I need some new shoe recommendations please. I run on the roads, running 3 to 4 runs a week. 5-7 miles per run with a 10-15 mile run on weekend. Will be adding more miles for possible January Marathon. I am currently running in Newton Kismet pop 2. I don’t use socks and haven’t for the last 2-3 years to keep transitions down. The problem is any run over 12 miles with Newtons and the balls of my feet start to get really sore and I feel like I am landing on the edge of the lugs. For ANY run I am left with long blisters, ~3" long, on both feet and various smaller blisters on my toes and ankles. I thought I could get them to callus but they haven’t and I have tried to file down the inserts to make the edges less sharp but that hasn’t really helped. I never had this problem with Altra Torins or Nike Pegasus. I went through several pair of Altras but switched due to small nagging pains in my shins and knees. My heal lands last and i am just not strong enough to keep it from hitting the ground so I thought the zero drop may be over working/stretching my legs. These were by FAR the most comfortable shoes I have worn and never got any blisters. Prior to that I wore Nike Pegasus and these were my favorite shoes at the time but I needed to switch to a more front foot strike so I left the drop behind. Nike Pegasus 32 have around 10mm of drop so I don’t want to go there, where the Altra Torins are 0mm and Newton Kismet pop 2 are 4.5mm of drop. I have not felt ANY pains in my shins or knees with the Newtons and could live with the blisters but the lug pain is something that really gets into my head during long runs. The local running store manager, great runner, told me that if I went to a drop shoe with more that 4mm, now that I am accustomed to 0mm, that I would probably get planter fasciitis. What shoe would you recommend that I try giving the information above?
Thanks
Edit: When I exam the bottom of the Newtons I am not landing on the back of the lugs. The front of the lugs are being removed and there are no signs of landing on the back of the lugs so it appears I am landing on my fore-foot.
Take a look at the new ON Cloud. They are a great shoe with 5.5 mm heal drop. They are the first shoes along with the cloud racers that have not given me blisters when I am running and racing! They are light fast and don’t try to manipulate how you run but rather support your running gait and whether you over pronate or under pronate!
Ditto this. ON is great. Sizing runs true in my experience…asics/ON/Brooks.
Take a look at the new ON Cloud. They are a great shoe with 5.5 mm heal drop. They are the first shoes along with the cloud racers that have not given me blisters when I am running and racing! They are light fast and don’t try to manipulate how you run but rather support your running gait and whether you over pronate or under pronate!
The local running store manager, great runner, told me that if I went to a drop shoe with more that 4mm, now that I am accustomed to 0mm, that I would probably get planter fasciitis.
Wait…wut? Based on what evidence?
One more example of how someone being good at a particular sport does not mean they know what they are talking about.
Higher drop shoes don’t cause heel striking. Theres zero evidence for that.
Different drops load tissues differently though, so it makes sense to consider changing the drop of your shoe based upon where your pain is.
Also a good idea to alternate shoes with different drops as this “spreads the load” better than always running in one shoe.
Regarding the met pain in newtons, if it’s not a sizing issue (met head too far toward front or rear of lug), it could just be that the newton lug design doesn’t gel with your mechanics and structure.
Definitely try different shoes. You had luck with a zero drop and a 10mm drop shoe in the past, although it sounds like the higher drop shoe was better in terms of overall pain. Try different shoes and see what works.
Also, that run store guy obviously doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Go to another run specialty store. Most of us have more common sense than that.
Thank you for the response. I am developing a routine with all the shoes so they all have their purpose. I remember seeing ON shoes a while back and wanted to learn more about them but I had forgotten about them until they were mentioned here. I ordered a pair last night.