Changing shoes every 3 months - a con?

this has been discussed ad nauseum. Search on minimalist trainers.

This does get done up here every few minutes it seems. But for what it's worth to you, I agree completely that the "change shoes every three months or so" thing is a marketing gimmick. I've put close to 2,000 miles on pairs of Asics Paws and really just tossed them because the smell was bad and came back almost immediately after washing. I've done the same with the Adidas Cubota and have some Tiger Moscow Limber Ups that I could see running in for the rest of the decade as long as I smear some shoe goo or something on the parts of the sole that wear down.

Like you, I ran for ages in shoes like the Tiger Marthon, Cortez, and Boston in the 70s and found that the shoes looked worn out when they were worn out, i.e., they were falling apart.

Of course, they didn't have the same midsole materials as modern shoes have. So the argument for changing every three months is that the midsole gets crushed and loses resillience which destroys the shoes' cushioning properties. But as you note, with lighter shoes you aren't looking for the shoe to cushion very much.

But if you owned a running shop or a running shoe company, would you rather have customers buying your products four times a year or one?

I will put no less than 1000 miles (about three months) on lightweight trainers before tossing them. Because of my bad landing this means I have to glue some rubber on them to keep 'em going but I never noticed any ill effects of the EVA breakdown. Running shoes should not cost you more than a monthly membership to a gym!!!!

Same deal for the car. I only change the oil once per year or every 10K, whichever comes first. I have NEVER had an engine problem.

And yes, we are all sick of the minimalist discussion. However, I would love to hear some outsole life extension tips.

sundog wrote:

And yes, we are all sick of the minimalist discussion. However, I would love to hear some outsole life extension tips.

What's wrong with just regularly applying Shoe Goo to the areas of greatest wear?

Curiously (to some here) when I have been wearing a shoe for a while and start to feel the cushioning is not what it was, I go and buy a new pair and surprise surprise my feeling is confirmed!

Shoes don't have to be expensive but they have to fit you and be fit for purpose.

Also I think you should do what works for you. So if you can run 100 miles in flats and they last forever and you never get injured and you are improving then you've clearly you have found what works for you. It might not work for everyone though...

Whoops! Above is from Tim Grose...

What's wrong with just letting it wear away? In Noake's Lore of Running he suggests that you shouldn't rebuild the spots where your shoes wear fast, instead continue running until it is wore well into the midsole. The reason it wears in certain areas is because your foot lands a specific way, of course. Building more shoe onto the worn spots inhibits your foot from landing the way it "wants" to.

it just depends if you use a shoe for cushioning or not

I buy 3 different brands of cushioned shoes and rotate them on a daily basis. The initial outlay is quite expensive but over time it is very cost effective. Given that I am a big built marathom runner and have a very ordinary gait I have very few injuries. If you think buying running shoes is expensive try golf or even cycling. Most podiatrists that I have dealt with appear to work totally in grey[gray] areas[apparently afraid to back their own judgement]. Nothing is ever black or white. To get those vague answers to your foot problems you may as well go experiment on yourself. You will get at least as good a result and most likely a better one. On replacing shoes.When they are stuffed.For some people that may be a long time for others a short time.You are a runner. You should keep your "tools of trade" in good order.

Even flats have some cushioning and it is very noticeable the difference between an old pair and a new pair.

After a short while, you get to a point where there is no more compression of any kind. Run in the H Streets for a while -- they go down really quickly. That's why they're so great.

I have been competing since 1967 and have always gone though shoes quickly. In the mid 80's heydays I would run though a shoe every 3-4 weeks. I like cushioning. Maybe the swapping of shoes so often is why I am still running.

My thought was always how much would I pay to run if I couldn't. The price of new shoes should not even be a consideration.

I think that the feeling you get in your shoes when you're ready to retire them, is how mine feel when I'm just starting to like them.

I think any sort of standard suggestion like "toss them after 3 months" is a bit ridiculous, but I personally find that I'm lucky to get 400-500 miles on a pair of shoes before I start to notice new pains or get injured. I have learned from painful experience to toss shoes when I wear through the black rubber on the outside of my left heel.

Ironically, I have a pair of flats (Ekidens) that I've been wearing for about a third of my mileage (say roughly 20-30 mpw on average) for the last year, almost. They started with the least amount of hard rubber of any shoe I've ever worn, they've got well over 500 miles on them, and they're still going strong. I'll keep running in this pair until the uppers fall apart (soon, I fear), but luckily I've still got two more pairs of 'em.

That is probably right. I feel it in my quads. They don't recover on easy days in a shoe that is getting old for me. You should (maybe you already have) check out the Inov-8 trail shoes. Knowing the type of shoe you like this could be a trail shoe worthy of your blessing.

Like a vintage wine then perhaps?

I always think with these sort of discussions that you must do what works best for you. Also apprecate that what works for you may not necessarily work for somebody else and vice versa.

It is interesting to hear different views though.

Perhaps subconsciously I am getting sucked into more use of minimal shoes as last few Saturdays I have done my 10 mile marathon pace tempos in Waffles (as opposed to say Elites or Pegs) on a surface with a bit of a mixture of tarmac and firm stonedust trail. At a decent pace, the Waffles felt good and very little soreness afterwards. Back into my Storm Pegs for my somewhat slower and somewhat longer Sunday run however...

I would not want to drink any wine that smelled like a shoe with over 1000 miles on it:)

You should retire your running shoes when you feel a diiference in its performance. The amount of time or miles varies greatly between individual runners depending on weight, running style, etc. Keep two identical pairs of shoes. Run consistantly in one pair and try the second pair once every 2-3 weeks. At some point you'll notice the second pair is an improvement over the first. Retire the first pair and move the second into its slot. Get a new "second" pair and so on.

It could be something like survival of the fittest. 25 years ago shoes had less cushioning, were more minimal with less gizmos. Maybe people were getting less injuries then because the people who couldn't run in these kind of shoes simply didn't run. And the people that did run had better biomechanics therefore got fewer injuries. So, people who are biomechanically gifted still can run in minimalist shoes if they like- but the more built-up shoes allow the less gifted runners a chance to at least stay in the game.