Question for professional runners: Do you wear orthotics when running?

The galen rupps and kipchoges of the world run in shoes custom made for their feet. So keep that in mind. They don't need orthotics.

I have a decent normal arch in my left foot and a flat one in my right. When I would run heavier mileage, 80+, I would get peroneal tendonitis as a result. I tried strength training my peroneal muscle, worked on the glute muscles that caused the knee to want to bend over my inner arch in the first place. At the end of the day, I could only do so much and I had a ceiling to how much I could train before having to take time off.

I saw a guy who made custom lightweight arches. They were expensive, $350. But, I haven't had a problem since with my ankle issues/imbalances (I still do all the strength work anyway).

My PRs are not professional. I was 16 for 5K, 1:13 for a half, 2:35 for marathon.

I wore several different sorts of orthotics for years, with success. But at a certain point as I aged, as the possessor of hallux rigidus in my left big toe, I found that I did better with just thin, flexible carbon plates and no orthotics.

A key element of my development was realizing, after reading BORN TO RUN, that I did better, and felt much better, with very little heel offset (lift). For years I wore Brooks Adrenaline plus orthotics; the combined offset was probably 15 mm. That's insane--although I didn't realize it then.

Three or four years ago, I visited the Boston running store right in that final straightaway of the marathon, and a young saleswoman listened to me talk about how I just felt better, with a more natural stride, in racing flats. She put me in Saucony Kinvara with 4 mm. of offset. Night and day! Thinking back, it's as though I'd been laboring with unnecessary offset all those years.

Getting rid of the orthotics was part of that trimming-back dynamic. I do just fine with no orthotics, just those carbon plates, which I slip under the skinny shoe pad--whatever that removable insert is that all shoes have. My biomechanics are good, despite my hallux rigidus. No knee problems, no hip problems. My stride feels great. Powerful. I train AND race in the Kinvaras. I'm no minimalist, but I'm definitely trending in that direction. Less is more.

I can't speak for everybody, but if I were you, I'd first try my cure: thin flexible carbon plates (thin is key), no orthotics, low offset.

If you've got PF, then in the short term you MAY want orthotics. A little temporary heel lift (offset) is useful in helping PF heal. I've had a touch of that on occasion. Low offset shoes will definitely put some stress in the PF problem area, so sure: tromp around in higher-offest shoes, and/or add orthotics to take pressure off the problem area. But once it's gone, slowly trend towards low offset. Take it a day at a time.

I get plantar fasciitis anytime I wear shoes that support the arch. Seems like the arch support mechanism pushes up against the arch and aggravates it. I do better training with racing flats.

Hobby jogger but I win my age group sometimes. Orig knee injury in HS. Ran through it college/post grad. Mid 20s meniscus surgery ( that I should have had in HS). Kept running through injuries and OTC orthotics and various shoe stability models. Finally early 30s got custom orthotics with a podiatrist that was pro "keep running" vs the "just stop running" docs I'd seen in the past. 15 years later (mid 40s now)... I still use those orthotics w/ a few refurbs. I'm not remotely elite. I'm not pro. But I'm a masters runner that can still toe the line and put a solid AG time on the clock. You know your feet. You know your body. For me, when I run w/ out the orthotics I notice a difference in a bad way. YMMV.

From reading the replies, I'm hearing orthotics and injury time and time again. Either it's wearing orthotics to help recover from an injury, or injuries that may have resulted from wearing orthotics.

I favor low-drop shoes with carbon-fiber plates such as the Nike Vaporflys or the carbon-fiber-infused speedboards such as the On CloudBoom Echo. The idea of those plates and speedboards being the main impetus for fast running seems to be much better than relying mainly on orthotics for fast running. In fact, I couldn't fit my orthotics into the Nike Vaporflys!

Less is more. The simpler, the more beautiful. I'm reminded of people from the Tarahumara tribe who run very long distances and wear sandals. It hardly seems likely that they would need orthotics to run.

I spent $250 on orthotics, of which I have $200 worth of barely-used orthotics. But I've learned my lesson!

Thanks to the thoughtful and helpful replies! :)

Thanks to *those who were helpful and replied thoughtfully!

I know one account of a professional runner wearing custom orthotics, Lisa Weightman (2:24 marathoner, 3rd fastest Australian woman all-time).

She mentions it at 37:15 in this podcast:

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RunChats with @RonRunsNYC: Lisa Weightman - Running to Inspire! | RunChats Ep.97

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I'm honored to introduce four-time Australian Olympian, Lisa Weightman, to the RunChats pod!Professional runner for Asics Running, associate partner at IBM where she oversees a team of 236 consulta...

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Or ignorance. I think it's based on his ignorance.

I started running in 1971- I was never not injured in some way- knees, shins, sciatica.

In 1984 I tore my plantar fascia. A podiatrist recommended custom orthotics. I've worn them since and any injury I've had since then has been my fault- just doing something stupid.

PF was gone the day I started running in orthotics.

I've been wearing Foor Levelers for the last 6 years or so. I love them. I'm thinking about trying to wean myself off of them, but after almost 40 years of relatively pain free running, why should I?

As far as pros- I've read that some do wear them in training and some of them don't wear them in races.

Where do you get the carbon plates?

Is there a link that I can see what they are?

Thanks

If you rely on carbon fiber shoes - wear them sparingly. The carbon fiber plates go against some of your foot's natural running mechanics.

That's exactly why someone would wear orthotics (and maybe rely on carbon fiber). The natural mechanics of their feet lead to injury.

You know, the feet are attached to the rest of your body right?

I am a pro runner and have been wearing them in training (not workouts and races) for about 15 years. I do not know many pros that wear them, but like you runn, I had some serious injuries before starting to use them and am now hesitant to change what is mostly not broken and miss a season changing my form.

I ran at the highest levels for 20 years. During that time I once tried orthotics, but didn't follow the advice at the time, which was break them in slowly. I ran easy for 3 days then gradually upped the workouts slowly. Within a week, I broke down. They are a landfill. I was injury free within a week changing back to wearing my old training flats. I was and still am an idiot sometimes where I throw common sense out the window. I'm 79 and still running since 1957. Little old ladies pushing a full shopping cart can now beat me!

I ran high level D1 and then fairly competitively afterward for a number of years. I've had custom orthotics since high school, ostensibly to correct a leg length discrepancy. Wore them religiously for training, workouts, and longer races (basically anything except in spikes). Huge hassle but like other posters I didn't want to give up a year revamping things.

Knowing what I know how, the HS injuries were likely just IT band injuries I didn't know how to treat. Now I'm old and slow and working on weaning myself. I'm just kind of some with the hassle and can afford to build back extremely slowly.

Anyone else have success with this? Thoughts or tips?

M64 here. Never was a pro, but run since mid 70’s. About 30 mpw now with moderate “slightly under” 19/5K. Always thought I had an ideal pronation and did not need any
orthotics, but a couple of years ago once drove my wife to a famous doc (who dealt with many athletes) with no intention to be examined too. Seeing my skepticism, the doc suggested to take a look at me. Though he did not find anything serious, he suggested to try some orthotics to prevent inevitable degradation with age. Some stuff from NZ, which is put in a sort of an oven and then being adjust to one’s feet like a plasticine. I agreed to get them and try.
Do not run in them because I think they would “misbalance” good running shoes, but wear them in everyday shoes and boots. No idea if they really help, but the number of injuries decreased considerably vs. the previous running season (I am injury prone).

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