Marathon - heavy or light shoes

Are the fre seconds you might save worth being that much more sore for the next week?

Advisor wrote:

I have done most of my training in big comfy (Skechers gorun ultra road) 10.5oz shoes. They feel quite heavy to me, but are comfy.

I bought a pair of NB Zantes (7.7oz) a few weeks ago, I have over 100miles in them, but nothing longer than 11miles. I have also raced a 5km and a 10km in them, with no problems.

Which should I wear on Sunday for my marathon? Safe would be the skechers, the new balance more of a 'risk'.

You are going to be sore whatever shoes you wear. So buy some anti-blister foot spray and some anti-blister socks.

Up until recently I had spent 1 1/2 years running in a pair of Nike Lunar Forever 2s (hence the silly name) which weighed about 285g but we're really dead and I imagine that I was running at a tick under 7 min mile pace on training runs, but when I would do a tempo/time trial in my old NB RC 240s flats I could do say 2 miles in 10 mins flat @ about 90%. Because they were 45g less and had less milage in them they felt like pogo sticks, seriously. (I lost all my other running gear in a natural disaster).

Luckily for you I have bought a pair of NB Zantes recently, bought them at an outlet store, originally just as casuals but I have concluded that they would make a really good fartlek & tempo shoe. They weigh 250g and are really comfortable. But the NB lady claimed that they would only do about

250kms, so my only concern is that you have already done some miles in them but if they still feel like new they should be fine. I'm quietly impressed by them.

Personally, 10.5oz (297g) maybe too heavy to run your best time.

pretzel man wrote:

Are the free seconds you might save worth being that much more sore for the next week?

If I run a 2:50:10, yes! I have 10 days to 2 weeks of complete rest planned anyway, it's the end of my season.

I will take both pairs with me and decide nearer the time.

I say if you run the marathon heel striking, then go for a cushioned comfi heavier shoe. If you ran the marathon forefoot/midfoot strike then go for a light shoe with minimal drop in the heel area.

In 2 of my 3 marathons, I wore lighter racing flat shoes that I had only gone up to 13 miles in. come 18 or so my feet had never been in so much pain, felt like I had knives going into every bone. When I line up for my next one I'm considering wearing a lighter weight trainer (ie the pegasus). Figure the additional comfort might keep me more relaxed and beneficial later race, as opposed to a small weight savings.

For what it's worth, I raced my fall marathon last year in the Zantes and I loved them. I was also a bit worried that they weren't quite enough shoe for me, as I had once made the mistake of wearing too light of a shoe in a marathon. To my surprise, they felt great the whole way. I wear size 10s and weighed 142 at the time.

yeah, I'm 174lbs!

I like the shoes and wouldn't think twice about it for a HM, but for the full, I think I might go conservative and wear the safe shoes.

If you have to ask, then wear the more substantial shoe.

The only way to know if you can wear a shoe in a marathon is to wear it a lot in training. A marathon shoe is something you should be able to use for half (or more) of your weekly mileage.

Wear the better cushioned shoes. If you want to save a couple ounces look at the Cliftons. The 3s are 8.8 ounce cushioned and feel surprisingly fast for a thicker soled shoe. I think the 2s are about an ounce lighter. Your feet will thank you.

How heavy are you?

If you are a 145 lb guy, then go with the lighter shoe.

If you are a bigger 180, then the heavier shoe.