I typically put new tires on my wheels for an A race. But what do you do for running shoes? Where is the mileage sweet-spot where your shoes turn from stiff out of the box to form fitting and broken in, yet still have enough spring and don’t start to feel flat?
I typically put about 40 miles on new shoes before racing but curious what others target, if anything.
40 is about right for me as well but I have been as low as 15 with my Asics Hyper Tri’s
.
Depends. I’ve run a half marathon right out of the box, but those were shoes I had bought multiple times previously and knew what to expect.
I like 25 miles before a race.
in general, 40-50. that said, i’m most interested in doing my longest runs in the new shoes before the race so i know how they’ll be in the long haul.
peggy
3-6 miles unless they are a new model.
3-6 miles unless they are a new model.
^^^^This.
Also, if I’ve never used that model for a long race (70.3+) then I’ll do a 10+ mile run in them even if they are broken in. There are shoes that work great for me for 10k, but cause bad blisters during a 13.1.
Out the box, ready to go.
Zero.
Agree with TriBiker, ok straight from the box if a known make and model.
I’ve even donned unbesmirched shoes for 50 or 60 miles before backing up in them the next day…and the next.
If it is the right shoe with the right fit, it will be good from the get go.
With the right shoe, it never feels better than right out of the box for me.
Another vote for out of the box if it’s a known model that works for you. Set my marathon PR in a set of Lunaracers that had their break-in during the walk from the hotel to the start.
For me, it’s less about the shoes and more about getting the lacing to the right amount of tension. Once that’s achieved (sometimes it takes a little longer with the elastic types), then they’re cleared for take off.
I shoot for ‘out-of-the’box’ most of the time, and usually can feel immediately whether a shoe is going to do work such or not upon a few steps.
I will add however, that I’ve been pure marathon training in the last 4 months, and in an effort to avoid stress injuries and other overuse injuries, I intentionally selected 4 different types of shoes to rotate. None of them are uncomfortable or chafing, but one’s neutral, one’s motion control, one’s so old it’s nearly a zero-drop near-minimalist, and one is a cheap one with a midsole with nearly no spring but good tread.
I found it took about 30-40 miles even on the least comfortable of them, for my feet to stretch things out just the way they like. I have mildly wide feet, so my most common problem with new shoes was having the toes compressed more than I like, but that goes away after about 30-40 miles. Now I run on all of them no problemo.
But yeah, if you’re good at choosing shoes, you can tell pretty much instantly whether you can run long with it right out of the box. (I’d still test it!)