I usually buy my running shoes at local Fred Meyer store.
$50-60 Nike are my go to. You can beat them up not worry too much about mud and whatever. Use them as trainers and racers, which is probably bad.
Anyway I was feeling like my latest pair was getting a bit blown out so I finally went in a got a new pair. Nike Downshifter $59. Perfect. They feel like race cars on my feet, running faster as result.
Then I got curious about the mileage I put on previous pair. Got them 15 months ago. I dug through training journal and started adding miles. I had 1013 miles on those things. Complete weekly average of 16.8 miles.
I just opened the box on my third pair for the year. I’ve noticed a marked decrease in my overpronation wear patterns since completing the 100/100 this year.
I run Asics gt 1000 (v4 and v5). I’ve been getting more out of them lately for some reason. I just retired one pair at 403 because it was feeling kinda loose. But, I have a second pair that is still going pretty strong at 410. Usually, they feel pretty floppy past 300 miles, and it gets progressively risky going much higher. 300-350 has been my normal limit in years past.
How many miles on shoes is more like how many years for me. I’ll cascade/rotate shoes to get the most out of them. Newer shoes for tarmac/concrete. Used shoes for treadmill. Really old shoes still good for cross country running. Use shoe goo for uneven wear areas on the shoe.
What’s our tolerance level? I think have a high tolerance for using something before I give up on it. Clean my goggles so they last a long time. Bike tires until they blow so bad that they can’t be used. Take clothing to tailor for repair or to be taken in for aero.
I am very conservative and only give myself 200 miles before I swap out. While I know shoes can last much longer, I’m prone to running injuries so I am overly cautious
There is no benefit for you going to a $150 shoe. The thing about running shoes is fairly easy. Find a shoe that works for you and stick to it until you feel it’s not working any more. Right now you’d be paying more than double for an experience that would not be better. The same would be true if someone is having success in a $150 shoe and decided to go your route. They would save a great deal of money and be fairly unhappy.
I once had a running coach who only ran in the adidas Marathon Trainer. He used to say it started to feel really good after 1000 miles.
We also had a guy on the Tuesday run who would show up in Nike Aqua Socks. 11 miles of hard running on hoarse trails and that was it trainer of choice. No idea how many miles he got out of them but probably a great deal. There was no soft midsole to break down just rubber and the upper.
I spend more than you but have also put insane mileage on things. I just get new trail runners ($140) that may have a 300 mi lifetime as per the sales person’s guestimate. They will fill a specific swim-run niche, but I may continue to put the bulk of any trail running miles onto my 2015 Brooks Pure Grit. They feel terrible on tarmac but just fine on dirt. Ixm not rigorous about tracking actual miles, though.
In 2010 I bought a pair of Saucony Kinvara’s that I wore for 3 years, 5-6 marathons?
Depends a lot on the shoe and what you’re running on. I had a pair of Clifton 1’s that were treadmill only - got 2500 miles out of them before they literally began falling apart! The first pair of my Nike 4% have 150 or so miles on them and seem to have lost their pop, so it depends a lot!
I get 800-1000 from adidas boston boosts, and normally buy them on sale for 50-80 when new models come out
As far as benefit of $150 shoes, none in performance for your everyday trainer (for racing flats, the 4% is objectively faster), but if the $150 shoes are the shoes that allow you run consistently and get to the start line healthy then they are worth it. You are lucky and can get by with cheap trainers, others can’t do that without being injured
Other variables can affect a shoes life include running surface, terrain, how often you use them, how fast you run in them and you foot strike/stride
Nice responses! I do love to get some miles on a shoe and then analyze the wear pattern on the tread to see how it correlates to my stride and pronation.
I run on ASICS GT 2000 shoes. I get about 350 miles on them before the dumpster.
Same. All though my current pair is sitting at 429 miles and just now showing physical wear. I can usually feel it in my knees around 300 miles but this pair might be a unicorn as I haven’t noticed it in my knees yet.
I can usually feel it in my knees around 300 miles but this pair might be a unicorn as I haven’t noticed it in my knees yet.This exactly for me. I can feel it in my right knee when my shoes get old. I set a 350 mile limit in Garmin Connect to flag if I go over 350 to avoid injury. But, if my knee starts feeling sore after runs earlier than 350, I will dump the shoes.