By Marty Ayres
The shoes you choose are so important to keep you running.
Shoes are a runner’s number one tool (just behind your special blister free socks and creams).
Cricket batsmen have to buy a good bat; Formula 1 drivers need to have a good car. and you need to invest in some good shoes.
A good pair of shoes will help to reduce the load on your body as you run, help you to push your body, and get the most out of your run.
So, what do you look for in a shoe? The 3 F’s:
- Fit – as assessed by your physio. We need to assess how your foot functions and what better way than using our GaitScan technology? We have Gaitscan in our clinic to allow us to assess how your foot moves as you walk, not just standing still.
- Feel – you need to feel comfortable in them. For some of you, that might be the colour and not feeling too loud in your active wear. However, the big thing is how they feel when you run, and you’re not going to know that unless you run in your shoes at the store. So please, when you buy your first pair, go to Active Feet or The Running Company and have a trot on their treadmill with your shoes on.
- Function – this all comes down to what you want to do with your shoes. If you are planning on training for ultra-marathons, you might need something a little more supportive (and a size too big as your feet actually swell during ultra-marathons). If you’re an experienced runner, looking at doing some short distances, minimal is fine. It’s all about how much help and support you need, which is often where the FIT comes in.
It used to be all about the size of your arch – a high arch has a neutral shoe, and a low arch has a supportive shoe. But that doesn’t take into account your strength and mobility in your foot.
“Often the bigger they are, the harder they fall”
If you have really strong feet, you definitely don’t need as much support in your shoe. If you have weak feet muscles, you might opt for a more supportive shoe and potentially an orthotic as well.
We’ll teach you how to strengthen your foot so that the more you run, the stronger you get and the more options for footwear you have.
Rotating your shoes:
The technology in the soles of shoes these days are fantastic, they help to reduce load on your joints to allow you to run further. However, that foam does squash down after a run and can take 24-48 hours to bounce back.
If you’re exercising more than three times per week and you want to get more out of your shoes, we recommend you invest in two pairs and rotate them. Let’s say you’d normally get 6 months of heavy running out of your shoes, you’ll get 18 months out of two pairs, nine months per shoe due to you rotating them around.
150% increase – what a BARGAIN!
Rotating your footwear is smart in every walk of life. It gives your foot a chance to learn to work in all forms. It can even be good for your feet to go barefoot for a while, and strengthen up with our Foot Strength for Runners program. Then get back into your supportive shoe, again maybe with an orthotic so you can get out and run longer distances with a bit of extra support, while we get those feet strong.
This blog series is written by Marty Ayres - Physiotherapist, Grad Cert in Sports Physiotherapy and Melbourne Marathon completer at Back In Motion Eltham.
If you would like further information, please contact our practice on 9439 6776 to book in a consultation with Marty.