Dan, good to see some good advice on running shoes and in particular orthotics, one question though.
If you have orthotics do you still need to buy motion control/stability shoes, or will neutral shoes do? I have recently got orthotics and I am not sure, if wearing them with a stability shoe is over compensating.
If any one else has any advice then it would be good to hear it.
I asked the same question a few days ago after a visit to the Shoe Dog himself. Look a few pages down and read what was posted in reply.
my advice is to go to a running store that knows how to fit shoes, and takes the time to do so. they should see how you run in a neutral shoe, with your orthotics, and see if there’s a need for more stability. i work at a fleet feet in cincinnati, and this is what we will do. sometimes i find that the orthotics do all the work, and neutral shoes are fine, but i find myself putting a lot of people in orthotics into stability shoes to give them a little extra support. generally these people would need much greater support without the orthotics (although not all orthotics are for overpronation), so it really has to be judged on a case-by-case basis. find someone that will take the time to see what you really need. later,
My question is for Dan also. Was running in motion control shoes. Best for me was the Addidas Calibrate. Switched to New balance 2000(spendy shoes) within 100 miles developed a stress fracture(also had started to run more on a treadmill). After healing my Dr. and P.T. said my orthodics would replace the need for motion control shoes. I had 2 pr of the calibrates and had no problem but when they wore out went to Mizuno’s cushion shoes. Within 2 weks had pain in mid calf on outside then inside. Went bac to Saucany Stabil(Calibrate no longer made)Pain was not near as bad but since I am training for IMCDA could not stop to completely heal so pain is very, very slowly subsiding. Will I always need M.C. shoes I run like a duck(especially right foot)and wear completely on the outside of th shoe like an under-pronater.The only thing I can figure is that my weight rolls to the inside of my heal(180lbs) so I need a heel counter bfore I push off on the outside of my foot. ???I would love to have lighter shoes.
“If you have orthotics do you still need to buy motion control/stability shoes, or will neutral shoes do?”
i can only speak for myself, but here’s how it breaks out. for regular, everyday training, I MUST use motion control shoes, because if a shoe won’t hold up your arch/heel, it won’t hold up the orthotic either. in other words, instead of your foot breaking the medial side of the shoe down, the orthotic will.
but, that’s for training. as you’ll see when i get to the “racing” section, i WILL use my orthotic in a neutral show with a curved last, but not in a racing flat per se. i can put an orthotic into an adidas rotterdam, which is what i’m racing in (for 10k and below). but no shoe less substantial than that will support the orthotic. my days of racing in pure racing flats are over.
i tried training in lighter weight “cushion” or “neutral” shoes and my feet + orthotic shot these shoes to pieces within a few runs.
so in my case, except for a very few fast efforts, and for races, no way does the orthotic replace the need for motion control shoes.
“After healing my Dr. and P.T. said my orthodics would replace the need for motion control shoes.”
your story seems to indicate that you think you’re a supinator because you wear the outside of your shoes, but if your experts are thinking you need orthotics and motion control shoes, that’s generally a recipe for overpronators.
even pronators will wear the outside of their shoe’s heel. but they’ll wear the medial side of the forefoot. because you’re a splay footed sort, it’s normal to come down on the heel. very few people come down on the inside of their shoe. it’s what happens after your footstrike – whether you roll inside or not – that determines whether you overpronate/supinate.
all i can tell you is, if you’re an overpronator you’re going to probably need more and more medial support the older you get.
unfortunately, orthotics is like tri bike fit. you’d think it was all fairly uniformly executed by the experts, but you can get a pretty wide range of casting, depending on who does it. the nice thing about my guy is that he makes the mold, he makes the orthotic, he fine tunes the orthotic, all right there in his place. that’s frankly the sort of place it would be nice for you to find.
if you just need to try every shoe on in the universe, then i recommend traveling, and if any of you live in socal, and you have these problems, just bite the bullet and to the same two places i went to. i live 3 hours from roadrunner sports and jim rice. it’s not like they’re down the street from me. but this was a problem i needed to fix.
Thank You Slowman
The wear on my shoe is all on the outside,from heal to toe. In Saucany’s the wear is a little more to the center when I get to the toe. It seems that the problem I have is when I wear anything that is not a straight last. When wearing curved last shoes I seem to have the problem when doing speed work. The thing I hate more than anythng is when I finally find a pair of shoes that work they are discontinued. Thanks Again Kenney
Thanks to all who replied. Will get down to my local running shop this weekend to get their views. One further questions, do those of you who use orthotics for running have any problems with cycling, especially anyone who is splay footed.
Great site, keep up the good work.