how often do you replace shoes?

Well, obviouslly it depends how hard you are on them. If you're a footslammer, more like 300; if you're light on your feet, more like 500. I myself used to do about 700-800, but I was rotating 4 pairs of trainers and that helps extend the life, plus I was 120 pounds.

400 miles a shoe

500-800 km (300-500 miles) so the footwear industry says. I know people that go much longer and people that change more often. Bottom line is that it depends on a number of things........

weight, biomechanics, running surface, environment, if you're injury prone, if you wear socks, workout type/intensity, if you wear orthotics, etc, etc...

300 miles sounds pretty low to me unless you really chew up shoes. Mostly it's a feel thing that you get used to over time, so it's hard to give anything more than a very general range. Some of the guys on the team I coach go over 1000 miles on a pair. I hate looking at those shoes after all those miles. Personally I've found that I can expect 800+ miles most of the time on trainers, 200-250 on flats. I use lightweight trainers, adidas Supernovas and Asics GelLytes. I'm not a lightweight by any means, run on a variety of surfaces. I think I'm fairly efficient. You can extend the life a lot by rotating days, and also by not wearing them other than for running.

Still using a pair of Reebok Infernos for trail running that have probably 1200 miles on them, plus a lot of walking around mileage. And have a pair of Etonic Quasars, circa 1985, that still get a hike or two a year on them.

You need to go by feel, unless you've got experience with how shoes should wear. If what you're using starts to give you problems it's time to change.

Six Pack wrote:

I was rotating 4 pairs of trainers and that helps extend the life.

I've heard this often but I have no clue how rotating shoes extends the life. The total number of miles is the same, is it not? If I run 400 miles in consecutive days with one pair of shoes or run 400 miles on those same shoes while alternating with others, how does this prolong the life of the shoes?

I'm not sure if this is true, but I've heard that if you run on the same pair of shoes on consecutive days that the cushioning gets compressed and is not able to rebound in under 24 hours(thus causing the shoes to break down faster), but if you rotate shoes the cushioning is able to rebound and thus extends the life of each pair

The big advantage I would say is the durability of the uppers. Rotating them definately makes sense.

If you run in harsh weather (snow/rain), your shoes wouldn't have the time to air dry out properly unless you try to dry them some other way (which is also not good). If your shoes are continuously wet, they don't have the same strength, as they do if they could sit for a day or two.

As for the midsole, I can't see it making a difference. I have heard people say that it's best to rotate so the foam in the midsole returns fully to it's original density prior to running, but I think that's a load of crap.

There are other advantages to rotating shoes though.....

1) Different shoes for different workouts/terrain (LSD, tempo, track, trails). Each type of workout will also put a different kind of stress on your shoes.

2) Easing into a new pair before the old ones totally die. This will help to avoid injury/blisters. Nothing worse than having to go for a 20 miler in a new pair of deekers.

I agree,

The life of the shoe doesn't extend...rather the time you use the shoes throughout the training cycle extends.

Thank you for that clarification!

Also, I have had more physical foot/ankle problems in the past by rotating more than two pairs of shoes...I would consider this in your decision.

Back to the original post. The above answers are correct. Go by feel if you're in tune with your body. If you have no idea, go by the 300 to 500 mile rules set by the manufacturers.

In my experiences, it is difficult to assign a mileage number to show life expectancy. Better to monitor the components of the midsole and heel plate. Once the EVA starts to show anything beyond normal compression that does not rebound, or if the heel plate starts to wear thin (especially on heel strikers), it's time to re-up for some new shoes. The newer graphite-enhanced heel plates will last longer, but the EVA still needs to be monitored.

Hello! I am a newcomer to the Board but not on the road, and my experience covers all sorts of failures, pains, injures and disappointments.

Replacing shoes is for me more a matter of the number of soaks/dryings and damaging the upper parts, rather than kilometers or miles. I still use a pair of Karhu (Finnish, means "bear", not making shoes any longer) lightweight shoes from the early eighties for competitions, also the marathon. Some shoe types wear down rather quick, other types last forever but risk to be degraded to walking, garden work etc.

A favourite shoe that disappeared long ago was the Adidas cross, excellent for trails, marshes and even rock climbing, although completely without damping.

Briv

rotate shoes; run on dirt, track or grass; avoid like the plague: cut-away arches (most crappy shoes nowadays), air bags, plastic arch "bridges", springs or other gimmicks; do this and you should be able to get 1000 miles pretty easily. New Balance seems to fill the bill best nowadays (used to be asics).

300 miles? Thats like replacing shoes every 3 weeks for some folks...yikes....might as well buy disposable shoes.