Too many types of shoes? (Read 151 times)

I enjoy reading/watching shoe reviews, but one thing that sort of bothers me is the idea that a runner needs multiple types of shoes or that shoes can be compartmentalized into so many different types.  Some of the common types I hear about are recovery day shoes, long run shoes, easy day shoes, training shoes, speed shoes, shoes for track workouts, and race day shoes.  And race day shoes can themselves be divided into 5K races, 10K to half marathon, or half marathon to marathon, etc.

I can appreciate the idea of having separate shoes for racing: firmer, lighter, less cushioned shoes that you tolerate for the duration of the race, but wouldn't want to train in daily.  Also, trail shoes have features that are appropriate for trails.  But are most shoes engineered so specifically for separate uses?  I don't think so.  I suppose shoe reviewers and shoe companies need to promote the idea of multiple categories of shoes in order to be interesting and to sell more shoes, but my guess is that most runners can do almost all types of runs in any shoe, as long as it fits well and doesn't cause discomfort/pain.

I've trained for marathons in Asics Cumulus one year or Brooks Chariots in another (yes, I'm old), and it never occurred to me that I needed several additional pairs of shoes.  I did all my training in them.  Were they a bit heavy for speed work?  Perhaps.  But did doing speed work in slightly heavier shoes end up helping me get faster?  Perhaps.

I like buying running shoes as much as the next guy, and money not being a factor, I'd love to have all types of shoes from different brands, but the idea that shoes only have a particular type of use goes against my experience and seems to be more a marketing thing than anything else.

There's also the idea that rotating among different shoes distributes the stresses more - each shoe works slightly differently on one's foot, and so rotating among different shoes is an injury avoidance technique.

For myself, I have ankle issues that sometimes result in posterior tibial tendonitis (inside of ankle) OR (peroneal tendonitis).  I have one pair of shoes with a slight bit of arch support that work well when the PTT gets stiff - they just take the strain off slightly.  And I have a second pair that are very flat with a high firm heel that work better when the peroneal is getting a bit achey.

Fer me, I rotate training shoes based on the idea that too much of a bad thing can lead to injury. That bad thing being one particular aspect of gait augmentation brought about by a shoe's individual shape and construction; even though the good things outnumber the bad ones ten to one. I definitely have a a pair that feels great while running, but I have a slightly sore lateral knee the next morning.

But strict classifications?

I have shoes that I would obviously NOT want to wear for a multi hour run/race.

I have shoes that I would not want to wear off pavement.

And some that I would not want to wear ON pavement.

Of course shoes that I would ONLY wear on the track.

So, right now I'm not able to do fast speedwork (again). All my runs are between 4-15 miles, maybe 1 out of 10 has uptempo sections, which for me is 5-10k race pace. I wear my light maxcush shoes for all runs over 10 miles, and light trainer or racers (3 different models) for any planned "speed" workouts. And 2 other lightweight neutral pairs for everything in between, but also maybe the light trainers or maxcush mentioned before. Maxcush trail shoes (2 different models) for 1+ hour trail runs, which are pretty much all the trail runs I do. The spikes sit gathering dust, as do the ultralight roadracers.

We're spoiled with shoes. Even cheap knock-offs are better materials and construction than "top of the line" running shoes 20 years ago. The idea that someone MUST have specific shoes for specific uses (other than racing) is a stretch.

Now, someone explain the need for Hoka Tennines.

 

I'd be willing to wager that what you describe here is rare.  Why don't you throw up a poll question here to see how many in the RA community have such specificity...might be interesting to see.

I don't know about the RA community, but if you watch the shoe reviewers on Youtube, many of them talk about the intended use of a particular shoe and they mention all those intended uses.  I can see that that's one way for them to describe and differentiate shoes, but I think they go too far in limiting how any particular shoe can be used.

I think those are solely for Walmsley to bomb down hill at Comrades.  That's it.  I think they were designed solely for him to be able to hammer his hills going all out down hill on the back half of that race....which is now canceled I believe.

For us regular shmoes, we'd have to carry them UP the hill with us, change shoes, and then carry our uphill shoes while wearing the Tennines on the downhill side. It must be nice to have crew. I guess drop bags with the "best" shoe for each section would work in a race. But for training runs?

