Heel wedge to compensate for zero-drop Altra shoes

Sure, I do it but for different reasons. I was looking into orthotics but found out I can get away with just a heel cushion thing from the drug store.

try striking with your whole foot at the same time. not your heel, not your forefoot, but both at the same time. keeping your body leaned slightly forward helps sustain this position. also, land with a slightly bent knee so that your leg doesn't sustain a lot of shock, and try to keep a high cadence, meaning to take a higher number of smaller steps instead of a lower amount of larger ones; this will also help you with midfoot striking.

tl;dr it's all about technique. altrarunning.com has some tips for good running form.

I've done this with some of the quarter-inch felt from moore medical on the stock insole. Worked great. I'm wearing them right now, in fact.

Of course, this is coming from the perspective of a fat hobbyjogger dealing with chronic mystery forefoot pain rather than the median letsrun poster with his 15:00 5k and 10 inch dong, so ymmv.

lmnopq wrote:

Of course, this is coming from the perspective of a fat hobbyjogger dealing with chronic mystery forefoot pain rather than the median letsrun poster with his 15:00 5k and 10 inch dong, so ymmv.

First of all, it´s 14:00 5k. You also forgot the 200k salary and the model wife.

lazyboi wrote:

try striking with your whole foot at the same time. not your heel, not your forefoot, but both at the same time. keeping your body leaned slightly forward helps sustain this position. also, land with a slightly bent knee so that your leg doesn't sustain a lot of shock, and try to keep a high cadence, meaning to take a higher number of smaller steps instead of a lower amount of larger ones; this will also help you with midfoot striking.

tl;dr it's all about technique. altrarunning.com has some tips for good running form.

This is actually pretty close to how I run. The problem with the altra shoes is that this leads to a slightly steeper angle in my ankle than all my other shoes, which makes my calf tired. Of course, I would probably handle it just fine after a transition period, but I just cant be arsed.

Anyway, I cut the heel off an old insole and stuck it in there, ran in them today and it works like a charm. Amazing how a couple mm's can make that much of a difference.

Oh, I figured that went without saying.

Now you mention it, though, I'm pretty sure it was 1/8 inch felt, not 1/4.

widefoot wrote:

I've been struggling for a while finding trail shoes that fit me well. I have pretty wide feet, and for some reason every trail shoe I can find are really narrow. Except for Altras. I tried the Altra Superior, it fits like a dream and is pretty suitable for the trails I'm planning on running on.

However, I have concerns about the zero drop. Tried running in them today and it feels really awkward. Im not a big heel striker or anything, but they just create too much stress on my calves. I guess I could get used to it over time, but every other shoe that I run in has a 4-8mm drop, and I think the difference is too big.

So, would it be a terrible idea to stick a heel wedge of some sort in there? Has anyone tried?

Im sorry about your wide foot. I hate altra shoes. They are damn awful on the ankles in a troughed out mtn bike trail. So Nike has a pretty wide forefoot in their trail shoes. Look into those. Inov-8 has a really nice toe box and makes imo the best shaped shoe. Thats really all you have for choices.

I couldn’t handle the zero drop of Altras either. Went to Nike Kigers and Wildhorse- both have nice wide toeboxes.

I'm wondering how your solution to zerodrop concerns is working out. I too have a wide foot and love the comfort of Altra's toe box, but have struggled with calf/Achilles strain in which I attribute to zero drop shoes. I recently switched to Hokas to get the cushioning with heel drop, but they are way too narrow(even their wide sizing). I'm going to give your solution of adding a cut piece of another insole a try and would appreciate any additional information you can provide.

Thanks

well,, wrote:

lmnopq wrote:

Of course, this is coming from the perspective of a fat hobbyjogger dealing with chronic mystery forefoot pain rather than the median letsrun poster with his 15:00 5k and 10 inch dong, so ymmv.

First of all, it´s 14:00 5k. You also forgot the 200k salary and the model wife.

Boulder bro

Surprised no one has mentioned Topo Athletic yet. I have the Ultraventures and like them a lot. Look into them. They have wide toe boxes but not as sloppy as Altra in the midfoot and heel.

Nike Wildhorse is what you all want.

Order a full size up. I'm a size 12 in everything except these and Boston 8s.

Wider toebox than Altras.

You have to figure out your own personal stack height. Is it 4mm, 8mm, 12mm? Saucony used to list stack height on their shoes, which was helpful. Wish other shoe companies did this.

You don't need Nike cheater shoes if you get YOUR stack height down. Monkeying with store bought insoles or insoles from other shoes works........but you have to experiment. For me, it is 6mm build up/stack height from a zero-drop shoe.

Also, your natural stack height is crucial for your racing shoes.

Ur welcum.

I have to wear a heel lift in one shoe due to a 1.2 cm difference in leg length from being hit by a car. The only problem I ever have with the heel lift is when running fast on the ball of my foot or toes because there is no length compensation. Your solution will work but you need either a high quality insole (superfeet) or a gradual transition from heel lift to shoe

MyLittlePony Size12 Men's Velcro Straps wrote:

Nike Wildhorse is what you all want.

Order a full size up. I'm a size 12 in everything except these and Boston 8s.

Wider toebox than Altras.

wider toebox than altras? methink not

maybe if you go a full size up...then yeah it would get wider and longer. and about an ounce heavier per shoe

I routinely add heel lifts to my shoes. It's really simple. Get some crafts felt squares at Walmart (23 cents for a 9x12" piece. Cut to fit your heel add attach with duct tape or athletic tape. Each layer of crafts felt+ tape adds about 2mm of heel lift.

I typically add lift only the inside of the heel to give the shoe a bit of tilt to offset overpronation.

Yeah, I think Altras are best suited for trails/grass. The zero drop on the roads just feels off, and they only seem to be good for slow days and strengthening muscles, not going fast. Natural surfaces are more varied, so I don't think drop matters as much. Feels much more natural.

These fit my wide feet in the 2E width after going up a half size from what I wear in a 4E width.

https://www.newbalance.com/pd/summit-unknown/MTUNKNV1-24941-M.html