How to Select a Running Shoe

Video Transcript

"Hello my name is David Brown and today we are going to talk about how to select a running shoe. Now selecting a running shoe can sometimes seem very daunting especially since there are so many different styles and colors and brands that are available out there. A variety of runners can fit into many different categories of shoes and we've been able to get them into three or four. So the first thing you've got to look at is what kind of foot do you have. Now a good way to know what kind of foot you have is what is called the wet test or once you step out of the shower you want to step on to a paper bag, lift your foot up, and see what kind of shape you see. If you see a very thin line you know that you have high arches. If you see a very flat line you know you have flat feet. Most of us fall somewhere in between but if you know you have very flat feet or high arches, this is going to require a very special shoe and sometimes even inserts called orthotics. Now once you know this about your foot you may want to do some other research by looking at some of your other running shoes or perhaps some walking shoes and you want to see where they wear. Do they wear mostly on the outside or mostly on the inside? Do they wear more on the heel or more on the forefoot? You'll be able to tell right away. On this shoe what I am talking about is you can look at the heel down here or the forefoot down here. I am talking about the outside of the shoe here or the inside of the shoe here. You can look at wear points on all of these spots so why am I telling you to do all of this research? Well that's the very next step is to go to a very nice running store. Don't just go to any place to buy your shoes, especially running shoes but go to a running shoe store. Tell the people there what you've found. Now they may even be able to do some other steps like have you run on a tread mill and be able to look at your feet and see how your feet land. But at the end of the day this is a scientific process and we are trying to find the right shoe that fits you. So after you go to a running shoe store decide what kind of budget you have, also let the people know that. Now the final thing is also how much are you going to run? If you are training for a marathon or you are just going to be running a few times a week this could also dramatically effect your choice of shoe and your purchase price and when you put together what you could afford and what science tells you you should buy, you should be able to know what running shoes to select."