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Running Shoe Suggestions
Jimmy King
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Alright, so I've got some pretty specific needs/desires as far as running shoes. This makes them pretty hard to find and really expensive to fiddle around trying random shoes to see if they work for me.
I'm a long distance runner (sort of) - currently preparing for my first marathon. I have wide, flat feet, mid to forefoot strike, and prefer a low heel-toe drop. I usually need a 12 or 12.5 in most shoes and either a 2E or 4E width again depending on the shoe. I have an extra wide bump at the midfoot of both feet and crazy wide toes. The best I've found for me so far are New Balance Fresh Foam Vongo - soft and cushiony, semi-supportive with a varus wedge setup, somewhat roomier toebox than many shoes, and not as obscenely heavy as most shoes which fit my needs. I am currently wearing a size 12 2E but suspect a 4E would be slightly better... but they aren't available in 4E. My only complaint aside from possibly a 4E being better is that a bit more flexible forefoot area would be good.
Any thoughts? I have tried Saucony Echelon 5s but did a lot of battling knee pain with those. I also have tried some Altras and the toebox in those is great, but they don't come in 2E or 4E widths and I'd prefer a more cushion for my longer runs (although the pair I own is not their most cushioned).
So, any thoughts on well cushioned, low heel-toe drop, mild support, wide running shoes which don't also weigh a gazillion pounds each? While not so much about functionality, ones available in more than one color and not covered in cheap looking plastic shit would be great as well - most of the wide, flat foot oriented shoes seem to have HUGE plastic logos which just look cheap and tacky to me and/or are only available in 1 color and frequently a kind of boring, incredibly dull one at that.
I'm a long distance runner (sort of) - currently preparing for my first marathon. I have wide, flat feet, mid to forefoot strike, and prefer a low heel-toe drop. I usually need a 12 or 12.5 in most shoes and either a 2E or 4E width again depending on the shoe. I have an extra wide bump at the midfoot of both feet and crazy wide toes. The best I've found for me so far are New Balance Fresh Foam Vongo - soft and cushiony, semi-supportive with a varus wedge setup, somewhat roomier toebox than many shoes, and not as obscenely heavy as most shoes which fit my needs. I am currently wearing a size 12 2E but suspect a 4E would be slightly better... but they aren't available in 4E. My only complaint aside from possibly a 4E being better is that a bit more flexible forefoot area would be good.
Any thoughts? I have tried Saucony Echelon 5s but did a lot of battling knee pain with those. I also have tried some Altras and the toebox in those is great, but they don't come in 2E or 4E widths and I'd prefer a more cushion for my longer runs (although the pair I own is not their most cushioned).
So, any thoughts on well cushioned, low heel-toe drop, mild support, wide running shoes which don't also weigh a gazillion pounds each? While not so much about functionality, ones available in more than one color and not covered in cheap looking plastic shit would be great as well - most of the wide, flat foot oriented shoes seem to have HUGE plastic logos which just look cheap and tacky to me and/or are only available in 1 color and frequently a kind of boring, incredibly dull one at that.
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Asics are less heavy than new balance but can be good for your needs. I think new balance is probably your best though. As @schuss said, just go for a fitting at a store with a salesperson who's up on the latest releases.
I'm not a runner, but my wife is. She went to a running store and they did the whole foot measurement deal, and then had her run on a treadmill. After that they set her up with some Saucany(sp?) something or others, and according to her the knee pain she used to get after running, that she assumed was just normal post workout pain, was gone completely.
You are going to put a lot of training miles in, and at size 12.5 4E I'm guessing you aren't the smallest person in the world. So spend the time and the extra few bucks and have a professional assess things, or you'll pay for it later with much bigger bills from far more expensive professionals.
It feels like Altra Instincts are good for you. They're zero-drop, but when I was switching between them and my Saucony Kinvaras (my first love) going from a 4mm drop to a zero-drop didn't affect me much. So if you're already on low-drop shoes, going full zero-drop shouldn't be too much of an adjustment.
@BEAST! is an ultra runner and he has run 100 milers in those bad boys. If you go 0.5 size up, you may find that the width issue is not so bad, and when your feet begin to swell there is some space for them to swell in. I'm not sure where this tidbit that Altras are not cushioned for long distance comes from--I have the women's Altra Instinct and they are quite cushioned. If you want some industrial grade cushion, I would maybe look at HOKAs (tho those look ridiculous and are hardly minimal).
