Running shoes

We know that there are very different runners looking for shoes, and it is very difficult to write and evaluate a running shoe in a way that suits everyone. It’s not just that we don’t run at the same pace or the same distances, but rather that we have different amounts of experience with running shoes and may speak different language about them.

The two extreme examples are the novice runner looking for their first running shoe, and the experienced runner who uses 3-4 running shoes at any one time, but has run in more than 10-20 shoes in their lifetime.

We try to write our reviews in a way that a beginner runner can understand, but that is not boring for an experienced runner.

For beginner runners who are planning to buy their first or second running shoe, we recommend that they go to a shop specialising in running shoes and try on the shoe before buying. As much as we try to be detailed and careful when evaluating a shoe, if you don’t have experience with running shoes you may not understand it well, exactly because of what I wrote earlier about our different language.

Of course an experienced runner can miss the mark if they buy a shoe without trying it on. If you decide to buy your running shoes online rather than in an offline shop, be careful when choosing, and follow this advice:

Once the shoebox arrives, unpack it in a way that does not damage either the packaging or the shoe. Don’t cut the seal off the shoes and keep everything in the packaging. Put the shoes on, try on the laces to see how comfortable they are and walk around the apartment in them, but under no circumstances take them outside. If you can, take them to a gym with a treadmill and walk a few hundred metres and run in them. Be very critical of whether the running shoes are the right ones, whether you got what you expected.

If it’s comfortable, not as tight as you expected, then it’s ok, you can take the cleats off and run in them.

If there’s something wrong with it, if it doesn’t fit, you first have to decide whether it’s the size or the construction.

When running, the foot can often swell up to 1 shoe size, so you might just have a problem with the size and then send it back 1 or half a size bigger and everything will be perfect. It’s like the salt in your food, you need the right amount of it to bring out the flavours, you might feel better running in your shoes if you’re wearing the right size.

But if you’re sure the size is right, the shoe itself might not be right for you. In that case, send them back and try another pair.

It is important that you do not take the tags off before you do this, as most running shoe shops will not take them back, but you should always read the shop’s information about this

If you find out after only 10-20-30 kilometres that there is a problem with either the running shoe or the size, you can still sell them on a popular marketplace or even in a runners’ group.

If you’re selling used, be sure to include a receipt for the shoe. This will prove that the running shoe is genuine (unfortunately there are many fakes) and they will see the original price. Write honestly how much you have run in them, an experienced buyer will spot it even if you don’t write truthfully from the wear on the outsole.

Understandably, it’s attractive to shop online, as you can compare running shoe prices more easily, but if you’re not going to a store where you can try on running shoes, it’s worth following the above.

If you’re going to buy running shoes online without trying them on, the really big focus should be on choosing the right type. We’ve written two articles on this where you can read more about what to look out for, but we’ll briefly summarise here.

First, find the answer to the question “what running shoes should I buy?“.

• You’ll need to decide what kind of ground you’ll be using your running shoes on. Asphalt (hard and firm pavement), or off-road (soft, unstable, even muddy, slippery surfaces), or on a race track.
• You need to decide how much distance you want to run in them. If longer distances, it’s important to have better shock absorption, a comfortable upper, and some stability in the running shoe, because longer distances will tire the foot and ankle, and you need a more stable fit

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• It is important to decide at what pace you will use the running shoes, how dynamic they should be, how high their energy dissipation should be.
• You need to know at what temperature you will be using it. If you will be using it mainly in a gym on a treadmill or on summer days, it is important that it has good breathability. If you’re going to be using them in colder or rainier weather, it’s good to have at least a little waterproofing in your running shoes.

You can search for these and many other criteria in our detailed running shoe search.

If you can answer these questions well and honestly, you’re more likely to find your ideal running shoe. But is there an ideal running shoe or is there a best running shoe? The answer is simple, no, there isn’t. There is no ideal or best running shoe for two important reasons.

Firstly, every runner has unique needs and a unique foot, so even if you choose the most ideal shoe, there may be subtle features you would change.

On the other hand, it’s best, but for what? Are you best at running fast in them? Can you run the longest distances in them? Is it the most comfortable? You may not find these in a running shoe. In other words, there will be running shoes that are best for fast runs or best for long runs, but rare and expensive ones that have it all. That’s why professional, advanced runners use 4-5 running shoes at a time. They always wear the right one for the workout and get the most out of it.

If you have several active running shoes at the same time, it’s not only good because you can always wear the right ones for the goal, but also because each one will work slightly different muscles, or the same muscles in different ways, which is good for your feet and your fitness.

If you have several active running shoes at the same time, they will wear out more slowly, which is also a big advantage. running shoes wear out faster than most shoes, which is because the foams that make up the midsole are so honed for better performance that they can only keep doing so for a shorter period of time. Generally speaking, the more professional the foam in a running shoe, the sooner it wears out (there are exceptions).

It’s also important to talk about what wear and tear means for a running shoe, and how much time or how many kilometres they wear out after.

Unfortunately, wear and tear is rarely visible. It is not that the outer rubber sole of a running shoe wears out, but that the support, flexibility and dynamism of the midsole is lost, due to changes in the structure of the foam.

