{"id":427,"date":"2024-06-14T20:15:06","date_gmt":"2024-06-14T20:15:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/you-can-save-money-on-running-shoes-but-buyer-beware\/"},"modified":"2024-07-12T05:10:25","modified_gmt":"2024-07-12T05:10:25","slug":"you-can-save-money-on-running-shoes-but-buyer-beware","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/post\/you-can-save-money-on-running-shoes-but-buyer-beware\/","title":{"rendered":"You Can Save Money on Running Shoes, but Buyer Beware"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Brian Metzler<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n

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How much money do you expect to pay for running shoes this year? If you\u2019re a regular age-group runner, it\u2019s probably in the range of $280 to $600, depending on how many miles you\u2019ll be running and the races you have on your calendar. That\u2019s based on the notion that most high-mileage trainers and do-everything trail runners sell for about $140 and racing super shoes are in the $200 to $275 range. Most runners go through at least two pairs of trainers every year and, well, a new pair of racing shoes can blow everyone\u2019s budget.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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When buying a new pair of shoes, I highly recommend runners visit their local running store and spend time with one of the store\u2019s expert shoe fitters. That way, you can find shoes that will optimally fit the size and shape of your feet and match any unique traits of your running gait. I\u2019ll continue to stand by that same advice, even while making these suggestions on how to possibly save money on your next pair of shoes. Take these suggestions with a grain of salt, knowing the most important thing about your next pair of shoes is how well they fit and perform on your feet.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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1. Shop From the Sale Table of Your Local Running Store<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Speciality running stores are typically selling the current season\u2019s shoes, and that\u2019s what the shoe-fitter will likely bring out from the store room when recommending shoes during your fitting session. But if you\u2019re on a budget and want to save money, ask about the store\u2019s stock of sale shoes. Most stores have them on a table offered at discounted prices, but some keep them in the back with the rest of the shoes. Most of those shoes were very good the previous season, it\u2019s just that they\u2019ve been outdated by the new model. There\u2019s no guarantee that the store will have your size in its sales stash, but it\u2019s worth asking. I wouldn\u2019t advise settling for just any model that happens to be your size because it\u2019s offered at a reduced price. You still need to get shoes that fit your feet and match your gait.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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2. Consider Discounted Closeouts Online<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Every shoe brand has a direct-to-consumer sales website that is promoting the same models you\u2019ll find at your running store. But somewhere on most of those same sites is a drop-down menu item that will point you to close-out models at a discounted price. The good news is that, if you know a brand and model that\u2019s worked well for you, you could find exactly what you\u2019re looking for and be able to keep running in the same shoes that worked well for you in the previous season. However, the challenge is that you might be enticed by another discounted model that you know nothing about and might consider opting for the great price. That could work out for you, but it could also be a recipe for disaster if the shoe just doesn\u2019t fit well or match your gait pattern, leading to unexpected soreness or an overuse injury. Most retail sites offer discounted closeouts too, including the <\/span><\/span>Clearance Gear offered by Running Warehouse<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/u>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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3. Most Brands Make Entry Level Shoes That Aren\u2019t Sold at Running Stores<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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But what about bargain shoes? No, I don\u2019t mean discounted shoes, I mean entry-level shoes that most brands make but don\u2019t really market to experienced runners. Every brand makes shoes that they sell for about $110 or less and some are pretty good. But buyer beware: you get what you pay for. Those lower-level shoes don\u2019t have the premium materials that the shoes in the $140 to $180 range have, so you\u2019re not going to get the opulent comfort, responsive springiness, or overall performance if you opt for an entry-level model. That should sound like a no-brainer, but that\u2019s not a reason to ignore that crop of shoes, either. I\u2019ve said many times that I love the <\/span><\/span>Brooks Launch 10 <\/span><\/span><\/a><\/u>($110) and typically run in those a few times every month. Other shoes in that category include the <\/span><\/span>Nike Downshifter 13<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/u>\u00a0($75), <\/span><\/span>ASICS GT-1000<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/u>\u00a0($110), <\/span><\/span>New Balance FreshFoam 680v8<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/u>\u00a0($80) and <\/span><\/span>Skechers GoRun 7.0 <\/span><\/span><\/a><\/u>($100). The current crop of entry-level shoes are much better than the entry-level shoes that brands were making 10 to 20 years ago because the midsole, upper and interior cushioning materials have improved across the board, and there\u2019s a significant trickle-down effect from top-tier and mid-range models. Those shoes can be great for new runners or for a runner who wants to save money on a pair of shoes they\u2019ll primarily use for recovery runs and midweek mileage. However, I\u2019d be wary about buying any of those shoes and expecting it to be a high-mileage workhorse trainer or an up-tempo model for speed workouts.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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4. A Few Running Stores Have Opened Separate Closeout Businesses<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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A few years ago, Naperville Running Company owner Kris Hartner realized a large part of his suburban Chicago customer base was interested in less-expensive running shoes. His solution? He opened <\/span><\/span>The Annex<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/u>, a store that mostly sells closeout models. He said 94 percent of shoes sold at The Annex are shoes sold at his three Naperville Running Company retail stores. \u201cThere\u2019s a massive market out there and there\u2019s a lot of people that just don\u2019t care if it\u2019s a brand-new model,\u201d Hartner told me. \u201cMaybe they do all their shopping online or at Nordstrom Rack or Costco. And there\u2019s shoppers who love the treasure hunt.\u201d Pacers running shops in and around Washington D.C. created a similar secondary business known as <\/span><\/span>Relay<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/u>, a site that sells closeouts. As with anything you\u2019re buying, the more you look around, the more you can find good deals. But there\u2019s a limit to that strategy. For example, you can probably even find used running shoes at a garage sale, but, obviously, that\u2019s not something you should ever consider.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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What\u2019s the bottom line? Saving money on running gear is usually a good thing, but I would be careful if you\u2019re hunting for bargains as your primary shopping tactic. Having knowledge of specific shoes before you buy them is important, and having the chance to try those shoes on is even more important.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Brian Metzler How much money do you expect to pay for running shoes this year? If you\u2019re a regular age-group runner, it\u2019s probably in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":459,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_breakdance_hide_in_design_set":false,"_breakdance_tags":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":531,"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427\/revisions\/531"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sixminutemile.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}