shoe reminder in the app when you reach a mileage goal. Or go old school and write the date you bought your shoes on the inside of the tongue.New Shoes: Don’t expect to “break in” a running shoe for comfort. If the shoe is hurting your arches, tendons, or joints from the start, then it won’t get better. Find another shoe that is comfortable from the start. If the shoe is rubbing or chafing your foot, check the fit. Maybe you need a size smaller or a size larger – don’t compromise on size and fit. Remember, sizes are often unique to the brand and may differ by centimeters in measurement. Walk around in them for a few days to get a feel for them. Keep your first run in a new pair of shoes shorter than your usual runs. Rotate them in with your previous running shoes for comparison.Mid-Life Shoes: If you haven’t had problems with your shoes before, be aware that as you progress as a runner, the needs of your feet may change. Check for any signs in your body that may indicate you need to switch to a different shoe. Pro-Tip: If your style and brand of shoe works for you, then stick with them! Stay comfortable and healthy – and when you start feeling discomfort in that style of shoe, that’s when you should change.What can I do with my old shoes?Nike Reuse-a-Shoe: The Nike Reuse-a-Shoe program takes worn out shoes of many kinds and grinds up the soles to create artificial turf, tracks, flooring, playgrounds, and recycled pieces like plastic or rubber zipper pulls. Check and see if their local stores are accepting donations.Donate Gently-Used Shoes: Give Your Sole (.org), Soles4Souls (.org), One World Running (.com), Share Your Soles (.org), Shoe4Africa (.org), Donate Your Old Shoes (.org) – San Diego, Shoe Bank (.org) – Dallas, Green Sneakers (.org), MORE Foundation Group (.org) – Delaware, Hope Runs (.org), Running Wild-Iowa (.com)Repurpose: Your athletic shoes are no longer good for high-impact running, but they still might be good for trail-hiking, walking, gym shoes for lifting and light workouts, days in the park, mud runs, gardening – all of those uses you didn’t want to wear them for before. Kinetic shoe sculpture, anyone?How to Fit a Running ShoeHow should a running shoe fit? It should be snug around the mid-foot and upper, loose on the toes, and conform to the heel. That sounds pretty simple, but the reality in the store is far from it. Here are a few tips to make sure the fit is right.Fit Tips1. Prep: Wear the same type of socks you'll be wearing to run. This will help ensure that the shoe doesn't slip or chafe later.2. Time of day: Try shoes on in the evening to ensure that your foot is at it's largest. Feet swell through the course of the day, just as they swell during running and working out.3. Lace it up: The key to making sure the shoe doesn't slip on the foot is to make sure the upper fits snugly on the mid-foot. Lacing the shoe before you buy them will cause the upper to curve around the foot, making it easy to determine if there are uncomfortable pressure points.4. Run around: How can you tell if the shoe will fit when you're active unless you're active as you try it on? Make sure not to run out the door, but running up and down the hall or on a treadmill in the store will give you a feel for the true fit.5. Don't assume all sizes are equal: Feet change and grow with age, and sizes change by brand, sometimes over a quarter of an inch. Check out the brand sizing charts to get an accurate measure of a shoe in centimeters or inches.6. Last, repeat: A last is actually the form of a foot that shoemakers use to determine the inside of a shoe. A shoemaker will use the same last for the same style of shoe over and over again. If their last is close to your foot shape, sharing the same bumps, arches, and heel conformation, then stick with that style for your next pair. How should the shoe fit?1. Wiggling toes: Common practice says leave a thumb's width for your toes. Give them room to move so you don't end up with black nails and jammed knuckles. This also means that your running shoes should be a larger size from your every-day pairs.2. Comfortable arches: Whether you need arch support or not, making sure that your arches aren't under-supported or overly abused will keep your feet healthy. If you feel uncomfortable pressure on your arches during your test run, or feel any pain, those are the wrong kind of arches.3. What should flex: The area around the ball of the foot, between the toes and the laces, should move easily with your foot. If it is too stiff, it will cause an unnatural gait, and force your foot to work harder to bend.4. What should not move: The heel and the midfoot around the laces shouldn't slip or slide. If the heel moves, you could chafe your ankles and achilles tendons. Make sure that the heel collars lie below any protruding ankle bones. Running TerminologyPronation: How a runner’s foot aligns with their ankle as they land, especially if the ankle bows inward as the runner lands on the inside edge of their foot. If the ankle bows outward, meaning the runner lands on the outer edge of their foot, this is called supination. Drop: How much taller the heel of a shoe is from the toe of a shoe. The heel to toe drop. Choose the drop that is most comfortable for you when you run. Determine whether or heel should be higher than the rest of your foot. The grade of the drop may range from 0-16mm. 0mm: There is no drop. The shoe is completely flat, and the heel has little padding. This has been recommended for mid- and fore-foot strikers.4mm: There is a slight drop, and this shoe will still feel mostly flat. This level has been recommended for mid-foot strikers.8mm: