Shoe Rotation?

I'll wear Kinvaras on interval/tempo days and 890 v.2s on easy and long run days. It seems like this is a good setup for me so that my achilles and calves can get a workout and a bit of rest off and on.

I just started doing this because I was able to buy several pair of my favorite running shoe, the Adidas Boston 3.

I don't know if it will help the longevity of either shoe, but I've heard it does. I do it mainly because when it comes time to retire one pair of shoes, I'll have another pair with a couple hundred miles, that way I don't go from a completely worn shoe to a completely brand new shoe for all of my miles.

Sometimes. I randomly switch between Puma Faas 250's & Faas 550's. Its not structured by distance or day. I grab whichever shoe happens to be calling me. I also run some easy runs in the Faas 200's, but the tongue slides around too much for fast paced runs.

I rotate shoes because I have so many. Typically, I'd have different models for different runs, but lately I've found that Nike Lunaracers work for most runs. They have enough cushioning for long runs, yet are light and springy for fast stuff as well. I currently rotate 3 pairs of those and 2 pairs on Lunar Montreals. I do some speedwork in the Lunarspider and race 5Ks in the Nike Mayfly. I wear the Free 3.0 and Lunarspeed Lite for "walking around shoes."

That said, you can get away with 2 or 3 pairs for -

easy/long runs

speedwork/tempos

races (optional)

I have been utilizing two shoes for a while. I do not alternate them daily, in part because I ride more than run at times. However, I do not use identical shoes; rather, I use shoes that are a bit different so that if there are things that are getting 'overdone' in one, wearing the other diminishes the problem (e.g., seem irritation or more subtle biomechanical issues).

I will rotate some. I wear my Brooks PureFlow the most and will run in the Brooks Switch and Ravenna some. I like to switch it up when i get some minor aches and pains

I have around 4 pairs of all different shoes, rotated by feel, not by any method. two adidas, two NB. Plus I have a pair of rain shoes for rain days. When shoes get soaked, they are never quite the same, no?

I save my favorite pair (an old discontinued pair of adidas supernova tempos) for long runs. best shoes ever.

I switch off about four-five pair.

Trail shoes for trails.

NB 730 for faster runs.

Saucony Mirage for longer slow runs.

Saucony Kinvara 2 for easy recovery.

NB730 or Newton MV2 for track workouts.

About half my mileage is in the NB 730. I occasionally wear the same pair of shoes two days in a row, but not often.

I won't buy another pair of Mirage... heels are too high, but the other shoes are pretty good, especially the NB 730.

I have in the past with two pairs of shoes - one for odd numbered days, one for even numbered days. Now I don't run enough days in a row to worry about it. I would do it with fairly similar or identical shoes.

Morning pair and evening pair. Main reason being if one gets too sweaty/wet it can take 24 hours to dry. The idea that a shoe needs 2 days to "recover" is probably something the shoe industy made up to get you to buy more shoes.

Only have one pair, they take a beating since I run almost everything in the grass next to the road (usually wet in the morning) or on trails. I try to put them in front of a fan post run to keep down the stink. I think cleaning them is important as well when they get muddy as dirt greatly speeds up the break down of the shoe.

I keep my worn out shoes for morning and easy runs, and save the newer ones for workouts and hard efforts.

All NB - 890 v1 and v2, 10 (two pairs), 20, 1400, 800 (spikes), and 1600.

I use the 20s (trail), 800s (spike), and 1600s (racing) for specific running. The rest I'll rotate as I feel is appropriate for how I feel that day. Sometimes I'll run long in the 10s and sometimes I'll run a tempo in the v1s.

I do, primarily b/c I frequently run on different surfaces (trail, track, roads)

fyi: 'resting' shoes doesn't prolong the life of their foam:

http://uvaendurosport.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/do-shoes-have-feelings/

Ok, thanks for all the responses. Now is the follow-up question:

Do you rotate the shoes in the hopes of staving off injury or is it because you're a shoe geek ("shoe geek" used in the most respectful of ways)?

Both.

just for variety really - to spice things up. wahoo.

i rotate through no less than 5 pairs of shoes and i run 6 days per week. i've got 2 light weight trainers - asics sky and brooks launch and 3-4 pairs of trainers: brooks defyance, asics cumulus, nb 830 and nike air max moto. all of these vary depending on what goes on sale. i wear the lightest ones on faster days and rotate through the rest on slower days.

i like wearing shoes of different brands and weights. since they all are made slightly differntly, my theory is that by rotating around, you don't use the exact same muscles every single day.

i don't know if there is any truth to that but i haven't had any serious foot related injuries in 20+ years of running.

How will rotating shoes allow them to last longer? It makes no sense.