Perhaps these were released to the public to qualify as "legal" shoes by the IOC/IAAF/WA according to their new guidelines. I can't image they are going to generate much if any profit.

The new rules also state that as of April 30, 2020, "any shoe must have been available for purchase by any athlete on the open retail market (online or in store) for a period of four months before it can be used in competition."

Skim, you make good points but I think you over analyzing just a bit. I would be willing to bet that less than 50 people in the country have a separate shoe to race a 5K, different for a 10K, different for a Half, different for a Marathon.....I don't see marketing this specific either.

My take is that if you are a newbie stick with a good shoe that works for you. Once per week, I would throw in your older model shoe that you are retiring. Mix this in on a shorter run even if the same brand/model. It will have different wear patterns and can alter your stresses a tad. Which is good. It also allows your other shoes to bounce back an extra day.

Once you get past newbie stage and start racing more and adding in work outs and multi pace work in training you can mix in a lighter trainer.  I use Brooks Ghost as my everyday trainer and long runs and will mix in Saucony Kinvara for tempos or interval work. This shoe is lighter and less heel to toe drop. I also race longer events in Kinvara. If I am racing a 5K or 10K, I use my Saucony Fast Twitch. It is lighter and faster.... no doubt in my mind but I only may bring those out 1-2 times for some fast work before race lead up. Most runners would be nust fine racing in the Kinvaras and have 2 types of shoes.  I occasionally run non muddy trails and generally will use my older higher miles shoes which work fine as trails are less pounding or impact on body so an older shoe that has lost some cushioning still works fine.

I have 6-7 pairs of shoes - different brands, different heel-toe offset, different cushioning, different weight. Most of my runs are long but easy - so I just rotate shoes equally. For rare cases of workouts I take lighter shoes, for longer runs I take more cushioned pair - nothing more complex than that.

I think there is truth in both sides of the conversation and I have fallen on both sides. Ultimately, I think the amount of shoes you use in your rotation is entirely up to what you are using them for and the advantages/disadvantages to using multiple.

I've been running for about 15 years (late 20s currently) and for most of junior high/high school/college, my rotation consisted of one pair of trainers that I used for 90% of my mileage, one pair of racing flats for road races/faster track work/rare road work, and one pair of spikes for racing cross country track. Basically I had my trusty pair of running shoes and then would switch to my flats/spikes depending on the race. I would have considered myself pretty running shoe illiterate- I stuck with the same pairs over and over and rarely tried different shoes or different brands. I had been in a version of the Asics 2k for most of high school and college with an occasional Brooks Adrenaline/Adidas Supernova st thrown in but again, I'd imagine 90% of my running shoes the first 10 years of running were variations of Asics stability shoes.

However, as I got older and became a bit more educated on running shoes, I started accumulating more and more recently within the last couple years, started "specializing" with my shoes. Now I happen to be in a position where I accumulate ALOT of running shoes and I wouldn't at all normalize how many pairs I have (roughly 40 pairs that I could take out for a run right now).

I have found I enjoy the ability to specialize depending what type of run I'm doing, how far I'm going, how fast I'm going, etc. Even now I have my favorites and I would say in a normal month, I probably run in 6-7 different pairs however that is also because I have so many. If I were to cut to "bare bones" specialization, I would narrow it down to using 4 shoes total- a cushy model for easy recovery/slow runs, an everyday trainer, a lightweight trainer for longer tempos, hard long runs, fartlek workouts, and a racing shoe. I can tell a significant difference in my workouts depending on the shoe I use. That isn't to say that I'm a better runner because of it or that one way is better than another- I would say I enjoy being able to use different shoes and there is a mental aspect of putting on a pair of shoes you know you feel fast in.

Ultimately I don't think there is a right or wrong answer to how many shoes you need. One will do perfectly fine for most people. If you have the ability to have more, do it. There are benefits as many posters have said to alternating shoes based on how they affect your gait and there is research that backs this up that alternating the type of shoes you run in can help balance weakness and keep you healthier. Shoes also get a slightly longer last to them if you don't beat them up every single day although its not a significant enough difference unless you're really pounding mileage. Having been on both sides, I think there is nothing wrong with having just a pair or two but can certainly say I enjoy having more and whether its a physiological benefit or mental benefit, I do believe I have stayed healthier and enjoy my workouts more because of it.