Running Shoes

Comfortable with a microphone, you start by discussing your running practice as a whole. You explain that you much prefer running on trails and prefer cross-country to the track, which is harder on all your joints, and that you had, long ago, opted for running shoes specifically designed for running on trails. Over time, you chose running shoes known as "mixed", possessing good cushioning and offering good responsiveness and optimal dynamism.

Noticing the wear on your poor running sneaker over time, you realised that you were a pronator. Your foot strikes the ground from the outside and then rolls inwards, concentrating around your big toe. Initially, you sought a pair of running shoes that corrected this, and you found that the difference was minimal since your pronating stride was not very pronounced. By talking with other sports enthusiasts passionate about running, you learned that there is also a supinating stride and a so-called universal stride. Some running shoes also correct the supinating stride, which is a stride that strikes with a foot landing on the outside and whose incomplete ankle movement does not allow for a flat foot placement. However, you explain fluently into the microphone that a corrective running shoe is not necessary if your stride is not extreme.

After choosing a universal running shoe, you actively considered your drop choice. Again, it took you time to find the height of your dreams! The drop of a running shoe is the height difference between the back and front of the shoe. Many runners are looking for a "natural stride" and for that, the drop should be relatively minimal. However, as you explain with great enthusiasm, the first advice you were given for choosing a running sneaker was to opt for a medium, universal drop of about 8 mm. You were then told that once you got used to running, your stride would naturally shift to the front of your foot and not the heel: you could then consider a drop of 6 mm or 4 mm. If, on the contrary, over time and with your grandma's cakes, you had gained a lot of weight, you would undoubtedly have opted for a running shoe with a 10 mm drop, to provide more protection against impacts with the ground.
You have also, many times, overestimated the endurance capacity of your running shoe. Indeed, as you have noticed, you should part ways with your running sneaker if it has covered more than 1,000 kilometres, or even 500 if your running shoes were very light, usable in competition for example. Facing the crowd of spectators who are hanging on your every word, you suddenly realise that there is still much to be done for everyone to choose their running shoe with full knowledge of the facts. It is to a thunderous applause that you then receive your medal and promise to store it in your running shoes to dedicate this victory to them, once they have surpassed 1,000 kilometres, and you cannot bring yourself to part with them. Who said a running shoe couldn't have a second life and be transformed into a medal holder?

The Hoka running shoe, the oversized sneaker that gives you wings