I recommend browsing through running warehouse and messing about with their shoe comparison tools so you have an idea of what you're aiming for before you head to the running store: http://www.runningwarehouse.com/fpm.html
EDIT: I should add that i noted you need support but per beasto the guy who runs far more than any reasonable person should you ought to stick with neutrals as best you can so you can improve your gait instead of relying on support shoes to correct for you (which wear out faster, reducing the supportiveness of the shoe, leading to possible injury when you alter your gait to compensate)
And if you have blister issues, well, he's got some recently learned tips on that too
what i'm saying is go harass him
NNID: Hakkekage
She is correct that in recent years a lot of Altras have become super cushioned. The Instinct, the Torin, the Paradigm, and oh god why Olympus why are you even WHYYYY. You're correct though that they don't come in anything outside of D, so if you have a pair and they're just not wide enough that's too bad. Altras are wonderful.
I am sadly not too well versed in what wide shoe options are out there. As she also mentioned, if you're looking for super cushion then hokas are great, and a lot of their models do come in wide so may be worth looking there but they're PRETTY expensive.
Sorry I can't be much more help, I think the main thing you should do is just try on every shoe you can possibly try on in the shoe store and find something that you are completely enthralled with. Settle for nothing less even if it takes you every pair that all the stores near you have. Settling on shoes is the worst thing you can do. Find something that feels really good to your specific feet. I wouldn't really pay much attention to what the analysis' at the store say, they're pretty inaccurate.
I'd go New Balance for a few reasons - they carry a variety of widths (in Canada they are the only major producer to do so, not sure about where you are), they have shoes for various gaits and strides and their stores can be found in most reasonably large cities. Go to an actual New Balance or running store and have them watch you run on a treadmill for a few minutes. Generally by watching you run or walk they can get a good idea of how your foot behaves and will be able to recommend a shoe to accommodate any undesired features of the movement.
have you thought about maybe fixing the foot instead
If the doctors could agree on a method, absolutely!
Currently, I wear inserts, a rod in my sole to keep my foot from bending, and also a smaller rigid plastic insert to keep my big toe from bending.
Took a while to get used to walking =P
especially down stairs.
My experience has been that running stores carry a very limited selection of wide shoes which makes the store decidedly less useful as you can't try on a bunch of different options.
My comment about the cushioning in Altras, specifically Altra Instincts, comes from running about 300 miles in a pair of them at 6-7 miles/day. I'm not sure I want to do my current 7.25 four days/week plus 20+ one day. They do have some with more cushioning which may be worth a shot, but from their own comments on their site, I'm not so sure and not sure it's worth the trouble. My biggest width issue outside of my toes is that on the outside midfoot I have a visible bump on both feet, far larger than on other people's feet (yes, I have actually compared). Altra's response to wide feet is to go without the insole, but when I do that, on my left foot, that bump aligns with the harder plastic section and just beats the hell out of that bump. With the insole it's far, far, better (but not perfect) but the shoes are tight and I collapse the inner midsole quite a bit.
No blister issues, fortunately, just trying to avoid pain/messing up other body parts.
That has been my experience. They'll offer really good advice... as long as it fits the limited shoes they stock, which (not unreasonably) are mostly aimed at non-wide, non-flat footed runners.
Yep, New Balance is what I currently wear and what most of my day to day shoes have been for years. I went to the local New Balance store for my last shoes and walked out with the Fresh Foam Vongos, which are not perfect, but are way better than every other shoe I've tried. I just ordered another pair online (close to 500 miles on my current pair, including my longest run of 20 miles this morning) to have time to break them in for my first marathon. I'm just doing some investigating for other similar options to try out. I really don't like the idea of being limited to just one specific model of shoe.
Well, expensive isn't too big of a problem. Cheap is great and all, but not destroying my feet and knees is even better. I'll check Hoka out again. It seems like last I looked, they really only had maybe one model which seemed in line with my needs. As to trying everything, I suppose that is the challenge. Lots of shoes feel good for 2-10 minutes running in the shoe store, but there's a big difference between that an my usual 7ish miles/day and higher currently due to marathon training. My Altras were awesome for 5 mins in the store, not so much for daily real running. Same for my Saucony Echelons... great in store, but lots of knee pain battles when used daily.
btw, I do a ton of exercises now around knee and hip stuff to help with the knee and hip pain. I have definitely seen a ton of progress there.
She gave me a flyer with 4 sets of shoes and told me to buy one of them. I only remember the Hoka Bondi because that is what I got. I don't know how well they do as running shoes because I walk but they are comfortable. I got the 2E. They have a thick sole and don't bend much.