“What running shoes should I buy?” is a common question. Please note that this question should not be confused with the question “how to choose running shoes?“, which I will write about later. Here I will write about what shoes to buy if you want to run in them.
Is the difference between the two questions not clear? Then you’re in the right place and you’d do well to read this post, because if the question “how to choose running shoes?” is not clearly answered before “What running shoes should I buy?” or you didn’t even ask the question, you won’t be able to buy good running shoes.
It must be getting very boring that here, like so many other running questions, there is no one right answer, so we won’t answer the question, but show you the way to answer it.
To answer the question “What running shoes should I buy?” question, you first need to answer the question “What will you use the shoe for?
You might immediately answer “Well, for running, what else?
Ok, let’s break the question down further:
- What are you going to use it for?
- What kind of ground are you going to run on?
- What type of running?
- What type of running will you be using?
Basically, there are 3 types of ground: firm, soft and race track. We will not deal with the latter, because anyone looking for running shoes for racing is an experienced runner, and this post will not tell them much.
Solid ground means mainly asphalt, but it can be paving stones, anything that is a hard solid surface, so it is a street environment.
And soft is anything that is slick, silty, slippery, i.e. terrain. Many people think that cross-country running is running up and down a place, but it’s not. Running on a gravel road or plateau without elevation is also terrain, and running in snow or beach sand is also terrain (or at least you need trail running shoes). Not to be too complicated, but it is precisely because of the former that terrain can be further broken down, because a muddy run with a high elevation difference may need a completely different shoe for a less slippery, less level run. We will not do that breakdown here.
The number of types of running or training is almost endless, but in terms of running shoes there are basically two more questions to answer:
- What do you want to use it for?
- What kind of ground will you be running on?
- What type of running?
- What distances are you running?
- What pace do you want to run in it?
Distance is defined as the number of kilometres covered in one run. Distance is important mainly because of the cushioning of the shoe. The more cushioned a shoe is, the more suitable it is for longer runs. But for longer distances there are other comfort factors such as foot support and breathability.
Pace, in this context, is not about how fast you can run, but typically the pace at which you will use the running shoe. You can run slow and fast in any running shoe, but there are shoes that help you run fast. These shoes are lightweight, have a high energy dissipation, are resilient and bouncy. And there are slow shoes that are much more comfortable than fast shoes.
If I’m honest, distance and pace are related when choosing running shoes. If I had to make an imaginary scale, at one end would be the high-cushioning, comfortable, slightly heavier shoes, and at the other end would be the light, minimal-cushioning running shoes.
This scale would not include those “super running shoes” that are light but also cushioned. There are such shoes, they are the “flagship” of some brands. They are very expensive, you don’t really want to buy them under 4:30 average pace, because they are just not worth it, you can’t get what they cost.
We rate the shoes on our site on two criteria, and you can search for them in our detailed running shoe search.
I’d go back to the idea that you can run slow and fast in any running shoe, it’s just not necessarily supported by the shoe. When deciding what running shoes you’re going to buy, think in terms of what you want to run in them. This is very similar to the question and decision you make before a mixed training session when you are wondering which shoes to start running in. For example, if you have a 20km slow basic endurance run with 3x1km of faster paced sections, you’ll be running mostly slow, and the 20km will require a shoe with more cushioning. You may not be breaking speed records on those 3x1km in your comfortable shoes but you will be comfortable for the remaining 17km.
There are running shoes that are versatile and can be used for many things. If you can’t afford more than one pair of shoes, you should buy them. They are not like most 4-season car tyres, that are not right for winter or summer. Versatile running shoes are really good for more distance and pace. You can also find these with the detail search.
Are you a beginner runner? Use the detailed running shoe finder to set that up separately. Same rule here, all running shoes can be worn by beginners, but there are some shoes that are more suitable. And vice versa, an intermediate runner can run well in a shoe that is also suitable for an advanced runner.
Once you have answered the question “What running shoes should I buy?”, the next step is to choose the right running shoes, what size to choose, and what to look for in them.
