Running shoes?
Discussion
Don't economise too much on the trainers. If you are going to put yourself through the pain of starting to run -you deserve something decent. Decent trainers can make the difference between hating a run and enjoying it. I went from barely getting through a mile to half-mara distance Sunday jogs.
Get a gait analysis. Try a few pairs on. Don't begrudge £70/£80. Look after your feet & legs and they will look after you.
Get on the Runners World site/forums.
If you really start enjoying it, a GPS Heart rate Monitor is a sound purchase too...
All the best!
ETA these work for me... but I am a bit of an over-pronator. And they were £80 when I bought them just after they came out.
Get a gait analysis. Try a few pairs on. Don't begrudge £70/£80. Look after your feet & legs and they will look after you.
Get on the Runners World site/forums.
If you really start enjoying it, a GPS Heart rate Monitor is a sound purchase too...
All the best!
ETA these work for me... but I am a bit of an over-pronator. And they were £80 when I bought them just after they came out.
Edited by captainzep on Thursday 18th December 23:35
okgo said:
Cheers for all this guys.
Seems there is more runners on here than I imagined
I think most runners get really evangelical when someone says they're thinking about taking it up. And I can see why. I went from fat to fit. I ran distances longer and quicker then I thought I was capable of. Bloody hard sometimes, (literally, some evil blisters here and there) but always worth it.Seems there is more runners on here than I imagined
In short, I'm a happier, healthier person when I'm running.
Sorry to gush.
captainzep said:
okgo said:
Cheers for all this guys.
Seems there is more runners on here than I imagined
I think most runners get really evangelical when someone says they're thinking about taking it up. And I can see why. I went from fat to fit. I ran distances longer and quicker then I thought I was capable of. Bloody hard sometimes, (literally, some evil blisters here and there) but always worth it.Seems there is more runners on here than I imagined
In short, I'm a happier, healthier person when I'm running.
Sorry to gush.
okgo said:
I don't think I am capable of it.
My nose doesn't work for heavy breathing, so I breathe in and out of my mouth and get dry mouth in a matter of minutes, 26 miles would be impossible for me.
You might find your level and stick with it. 20 minute jog, 5k-10k whatever. Or you might find potential in your body that you didn't realise you had and keep pushing up the distance/speed. My nose doesn't work for heavy breathing, so I breathe in and out of my mouth and get dry mouth in a matter of minutes, 26 miles would be impossible for me.
Doesn't matter. Its your choice. You can get pretty fit by running 7-8 miles a week by altering pace and routes. You'll plateau, but that's fine.
Breathing only gets easier as you get fitter. You need to take in lots of oxygen at the moment because your body can't use it all at the moment. Its not efficient enough. It needs to adapt. The good news is that the adaptation is inevitable. The body is self tuning, it remaps and port-polishes itself!
captainzep said:
okgo said:
I don't think I am capable of it.
My nose doesn't work for heavy breathing, so I breathe in and out of my mouth and get dry mouth in a matter of minutes, 26 miles would be impossible for me.
You might find your level and stick with it. 20 minute jog, 5k-10k whatever. Or you might find potential in your body that you didn't realise you had and keep pushing up the distance/speed. My nose doesn't work for heavy breathing, so I breathe in and out of my mouth and get dry mouth in a matter of minutes, 26 miles would be impossible for me.
Doesn't matter. Its your choice. You can get pretty fit by running 7-8 miles a week by altering pace and routes. You'll plateau, but that's fine.
Breathing only gets easier as you get fitter. You need to take in lots of oxygen at the moment because your body can't use it all at the moment. Its not efficient enough. It needs to adapt. The good news is that the adaptation is inevitable. The body is self tuning, it remaps and port-polishes itself!
Good to hear.I know I have a decent level of fitness in me, as I had it three years ago when I played hockey for my county. But three years of eating s
t, smoking, and drinking have gotten the better of me.okgo said:
captainzep said:
okgo said:
I don't think I am capable of it.
My nose doesn't work for heavy breathing, so I breathe in and out of my mouth and get dry mouth in a matter of minutes, 26 miles would be impossible for me.
You might find your level and stick with it. 20 minute jog, 5k-10k whatever. Or you might find potential in your body that you didn't realise you had and keep pushing up the distance/speed. My nose doesn't work for heavy breathing, so I breathe in and out of my mouth and get dry mouth in a matter of minutes, 26 miles would be impossible for me.
