The Six Minute Mile Holiday Gift Guide
Don’t stress about shopping for your running-obsessed friends and family members—or yourself, wink wink!—we’ve got you covered with the gifts runners want and the gifts runners need.
We all love a new pair of running shoes. That plush step-in feel, the clean appearance, and, yes, even the smell of new running shoes, are among the key factors that can put a spring in your step and lead to inspired training and racing.
However, finding your next pair of running shoes is not an easy task. Not only are there an overwhelming number of many brands and models available to choose from, but each one will fit your feet and perform differently for you based on your foot shape, fitness, running gait, and other factors. And because running shoe models are changing constantly, even if you just spent the past several months running in a pair of shoes you absolutely loved, chances are that same shoe might not be available any more.
Here are six tips that can help you find your next pair of running shoes.
A great starting point to finding your next pair of running shoes is to visit a local running store with knowledgeable staff and a wide selection of brands and models. (If you’re looking for trail running shoes, that might mean visiting a local outdoor shop.) Spend time with one of the store’s shoe-fitting experts to assess your foot shape, gait, and running style. Be sure to share any foot and ankle injury history (including sprains, blisters, corns, bunions, and hot spots) you’ve recently dealt with and any other challenges you’ve had with your feet or running shoes in the past. From there, you’ll get a handful of options to try on.
Shopping online is fine if you know what you want or if you’re looking for closeouts at a bargain price, but I don’t recommend buying shoes online without trying them on first. Keep in mind that most retailers—both at local stores and online stores—offer a risk-free trial period so you can return them if things don’t work out on the first couple of runs. But because trying on shoes is so important, I always recommend visiting a specialty running store first. (Plus, a visit to your local running store can be so much more than a transactional experience, given how those stores are immersed into the local running community where you live.)
Whether you’re working with a shoe-fitting expert or shopping on your own, it’s important to know what you like the most in a running shoe. Ultimately, what you like in a shoe is going to lead you to how well you’ll run in it. Studies from the University of Calgary have shown that comfort—how a shoe fits and feels—is the best indicator about how running shoes are working with your own personal biomechanics.
In other words, the quest to find your next pair of running shoes can be as simple as listening to your feet.
“We actually came up with the term the comfort filter,” says University of Calgary professor of Kinesiology Stefan Hoerzer has investigated the link between performance, injury reduction, and comfortable shoes. “So your body knows what’s good for you and you should really listen to your body.”
What amount of cushion do you prefer? How light do you want your shoes to be? Do you want more cushioning for longer runs or a more responsive shoe for speed workouts? Consider if you need additional support for your arch, if you appreciate proprioceptive feel for the ground, or if you prefer minimalist shoes with less cushioning. If you’re buying trail running shoes, what kind of terrain do you normally run on? Answering those questions can help guide you to what kind of running shoes you need and want.
Trying on shoes before you buy them is a crucial part of the process of finding your next pair of running shoes. The fit, feel, and ride of every shoe is different, and how you run in them will be different, too. Don’t settle for the first pair you try on. Try on several different models and brands of the specific type of shoes you’re looking for (for example, everyday training shoes or trail shoes or speed trainers) to compare the feel and performance as you run inside or outside the running store. (I would recommend trying on at least four to six models, more if possible.)
Understand how the different pairs fit and feel, and what you enjoy most about each different pair of shoes. As that University of Calgary study suggests, the brain-to-foot proprioception allows us to inherently have a good idea of what feels good—and also what feels awkward or feels bad—and going through a thorough try-on process with several pairs of shoes will really help you understand which shoes fit your feet the best on the run. (Admittedly, though, it’s hard to simulate how a shoe might feel in the middle or end of a long run in various weather conditions. However, appreciating the fit, feel, and ride in the try-on phase is a good starting point.)
A good fit is paramount to finding your next pair of running shoes. Aim for a snug fit in the heel and midfoot, with enough room in the toe box for your toes to wiggle and naturally splay. Any area that feels uncomfortable in the try-on phase will likely be worse when you’re out on a run. A shoe that’s loose in the heel could lead to blisters, hot spots, and instability. A shoe that is too tight in the toe box can inhibit the natural movement of the transverse arch in the forefoot, thus limiting forward propulsion.
Keep in mind that many shoes—especially many of the most popular everyday trainers—are available in more than one width. (If your local running stores don’t have them, they will typically special-order them and/or offer numerous other models in wider widths.) Also, a running store shoe fitter can recommend models for runners who tend to have flatter feet. Some of the best shoes for runners with flat feet, according to an in-depth test from Run Repeat, include the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 24, Saucony Guide 18, Saucony Tempus, ASICS Gel Kayano 31, Hoka Arahi 7, Hoka Gaviota 5, and ASICS GT 1000 13.
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We all know that running shoes can make a fashion statement based on how the color and aesthetics make them stand out. But those shouldn’t be primary purchasing considerations. Nor should brand loyalty be a prime consideration, given how a specific model can change year over year. You might have run in Nike or New Balance or Hoka for years, but the materials and how shoes are put together change regularly, so as much as you might have a favorite brand, it’s wise to try on shoes—especially new models.
And when it comes to materials, don’t focus on the buzzwords tied to the marketing of shoes, such as “nitrogen-infused supercritical midsole foam” because every brand is using a variety of high-performance materials, and it’s not about how any one specific component influences how you run in that shoe, it’s how the shoe performs as a whole.
Ultimately, it’s how shoes fit and feel as you run in them that should be your top criteria for seeking your next pair of running shoes.
Also, I’d highly avoid buying carbon-plated racing shoes based on the results of elite athletes at the Boston Marathon, Chicago Marathon, Olympics, or world championships. While those are exceptional performances—and those new shoe releases from Nike, Adidas, On, Hoka, Under Armour, and New Balance are definitely next-level specimens—how those athletes ran in those shoes have nothing to do with how you might run in those same shoes.
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There’s no doubt that racing shoes with carbon-fiber plates have changed running. They’re propulsive, fast, and efficient, feel sublime at moderate to faster paces, and definitely promote improved race times and quicker recovery between workouts.
But as good as they feel every time you lace them up, you should be wary about wearing them too often during training. First, the high-performance foam midsoles of those shoes tend to be less durable than everyday training shoes, so the more you wear them in training, the less effective they’ll eventually be on race day. Secondly, running in shoes with carbon-fiber plates can accentuate gait irregularities, potentially weaken muscles in your feet, and possibly lead to overuse injuries. You should definitely adapt to running in a new pair of racing supershoes in training, but avoid wearing them several days per week.
Shopping for carbon-plated racing shoes is especially difficult—because those shoes feel and ride dramatically differently and there’s no real way to understand how a shoe matches your gait and race pace late in a fast training run or race. However, the try-on process and basic wear-testing at a running store can help you understand the different characteristics of those supershoes—how firm, bouncy, and how rockered they are—and help eliminate the shoes that definitely don’t work.
Good luck in your search for your next pair of running shoes!
Senior editor Brian Metzler has wear-tested more than 2,500 running shoes and is the author of “Kicksology: The Hype, Science, Culture and Cool of Running Shoes” (2019) and “Trail Running Illustrated” (2019). He has raced just about every distance from 100 meters to 100 miles, but he’s most eager to share stories about his experiences pack burro racing in Colorado.
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