My husband and I became “runners” a couple of years ago.  It has been quite the journey, but has brought us closer and helped us to become more fit and healthier than ever before.  During this new journey, I found another thing to collect in my closet…running/workout shoes!  If I would have known running involved new shoes on a pretty regular basis, I would have taken this up years ago!  ANY excuse to buy more shoes! 🙂

The most important thing we have leaned about running shoes, are there are specific shoes for every type of runner.  Just picking up a pair of tennis shoes at your local sports/department store and thinking they are the right fit and make of shoe for your gait can cause issues rather quickly.  After taking a Learn to Run class at our local running store, we learned that running shoes come in 3 different levels of support: neutral, guidance and stability.

We also learned that a runner’s gait can change as they become stronger, meaning they may require a different shoe.  Our local running store offers a gait analysis where they put you on a treadmill and record you running, playing it back in slow-motion to get an accurate read of the true running gait.  This informs the foot specialists as to what level of support the runner requires.  Each brand of shoe makes all 3 stabilities, often times numerous options in each category.

I can honestly say that having the correct shoes and different pairs to swap between is what I believe has made this running journey and experience successful.  I have tried many times in the past to take up running but quite a few days or weeks in, due to pain in my feet or legs.  To anyone interested in learning about running, or having issues with their feet or legs, I highly recommend visiting your local running store and visiting with the foot specialists shoes, specifically what level of support you require.  The research, time and investment is well worth it!

Happy Trails!