Doesn't matter. Its your choice. You can get pretty fit by running 7-8 miles a week by altering pace and routes. You'll plateau, but that's fine.
Breathing only gets easier as you get fitter. You need to take in lots of oxygen at the moment because your body can't use it all at the moment. Its not efficient enough. It needs to adapt. The good news is that the adaptation is inevitable. The body is self tuning, it remaps and port-polishes itself!
Good to hear.I know I have a decent level of fitness in me, as I had it three years ago when I played hockey for my county. But three years of eating s
t, smoking, and drinking have gotten the better of me.Don't write-off Nike completely; their Vomero is a fantastic shoe for heavier neutral runners - ie fat blokes whose feet don't over-pronate. Like me. Most good running shops will have some form of gait analysis and stock half sizes, which JJB et al don't bother with, and New Balance shoes come in different width fittings, too.
A couple of people touched on it above, but the important thing is to buy the correct types of shoes for your cushioning and your "mechanics".
Mechanics is most important - basically people fall into one of 3 categories - overpronator, underpronator or neutral. Most people when they start running are overpronators - this means when your foot lands it strikes on the outside and rolls inwards. Some people are neutral runners naturally and a lot of experienced runners "overcome" their overpronation and become neutral runners. Very few people are underpronators.
You need to figure out which of the above you are, and to complicate it some people overpronate one foot and the other is neutral. To figure it out you need to go to somewhere that knows what they're talking about, will do the whole video you on a treadmill thing etc. The reason you need to do this is because if you get the wrong shoes you can fk your knees and will get shin-slints and generally can find running harder than it should be.
The other thing you need to figure out is the level of cushioning needed - generally if you're a bit heavier the more cushioning the better, although this has the disadvantage of the shoes generally being heavier and more expensive - some experienced runners go for superlight "racers" but they have fk all cushioning and prolonged use will seriously bugger your joints.
Also, shoes have a definite "shelf life" - anything over about 18mths old and the foam can be deteriorating, so throw away those 6 year old trainers you dug out from the back of the cupboard as they are no use for running. They also have a "mileage" limit - depending on how you run and how heavy you are this can be as little as 200 miles.
So that leaves you with 2 problems to solve - what type of shoes and how much cushioning. If you're not going to do the treadmill stuff you may want to go for the more common overpronator shoes (often called "stability" in the shops as only specialists will sell underpronator shoes), I'd go for Asics - something like the 2140 as above is a good shoe - you should be able to get last years model (2130) for around £50 now (in fact www.startfitness.co.uk have them for this price). Their more expensive overpronator is called the Kayano - good but expensive.
Their "neutral" range goes by cloud names - Cumulus is the 2140 equivalent and Nimbus is the more heavily cushioned equivalent. I started out running about 9 months ago on the 2130 and had no problems and now use the cumulus as my running has improved. I do about 35 miles a week and have never had problems with knees or shin splints on these shoes. My wife also uses the womens equivalents and she does around 80 miles a week (she's a sub-3hr marathon runner so can clock them up quickly) and has never had a significant knee injury.
Brooks aparently also do good shoes, but I have no experience. Also make sure you try them on - don't just mail-order your normal size as getting a proper fit is really important here, your feet will get warm and move about slightly so they can't be tight at all, but too bit and you'll rattle around and get blisters.
I lost my weight (about 7st) then started running and it has made a huge difference to my life - the weight is easy to keep off and eating levels can be relatively high as you are doing enough exercise to combat the calories.
Mechanics is most important - basically people fall into one of 3 categories - overpronator, underpronator or neutral. Most people when they start running are overpronators - this means when your foot lands it strikes on the outside and rolls inwards. Some people are neutral runners naturally and a lot of experienced runners "overcome" their overpronation and become neutral runners. Very few people are underpronators.
You need to figure out which of the above you are, and to complicate it some people overpronate one foot and the other is neutral. To figure it out you need to go to somewhere that knows what they're talking about, will do the whole video you on a treadmill thing etc. The reason you need to do this is because if you get the wrong shoes you can f
k your knees and will get shin-slints and generally can find running harder than it should be.The other thing you need to figure out is the level of cushioning needed - generally if you're a bit heavier the more cushioning the better, although this has the disadvantage of the shoes generally being heavier and more expensive - some experienced runners go for superlight "racers" but they have f
k all cushioning and prolonged use will seriously bugger your joints.Also, shoes have a definite "shelf life" - anything over about 18mths old and the foam can be deteriorating, so throw away those 6 year old trainers you dug out from the back of the cupboard as they are no use for running. They also have a "mileage" limit - depending on how you run and how heavy you are this can be as little as 200 miles.
