hey, please help, I’m looking for a good pair of training shoes to possibly double as racing shoes next season, and I am also a a MOP athlete (1st season) pretty bad suppinator i think (always wear out the outside of my shoes, front and back, before the inside shows any considerable wear at all) live 3+ hours away from San Antonio 4+ from Austin (closest running shoe stores) weigh 170-175 lbs am on a pretty tight budget
What would you advise I do, suck it up and make the drive up to SA or Austin and get properly fitted or take the suggestions of ST’ers and buy what the general consensus thinks is the best shoe?
and also what benefits would I possibly find in purchasing a pair of suppination specific shoes vs. a general pair found in the mall or internet or something?
Also, I guess this is a subjective question, but would the benefit of going to a running shoe store outweigh the travelling cost?
I am almost a carbon copy of you. Same weight, running style and need to stay on budget. After listening to docfuel talk about Vitruvian I finally broke down and got a pair. I emailed Chuck and he recommended the Harmony style. They are great! Light but cushioned, my knees feel great and my wallet barely noticed the purchase ($60.00). So you can call me docfuel jr. if you want but I say get some Vitruvian’s (www.vitruvianrunning.com)!!
The fit is good, I emailed Chuck the size and type of shoe I was currently wearing and he matched it up perfect to the size Harmaony I would need. They are not overweighted, cushioned to the hilt, bells and whistled to death sneakers. They are just well made and do what they are suppose to and all of this yet they aren’t too expensive. Plus they do look a little different, and I like that in a shoe.
Thanks again Rover. I looked over the website again and am now genuinly intrigued. Their return policy is awesome, no shipping in the US, and they look like they have a really good product and alot of integrity as a company.
To bump up a previous part of the original post:
What would the benefits of running with supination specific shoes be (if there are any), and what do companies do to address these issues in their shoes? Shaun,… anyone?
They have a very flexible front. I just seem to roll off, like some of the shoes I had in the 70’s. And, they don’t have all of the superficial crap. They are also firm and a little bouncy, but not hard. They feel a lot like a racing flat. They feel much lighter than they actually weigh.
Brooks Dyad, wide nice and stable, flat arch, super cushy, fairly light, find a pair of Dyad 2s (current model is Dyad 3) and save some $$$, retail is $90
Asics Cumulus, again light, meshy upper, more durable heel than their Landreth, $80
Mizuno Wave Rider, sweet ride, open mesh, awesome shoe $90
Nike Air Pegasus (QUIET NIKE HATERS;), light, cushy, cheap at $80
I’m an under, not a suppin’, but I got similar recommendations when I asked the question last week. So I headed off to Ye Olde Nike Factory Store because it’s essentially the closest place to me that sells running shoes, and came away with a pair of 2004 Pegasi, a pair of Air Max Grandes and a polyesther practice bathing suit for $100 total.
I haven’t put a ton of miles on them yet, but I’m actually liking the Grandes better than the Pegasi so far. But neither is quite the shoe bliss that my beloved Air Max Vapors were- if anyone knows of a place that still has a stock of them (I think Nike’s production run on them lasted a total of 30 minutes) I’d love to hear about it.
supination and underpronation are the same thing, actually I think we just made up the word “underpronation” so we wouldn’t have to remember two complicated words, now we just add “over” and “under” to pronation.
There is a bit of a difference. If you look at the wear pattern of my shoes, the outside ball of my foot is totally shot, but there is no wear difference between inside and outside heel. So I’m not a suppinator as defined.
I would say you would do well to go see a specialist. As a Fleet Feet employee (in Bozeman), I see a whole lot of people that assure me they are supinators - none of them have EVER been. I don’t mean to underestimate you, but most runners are unaware of their gait, and I find shoe wear to be an often misunderstood art - it seems better to have a look at the stride itself.
That said, there have been some good recommendations mentioned - Nike Pegasus, ASICS Cumulus, ASICS Landreth, Mizuno Waverider (I would stay away from the Brooks Dyad - the footpod makes it mildly stable - not something you would need)
Also look at the Saucony GRID Trigon 2 Ride, New Balance 754, or any neutral shoes that are highly curved on the inside (medial side), making sure they have a minimal amount of plastic structure in the arch area.
Thanks to all. I just took a survey of all my old sneaks around my house and yes, I wear out the outside of them from heel to toe. I am still a little uncertain though what specifically I should be looking for in a shoe considering my tread wear (if that is at all a valid indicator)… light with a flexible forefoot? So I think I may take mckenzie’s advice and go up to Austin for a personal look. It would be a good excuse to get away for a weekend anyway, and this way hopefully I won’t go wrong. Also I can get one of my 2 bike checkups/outs I have coming to me from ATC this year. I’m still considering the Virtuvians too; the price is right, and the company sounds great.
Thanks again from the land of manana (imagine a tilde over the first n).
since you are now considering going to a full blown running store, definetely go ahead and do it. Keep in mind what mckenzie said and what I suggested when you go in. I have to agree with him that it’s pretty rare to find people who are full blown supinators, although if he were to visit Hawaii, the land of the 250lb overweight guy who has walked around in slippers (flat sandals) or barefoot his whole life the stats do turn a bit the other way;) His comment on the Brooks Dyad is a good one, it isn’t stable as in in corrects (at least not to my knowledge) but the width and flat straight profile dp give it a fair amount of stability.
To get to the point. Go to the store, write down the suggested models, don’t thrust them in the face of the employee but simply ask them to evaluate your footstrike and give feedback ending in reccomendations. If they don’t seem knowledgeable ask for someone else, every store no matter how good has their newbee employees and if you really do supinate you’ll definetely confuse someone new. If they don’t offer any of the suggested shoes and don’t give a good justification for doing so then you may want to give it a second thought and get a second opinion. BUT if they don’t reccomend the shoes we reccomended but give good reason that you are not a supinator or nuetral runner, and they need to give good reason, do not be hard headed and stick to the list you brought in. That happens all the time when I’m working. A doctors patient, or a member of a certain running clinic who’s name I won’t list, comes in with some completely off the wall and wrong list of shoes they should be trying on and then will not budge from it. The internet is not the best way to pick shoes, if it was there would be no brick and mortar stores as they are for sure more expensive. Good luck, be patient and find someone good. Once you find the perfect shoe you have the basis for every shoe to come and it’ll be a lot easier from there.
Thanks Tai, I’ll write down the shoes that you both suggested, bring the list with me and go from there. 1st I’ll stop at ATC and ask the guys there who to talk to at Run Tex, that way at least I’ll be headed in the right direction. I’m sure if I have any more questions Run Tex will be able to help me out. So thanks again to all.