In a good case, this will only mean that you won’t be able to run as fast in them, or your feet will get tired sooner, or your knees and ankles will start hurting sooner. Unfortunately, in bad cases, it can also lead to injury. If your ankle leans inwards a little (pronation), you put more pressure on the inside of the sole of the shoe, the foam will collapse faster, which will cause your ankle to lean in even more, which can cause injury after a certain period of time, and your ligaments can become inflamed. We also wrote a post about this, it measured the midfoot height of a new and an identical but new running shoe and after 600 Km of running, the old shoe was nearly 1 cm lower.

If this wear is so imperceptible, it would be good if each manufacturer would tell you in advance how many kilometres you can run in a shoe. But unfortunately this is impossible, as it can be different for every runner. To give an example, a 60 kg runner will put a completely different load on the same running shoe than a 100 kg runner. If someone pronates or supinates, they will also load the midfoot of the shoe differently and in different places. A runner who runs marathons after a 10 km run will have a completely different load than a runner who runs a maximum of 15 km.

As more and more emphasis has been placed on the engineering of running shoes in addition to the training of runners, with more and more professional foams being used in running shoes, durability has decreased.

It’s worth going through the history of running shoes in broad terms to understand why.

There are surviving running shoes from as early as the 19th century, where the main focus was still on light weight and grip, which were solved with spikes, but the basis for today’s modern running shoes was laid in 1917. This was the first to have a rubber sole.

Mass production of sports shoes began in the 1920s under the leadership of Adi and Rudolf Dassler. They later split up because of their different views, and the two sports shoe brands that still exist today, Adidas and Puma, were created in the 1940s.

In the 1950s, the focus was still mainly on speed, and this was achieved with spikes, just as before in the 19th century, but leather spikes were used instead of metal spikes.

In the 1960s, long distance running became more popular and shock absorption was introduced, which was solved with sponge rubber. Based on this idea, Bowerman and Knight opened their manufacturing company Nike in the early 70s.

The 1970s were all about science, and detailed research began on how to make running shoes more comfortable. In 1975, the first running shoes were made with a midsole made of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA for short), a foam filled with tiny air bubbles, which is still used in most running shoe midsoles today. The material was first used by the Brooks running shoe brand.

In the 1970s, Nike created the famous waffle pattern outsole that is still used today.

Also in the 70s, the first stable running shoe was released, also thanks to the Brooks brand.

In the 80s, stability was the key. It was also the time of the first Asics GT shoes. The 80s also saw the first visible bubble on the first Nike Air Max shoes.

The 90s was all about AIR technology, everyone wanted to make and wear running shoes with air bubbles.

The 2000s brought a new turn of events, thanks to Harvard professor Daniel E. Lieberman, who said the most comfortable running is barefoot running. Nike immediately rode that wave and came out with the Nike Free series, which is lightweight, neutral and thin-soled. It was also the year that the first Vibram 5 toe running shoe was released in 2006

In the 2010s, the pace of change accelerated, with a succession of new foam materials and technical solutions. Most running shoe manufacturers came up with their own new foam materials, which were even lighter and more flexible than their predecessors. Height of the sole started to increase again, reaching 40 mm by the early 20s. In addition to shock absorption, new techniques in dynamism were introduced, such as carbon inserts, TPU sheets, fibreglass sheets and energy bars.

What does the future hold, what is the current trend? It seems that there is a growing separation between running shoes that are suitable for different types of running. There are very comfortable running shoes with high shock absorption, lightweight running shoes for fast but short distances, running shoes for fast and long distances, versatile running shoes that don’t excel at anything but work well for all types of running, and on and on.

Why are we doing this page?
Because we love running shoes!
I can remember with crystal clarity my first run in “real” running shoes. It was a Mizuno Wave Rider, and although I’d been running for a good few years by then, it was my first real dedicated running shoe. Before that, I ran in my all-purpose trainers.
Going back to my first run in running shoes was a great experience. I had the feeling of “yeah, can this be like that?”. It’s so soft, so comfortable, so cozy, less tiring, faster, JOBB.
I’d read a lot of articles about running by then, and they all said that it’s worth buying a real running shoe if you’re serious about running. Read more >>>

While we mostly only test men’s running shoes, there isn’t much difference between a women’s and men’s version of a running shoe, which we’ve written about in detail:
I hope I’m not alone in thinking that, as a man, I should consider buying women’s running shoes.
No, it’s not some perverse fetish, it’s simply that the same running shoe, if it’s a women’s shoe, is lighter and cheaper than the men’s version.
OK, I’ll let you in on a secret: Not only have I toyed with the idea, but I also have (had) two women’s running shoes for being a man. A Mizuno Wave Rider Neo and an Aiscs Metaracer.
I have Miscros?
I think not!
I’m a 41-42 and not too thick. This size is big for women, maybe a bit extreme. The thing with both of these was that they were last, and no one wanted to take them in this size, which is large in women, so they were sold well below the normal price. And I bought it without trying it on.
How much of a good idea it was to buy women’s running shoes instead of men’s, and what are the professional pros and cons?Click here to read it!

You may also want to read our article on the dropper:
Why is the drop important, why should we even bother with it?
Beginning runners, and often even more advanced runners, simply suffer from drop. In other words, they look, buy a running shoe and simply live with the drop of that shoe. But the drop affects several things, which are:
1. Cadence
2. ground contact, ground grip.
3. impact, load

Read more about drop