There is a median drop, and the heel is more prominent. This level has been recommended for light heel strikers.12mm: There is a large drop with a noticeably high heel. This level has been recommended for hard heel strikers, but will be uncomfortable for most runners.16mm: Very high heel with very steep drop. Not recommended for most runners, with the exception of a few very hard heel strikers.Arch Height – Static and Dynamic: Foot arches change in shape while doing different activities. Standing still, the arch relaxes and is closer to the ground. While running, an arch bows, bending up into the foot as muscles contract. A static arch that appears flat on paper may change shape in dynamic activity. For this reason, the appearance of your arch during a motionless “wet test” is not as important as the comfort of your arch while active. Form: A combination of the body’s movements during running. This includes the foot strike, the stride length and width, the shift of weight, the direction of the body’s center, the rotation of the hips, and the lift of the foot. Gait: The word has often been used in terms of foot strike and pronation, but running is a full-body activity, and the gait should be the most natural part of the run. An awkward or forced gait will lead to injury and stress on the body. A good gait is a comfortable one that can be sustained and which doesn’t lead to injury – whether or not it looks gangly or awkward, like the running style of Olympic athlete Emil Zatopek. During marathons, many runners instinctively adjust their gait to alleviate stress on the body.Foot Strike: Which part of the foot hits the ground first. There is still debate around which form is the best for joint and foot health, muscle fatigue, and endurance. The focus may shift from where a foot strikes the ground to how wide the stride is for the best health effect in long-distance running.Heel Strike: The majority of runners use a heel strike. This means that the heel hits the ground first before the ball of the foot or the flat of the foot. As the foot is extended forward, the toes are held up at a right angle to the shin. If the stride is too long, the foot will land ahead of the center of the runner’s gravity. Many running shoes have thick heels to help mitigate the effect of hard heel striking on the ankle, knee, and hip joints.Forefoot Strike: A runner often has to train themselves to run with a forefoot or midfoot strike. In a forefoot strike, the ball of the outside edge of the foot hits the ground before the flat or heel. The weight of the body will often lead forward in this running style, and the stride will often be shorter. Running shoes without any drop in the heel are recommended for this strike.Midfoot Strike: The midfoot strike occurs when the center of the foot, the flat, hits the ground at the same time as the ball and the heel. The weight of the body will be more centered in this style, with a shorter stride like a forefoot strike. Running shoes with no or minimal drop are recommended for this strike.Anatomy of a shoeUpper: The flexible material that covers the top part of the foot, and connects on the sides to the sole of the shoe. It may be one piece, or stitched together from several pieces. The upper can also include the lining, the vamp, the tongue, the back, and the quarter.Vamp: The area of the upper shoe on the forefoot in between the toecap and the tongue. A vamp ensures increased flexibility in the upper when the foot bends at a 135 to 90 degree angle. Toe Box: The space of the shoe where the forefront and toes of the foot fit. The toe box can be made of the vamp, the insole, the toe cap, the upper, and the lining.Toe Cap: The front tip of the upper that covers the toes. The toe cap is often stiffer than the rest of the upper, especially for sports cleats and work boots. It may also be more durable, as the toes see a lot of stress and action. Very stiff toe caps may protect toes from injury.Overlays: Any material or structure that is affixed onto the upper. Often for design purposes, but sometimes the overlay can function as reinforcement.Quarter: The side of the shoe between the vamp and the heel. Part of the upper, a quarter that is separate from the vamp and the heel encourages the flexibility of the upper, and may be made of different materials from other pieces of the upper.Nose of the Quarter: The part of the quarter that includes the upper portion of the shoe laces.Sole: The bottom layers of a shoe, includes Insole, Midsole, and Outsole and all accompanying parts.Insole: The layer between the foot and the midsole. Often made of softer materials, it provides the first layer of comfort for the sole of the foot, or arch support, and can be a separate, customizable insert. Lining/Sock Liner: The interior of the upper which directly touches the foot. The materials that comprise a lining are often soft, moisture absorbing, breathable, or padded. The lining mainly covers the seams of a shoe to prevent chafing.Tongue: A padded strip that is mostly separate from the rest of the shoe, resting beneath the laces and eyelets to protect the foot from uncomfortable friction. Shoelace: The upper is split so that the shoe can slide onto the foot easier. Shoelaces bridge the split, and tighten the upper or loosen it on the foot. The tongue lies under the laces to prevent chafing. Before any athletic activity, be sure to secure the shoelaces to prevent tripping.Aglet/tag: The plastic or metal covered tip of the shoelace. It prevents the lace from fraying at the ends.Eyelet: Round pieces of metal or plastic placed on the edges of lace holes on the upper to prevent them from