So that leaves you with 2 problems to solve - what type of shoes and how much cushioning. If you're not going to do the treadmill stuff you may want to go for the more common overpronator shoes (often called "stability" in the shops as only specialists will sell underpronator shoes), I'd go for Asics - something like the 2140 as above is a good shoe - you should be able to get last years model (2130) for around £50 now (in fact www.startfitness.co.uk have them for this price). Their more expensive overpronator is called the Kayano - good but expensive.
Their "neutral" range goes by cloud names - Cumulus is the 2140 equivalent and Nimbus is the more heavily cushioned equivalent. I started out running about 9 months ago on the 2130 and had no problems and now use the cumulus as my running has improved. I do about 35 miles a week and have never had problems with knees or shin splints on these shoes. My wife also uses the womens equivalents and she does around 80 miles a week (she's a sub-3hr marathon runner so can clock them up quickly) and has never had a significant knee injury.
Brooks aparently also do good shoes, but I have no experience. Also make sure you try them on - don't just mail-order your normal size as getting a proper fit is really important here, your feet will get warm and move about slightly so they can't be tight at all, but too bit and you'll rattle around and get blisters.
I lost my weight (about 7st) then started running and it has made a huge difference to my life - the weight is easy to keep off and eating levels can be relatively high as you are doing enough exercise to combat the calories.
As a runner for the last couple of years doing 30-40 miles a week, I would suggest going and getting a proper gait analysis of your running sytle first. You may feel obliged to spend more on this first pair of trainers from the people who do the analysis, but then buy them off startfitness, joejogger, dorunning or any of the other websites. A proper anlaysis will make a massive difference and you will reduce the risk of injury.
Good Luck
T-J-K
Good Luck
T-J-K
As has been said above, it's all about getting a shoe that fits your foot and your running style. What works for one runner won't for another. I run a LOT of miles every week and Asics work well for me.
Find a local running specialist shop - Sweatshop in Teddington are good, as are Run and Become in Victoria, City Runner near St Pauls and there's one up by Liverpool Street too. Get them to analyse your foot-strike and recommend a few pairs of shoes for you. If possible, don't worry about the price - it's the one that fits you the best that you should buy, whether it's £50 or £90 or whatever.
To minimise impact on your joints, try to vary the surface you run on - finding offroad trails in parks or grass routes around pitches is a lot lower impact. Richmond Park and Wimbledon Common are good for those sort of routes but obviously the dark mornings and evenings at this time of year don't help.
Good luck, lots of useful advice on The Running Thread
Find a local running specialist shop - Sweatshop in Teddington are good, as are Run and Become in Victoria, City Runner near St Pauls and there's one up by Liverpool Street too. Get them to analyse your foot-strike and recommend a few pairs of shoes for you. If possible, don't worry about the price - it's the one that fits you the best that you should buy, whether it's £50 or £90 or whatever.
To minimise impact on your joints, try to vary the surface you run on - finding offroad trails in parks or grass routes around pitches is a lot lower impact. Richmond Park and Wimbledon Common are good for those sort of routes but obviously the dark mornings and evenings at this time of year don't help.
Good luck, lots of useful advice on The Running Thread
I have ran lots triathlon events and half marathon etc and tried every combinaton of shoe out there. Asics have the best range of shoes to suit everyone. Its already been said but get propery fitted with the best shoes you can possibly afford. I used to have two pairs on the go and rotate the shoes so the wear was slow. Shoes are only so good for so many kms so ask the people fitting you. If you run on worn shoes this is where you will get injured making it too late.
Good luck
Good luck
dave_s13 said:
Nike shocks, tsk, they will fvckin cripple you.
Asics
Brooks
New Balance
Mizuno
Try any of the above, whichever feels the best, buy em.
Can i ask a stupid question? - Why are Nike Shocks so bad for running? Asics
Brooks
New Balance
Mizuno
Try any of the above, whichever feels the best, buy em.
They are all i have now, pretty comfy for just normal wear and i'm massively overweight and would love to get back into some sort of routine and get myself fit. I know i need to get some proper running shoes, sorry to hijack the thread, so the info on getting sorted at a proper running place is great. (Though i know need to find some places that are local).
Edited by Allblackdup on Saturday 20th December 13:11
Gassing Station | Sports | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff