ShoeGuy: Lasts, Widths, and Wear

Digging in ShoeGuy's Mail Bag

It's timeagain to delve into that great reservoir of running shoe confusion, ShoeGuy’s reader email bag.

Yep, I read them all, and answer what I can (only as my day job allows—I’m self-employed, and my boss is a real tyrant).

Rather than pick on only one reader this time around, ShoeGuy has plucked assorted gems from numerous correspondents in recent months. The names have been changed to protect the injured.

From Bill: My doctor told me to switch to motion-control shoes. The one that fits best is listed as a motion-control shoe, but it’s slip-lasted. I read somewhere that motion-control shoes must be combination-lasted.

Okay, so read this: How a shoe is lasted (constructed), be it slip, strobel, or combination, has more to do with fit, manufacturing issues, and the perception of stability. Midsole design, not lasting technique, is the key to motion control. Those who believe that motion-control shoes must be combination-lasted need to get out of their caves more often.

From Andrea: I have extremely high arches, rigid feet, and I pronate a lot. I also have narrow feet, which makes it hard to find good running shoes. I wear a size eight women’s dress shoe. When I got fitted for running shoes, the guy at the running shop put me into a size 9.5. He said I needed the extra room to avoid black toenails. Here’s the problem: The balls of my feet where my toes connect with the foot burn after 7 or 8 miles of running. Are my shoes too big? Is that why my feet burn? Have you ever heard of this problem before?

Maybe, probably not, and yes. Lucky for you I don’t charge by the question.

It sounds like your shoes don’t fit very well, but probably not because they’re too long. More likely they’re too narrow. I know, you have narrow feet, but they get wider after an hour of running. If the shoe is too tight across the ball of the foot, a nerve behind the middle toes can be pinched as the foot naturally swells. The pain feels like a blowtorch is aimed at the bottom of your foot, but it goes away when you remove your shoes.

If that’s you, re-lace your shoes, skipping the lowest set of eyelets to allow the upper to expand a bit. If that helps, buy wider shoes next time. Keep in mind that wider shoes are wider only in the midfoot and forefoot areas, not the heel.

As for being fitted in running shoes that are a size and a half larger than your dress shoes, dress shoes often don’t fit very well in any size. (Podiatrists everywhere just stood and applauded.)

Adequate toe room is best determined by the wiggle test. Put on both shoes, stand, and wiggle your toes. If you can feel the end of the shoe, it’s too short. If your size 9.5 shoes allow free wiggling, try on a nine and check again. Keep going down in size until your toes go sardine, then buy the next half-size up.

If you end up in a size smaller than 9.5, and you don’t get black toenails after your marathon, go back to the running shop and set the guy straight. That’s how we Shoe Guys learn to do what we do.

From Phil: My question is about when shoes have reached their mileage limit, and whether that might be different for dirt vs. pavement running. I’ve read that shoes lose their support anywhere between 300 and 500 miles. Since about 80 percent of my running is on dirt paths, can I assume I’d get a few more miles out of my trusty trainers than if it was strictly pavement?

Wear first shows up in outsoles and midsoles. Outsoles typically melt down faster on pavement than dirt because of the abrasiveness of the asphalt. As for midsole wear, impact is impact, whether it’s on dirt or pavement, though I suspect the dirt helps absorb some of it. So, other than getting really dirty, shoes probably last a bit longer on dirt paths. If your shoes still have well-defined outsole patterns and show little or no deformity in the midsole, and if your body continues to recover well from long runs, your trainers with the 500-mile licking can probably keep on ticking for a few more.

A follow-up from Phil: How do you tell when the shoes are done? I have a pair with over 500 miles on them and they feel OK, while my newer pair still feels stiff. (I over-pronate and wear orthotics.)

If you over-pronate and wear orthotics, stiff is good when it comes to shoes. The oldies may be comfortable because their motion-controlling structure is broken down, and if you push them too far, you may be next.

Or maybe not. The old 300–500 mile rule applies to the average runner in average shoes. Some runners are hard on shoes, some are not, and some shoes are more durable than others. It wouldn’t hurt to work your new pair into rotation with your old. As the oldies continue to die, the newbies should break in nicely.

ShoeGuy loves to hear from you, but in the subject line don’t offer to sell drugs, refinance my house, or recreate any body parts. My delete key has a very heavy click.

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