The shoes you wear matter, yes, but perhaps not in the way you think …
There is no “best” running shoe or style or brand, no matter what the latest shoe review tells you. Unless somebody borrowed your feet, your body, and your running style for a day, their opinion on a pair of shoes doesn’t really matter to you.
To reduce your risk of injury, you don’t just need shoes that you think are comfortable, you need TWO (or more) pairs of shoes that you think are comfortable. This is a concept called “rotating” your shoes.
how and Why should you rotate your running shoes?
To rotate training shoes, pick out two shoes meant for running training that ideally have slight differences in support, cushion, or structure. You don’t need a specific schedule of which shoes to wear when, just generally mix up the shoes you wear on your runs throughout each week.
Just like it’s helpful to vary the terrain you run on (trails, roads, flat, hills), it’s helpful to vary the shoes you run in to limit your risk of overuse injuries and to train and strengthen a greater variety of muscles as you run.
Don’t forget to break in your new shoes!
Always ease into a new pair of shoes gradually, with a structure like this:
Week one: Walk around in shoes in daily life for one to a few hours/day.
Week two: Begin short runs (30 min or less) in your new shoes. Perhaps you break your runs into parts so you can run home and switch shoes. This may seem tedious but is the possibility of a new injury worth it?
Week three: Run in the new shoes as you please, while rotating them with your other shoes (since you now know why rotating shoes is so helpful!).
will rotating shoes make you injury free?
Nothing will make you injury free, but every little bit counts. In addition to rotating your shoes, remember that smart training is your greatest protection against injury.
Smart training includes:
Regular strength training (1-3x/week)
Gradual build in mileage and intensity (ex. 4-6 months to train for a marathon, not the typical 12-week plans you find online)
Regular days off (at least 1x/week)
Cross training (non-running cardio)
Proper warm ups before runs
Running on a variety of terrain
Regular stretching and rolling out
Space to take time down or off when small pains come up