1:43:16 half marathon in $9.98 shoes!!

Abebe Bikila won the 1960 Olympic marathon in no shoes.

Yes, he did. And I am no Bikila but I am proof that one can still do okay with cheap shoes.

It may save people some $$

it may also cause some people some injuries.

Congrats on your accomplsihment but the real question is how much faster could have you done if you trained and raced in a better shoe?

Congratulations on being frugal and slow.

If you spend a little more money on shoes you'll have plenty of hobby joggers wanting to get your autograph.

M.A.G.A.

Good question. The answer is likely no difference or negligible difference.

These shoes in question come in at 8.45 ounces.

For a shoe that light, the price is really good.

Also, as a midfoot striker, these work well as they wear like cushioned flats.

I did a 20:58 5k, a 46:27 10k and the 1:43:16 half with the same make of shoe.

I might get a smoother ride with a more expensive shoe but not necessarily a faster ride.

Avia?

Extrapolating, you can run a 3:26:32 full marathon in $19.96 shoes!!

I don't think people are making threads here all the time proclaiming the impossibility of it unless I missed something.. I think the real question is why would anyone want to? If you're going to go through all that work to train for a half marathon even if you were poor you could still do better than $10 shoes.. Like some used higher end shoes off ebay for $10-$20 would even be better.

Stoppit Smith wrote:

Lol yes friends...

Today in the Murfreesboro Middle Half, in about 49 degree weather, I did a 1:43:16 half, which was only 2:06 slower than my half marathon PR.

Proof that cheap shoes can still be good!

Thanks to the maker of the shoe!

Whats the point of this thread without saying what they were and where you got them?

$9.98 athletic works shoes at Wal-Mart. They come in blue and black. They have lasted me up to 350-400 miles in training. Since i am poor, running shoes would be a huge investment. So this is kind of a hack... Finishing in the top 9% of the field is not bad....and...i went on a 4 mile walk the same day in the afternoon. As for the avia person? I used to swear by two avia models they discontinued...so..i went with these I love them

Cheech wrote:

Stoppit Smith wrote:

Lol yes friends...

Today in the Murfreesboro Middle Half, in about 49 degree weather, I did a 1:43:16 half, which was only 2:06 slower than my half marathon PR.

Proof that cheap shoes can still be good!

Thanks to the maker of the shoe!

Whats the point of this thread without saying what they were and where you got them?

I was having heel pain constantly on my right foot. Any technical running shoes I tried made it hurt because they would push on the heel. So after 6 months of various rehab activities, etc, I decided to try cheap walmart athletic shoes for 9.98 as well. The very flimsy heel area meant it didnt press on my heel.

They made a big difference in allowing some of the swelling to go away and my heel started to heal, it seemed like. The downside is that I wore through the soles of both shoes within about 80 miles and trail runs now turn my socks black from dirt coming up through the growing holes in the soles.

Kenyan pros all running in cheap Chinese-made shoes sold in the local markets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g00nFIVI9W0

The leading guy in the green shirt is Albert Kangogo, whose half marathon PB is 59:25.

Kenyan with cheap shoes wrote:

Kenyan pros all running in cheap Chinese-made shoes sold in the local markets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g00nFIVI9W0

The leading guy in the green shirt is Albert Kangogo, whose half marathon PB is 59:25.

not sure if you're trying to troll or what. looks like at least a few of those runners are running in real adidas hence the 3 stripes instead of 2 or 4 or something. adidas might be made in china but there's a big difference between adidas and avia/champion or something.. most cheap running shoes the soles feel like such stiff plastic that you'd think if you bent the shoe it might just snap in half.