“I’d been racing in flats for years and this seemed like the natural progression instead of a huge quantum leap in shoe technology.”ĭan Kittaka, a running coach and former run specialty shoe buyer, also reaches for this shoe when he’s racing. Wijayaratne also recommends the shoe for racing, noting it has a perfect mix of weight and responsiveness. “The Vaporfly has a carbon plate and is not overly foamed,” she says. “It has a narrow underfoot, and some of athletes have swapped them out midrace because they’ve rolled off the shoe.” Heather Knight Pech, who broke Joan Benoit Samuelson’s division record in the Boston Marathon last year and is a McKirdy Trained coach, likes the Nike Vaporfly Next ( men’s / women’s ) for its bounciness. There have been several iterations of the shoe-the original Nike Vaporfly 4% boasted it could make runners 4% faster-and a few of our experts swear by them on race day. ![]() This is the shoe that kick-started the “super shoe” movement -high-tech sneakers that promise to make you run faster. Wells agrees that a transition may be necessary if you’re coming from a higher-drop shoe, say 10 or 12 millimeters, but points out that new runners who don’t have a baseline shoe might do well with the zero drop off the bat. Steimling recommends runners transition to a zero drop slowly to avoid injury, particularly strain on the Achilles tendon. “Women spend a lot of time in tapered and small shoes, but they’re torturing their feet,” she says, noting that she’s “a huge fan of Altra” because of the toe box space.Īltra also is known for its zero-drop profile, which means there is no drop between the heel and toe, making it an entirely flat shoe. Wells also recommends the Altra brand, and the Escalante specifically, particularly for women. “It has a really nice, expandable toe box that allows your foot to expand.” , an assistant professor of physical therapy at Moravian University who leads the university’s running gait lab. “The Altra Escalante is a shoe with moderate cushion and a relatively stiff sole,” says Michael Steimling, D.P.T. Several of our experts recommended the Altra Escalante ( men’s / women’s ), now in its third iteration, thanks largely to its wide toe box- one of the features that defines the brand. Plus, it helps prolong the lives of your purchases. This allows your feet (and your shoes) to recover and work in different ways. They also emphasized the importance of rotating your running shoes, whether it’s stocking up on the same pair, or wearing different shoes for different workouts. ![]() Our experts-coaches, a division record holder, physical therapists, a running journalist, specialty store managers and shoe buyers-weighed in on their top running shoe picks for every type of run, noting that getting fit at a store that specializes in running shoes is the best way to ensure you’re choosing a shoe that works for you. Other considerations include how cushioned a shoe is, what the offset is (how much the shoe “drops” from the heel to the toe, measured in millimeters), whether a shoe has a carbon fiber plate-a top pick for serious racers-and the shape of the foot. Where to start, though, with so many options on the market? It’s easy to get caught up in the newest and most exciting piece of running shoe technology, or lace up the most stylish pair.īut every one of the nine experts we spoke with agreed that the most important factors in choosing a shoe are comfort and fit. After all, everything runners do begins with their footwear, says Hiruni Wijayaratne, a certified running coach, 10-time Sri Lankan record holder and 2:34 marathoner. A quality pair of running shoes is important.
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