fraying. Throat: The top of the vamp that meets the eyerow split. This may be where the tongue is connected. This also the section that may demonstrate forefoot flex.Eyerow: The row of eyelets on each side of the split. This is the area where you lace your line Collar/Cuff: The topline collar, also known as the cuff, is the padded edge of the shoe’s opening where it touches the ankle. The topline collar is often contoured to go under the ankle bone, rather than over it.Space Truss: In the construction of a shoe, any stiff supporting structure that forms a space – such as a large hole in the heel of a shoe to provide spring in the step, or a stiff, outer lining on the upper to keep a specific formation.Outsole: The bottom, outermost layer of a shoe that strikes the ground. Often made of rubber, the outsole can be comprised of several materials and features to create firm or flexible support, traction, and protection from the ground.Forefoot: The ball of the foot through the toes.Midfoot: The center of the foot, the flat and the arch.Midsole: Between the harder rubber outsole, and the softer material insole, the midsole provides the majority of the cushioning for athletic footwear. A midsole can be comprised of several layers of foam, gel, rubber, and air pockets.Dual-Density Foam: A high-density foam is layered with a low-density foam to provide two different levels of impact protection. Often found in stability shoes to provide a soft cushioning at the center of the foot and a harder cushioning at the edge of the foot.Forefoot Flex: Often aligned with the vamp, the area of the shoe that needs the most flex in response to the natural movement of the foot. This flex should be built into the sole as well as the upper.Bridge/Waist/Footbridge/Shank: The section of the sole with the least width and most structure for the arch of the foot. Often stiff to prevent twisting and torsion in the center of the foot.Tread: The part of the outsole that directly touches the ground. They add traction and provide distinctive foot patterns. Deeper treads for trail running are called lugs. They may be the same material as the outsole, or attached as a different material.Lasting – Curved and Straight: The last itself is not part of the shoe, but it is how the shoe is molded. A last is a carving of a foot from which the form of the shoe is created. Some lasts are slightly curved inward, and some point directly ahead. Lasts determine the toe shape and the heel height. If a shoe is the correct size but an uncomfortable fit – too tight or loose in places, it could be because the last from which it was molded is different from the shape of your foot. Often a style will use the same last for the same size for as long as it is made. This is how shoe styles maintain the consistency of their fit.Stud: Found on the bottom of the outsole, a stud is a protrusion that acts like a cleat spike to provide traction. It is part of the tread of the shoe.Air Unit: A pocket of air built into the midsole of some running and athletic shoes. The air unit is another alternative to cushioning, and allows a shoe to be more lightweight.Gel Cushioning: Usually found in the midsole, although sometimes included as an insertable insole, gel cushioning is made of a flexible, rubbery, shock-absorbing material.Back Height: The area between the midsole and the back tab on the heel counter. This measurement may correlate to the height of the heel before it reaches the ankle.Stack Height: How much shoe is in-between your foot and the ground. This can include the outsole and midsole. The difference between the heel’s stack height and the forefoot’s stack height is the drop of the shoe.Ankle Height: The area between the midsole and the topline collar where it dips beneath the ankle bone. It may correlate to the measurement from the bottom of the foot to the bottom of the ankle bone. If your ankle is chafed by the topline collar, the ankle height is too high. For high-top sporting shoes, the shoe will cover the ankle.Ventilation punch hole: Small holes punched in the upper for aeration, to keep a flow of air around the foot, preventing a swampy environment. For most athletic shoes, ventilation is provided not through holes, but through naturally breathable upper materials.Heel: This is the back of the shoe, directly underneath and surrounding the heel of the foot. The heel of the shoe often refers to the midsole and outsole directly beneath the heel of the foot.Stitch: The stitch all along the edge of the shoe that combines the upper to the outsole to bring them together. A welt is often used between the upper and outsole to create a stronger stitch. Many athletic shoes are glued rather than stitched. The upper’s separate pieces may also be stitched together, creating seams.Heel Counter: The curved rear of the upper that cups the heel of the foot. This, along with the toe cap, is the stiffest part of the upper. The heel counter should conform around the heel for stability and lack of chafing.Heel Box: The interior space of the shoe where the heel fits. This may be made up of the heel counter, the quarter, the upper, and the lining.Heel or Achilles Collar – Notched: The Achilles tendon protrudes just above the heel. To protect it from chafing and swelling, the heel collar, or Achilles collar, is the top of the heel counter which is notched to contour around the tendon, and is padded for additional comfort.Back Tab: The top of the Achilles collar where the shoe touches the back of the ankle. This may also have an actual tab which can be used to pull the shoe onto the heel. ................
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