How to Know If It's Time to Replace Your Running Shoes
Whether it's your tried and true sneakers you've been logging hundreds of miles on OR even a new pair you just brought home, here's what to look out for to tell you it may be time for a new pair!
As I’ve expressed in prior posts, having proper shoes is one of the most important aspects of having a happy, long, and injury-free running experience.
Our feet are our primary contact of force with the ground when we run, so making sure they are protected with the appropriate shoes is crucial for success in our miles.
Maybe you have your favorite brand and sneaker down to a science and you haven’t deviated for years. Or maybe you’re just starting your running journey and have just come home with a shiny new pair of sneakers from your local running store. No matter where you are, there are signs to look out for that will alert you when it’s time to either get a new pair of your favorite, or switch up the kind of sneaker you have and get a different pair.
Signs it’s time for a NEW shoe:
Visible, excessive wear and tear on the sneaker. Runners sometimes form emotional connections with their sneakers (or is it just me?!) and view their battered sneakers as battle scars! Maybe you had a phenomenal training cycle with these shoes and they crossed the finish line with you in a big marathon PR. I get it. I once continued to wear sneakers that had holes in the toes because I was just so connected with them. Sure, our worn-down shoes tell great stories and can give us a sense of pride, but they can also cause you problems going forward. Worn out shoes can impact our form, cause us pain and lead to injuries as our feet are striking the ground with such force without the proper protection.
If you notice holes in and around the toe box, excessive deterioration of the fabric, significant and visible compression of the soles and any/all fraying along the sides of the shoe… it’s time for a new pair. If you love that shoe so much, try to find the exact same kind for your new pair, and I won’t judge you if you keep that old pair in the back of your closet.
You’ve reached the 300-500 mile range on your sneakers. Gear tracking has become a popular and powerful feature in our run tracking apps. Strava, Garmin, COROS, and the like all have the feature in the app where you can log your sneaker, assign it to past runs, set as your default for future runs, and even set up a notification when it reaches a certain number of mileage. 300-500 miles is a generic range for the time frame that you should start thinking about getting a new pair of shoes. It’s different for everyone. 400 miles is generally my sweet spot, so I have an alert in my Strava for 350 miles on my shoes so it gives me a little bit of time to get new sneakers before the situation becomes dire. Some runners even have two pairs of shoes they alternate, so it extends the life of each shoe. This can be more of an upfront cost, as you’ll be paying for two shoes at once.
You’re physically feeling the lack of support on your runs. As an experienced runner, I can physically feel when I’m approaching that accumulated mileage on my sneakers that signals it’s time for a new pair. Not everyone can, which makes #2 so important, but you will likely start to feel the deteriorating support on your runs. There will be less bounce in your step, your legs might feel a little heavy and achey, and your feet may even start to hurt during and after your runs. In more severe cases, you can even start to develop an injury from worn out shoes. This is why it’s critical to be paying attention to the physical condition of your shoe, the mileage you’re racking up and how you’re feeling as time goes on.
Signs it’s time for a DIFFERENT shoe:
Excessive blistering. Imagine you come home from a Dick’s Sporting Goods and you’ve picked out the most sparkly and bright running shoes. You can’t wait to go out for a run in them and enjoy all that cushioning and fancy shoe technology, but within a few miles you feel terrible burning sensations on the inner soles of your feet and around the toes. You get home and find some nasty-looking blisters on your feet. What gives?!
The reason there are so many different shoe variations is because everyone’s foot is different. Size isn’t the only thing that differentiates people’s feet; there are different foot shapes, arch heights, ground strike patterns, toe length proportions, and more.
As much as runners love to boast about their black toenails and hard-earned calluses, excessive blistering is not normal and likely indicates you need a different shoe. This can be caused by excess friction if your foot is either moving around too much in the shoe or it’s just not designed to work well for your specific foot shape.
This is why I always highly recommend going to a running-specific store for your running sneakers. Many running stores will provide you with a foot analysis and may even have you run on a treadmill or around the store so they can get a sense of your ground strike and gait. They may also ask you about your current running regime and your goals, which helps to equip them to recommend a shoe that is best-suited for your anatomy as well as your running goals.
Deviating from your actual, measured foot size by at least a full shoe size.
To provide a brief anecdote, my shoe size is 5.5 and for years I was wearing a size 7 in my running shoe. One day I walked into a new running store to get a pair of sneakers and got the best advice I’d ever received as it related to my running shoes: you should not have to deviate that much from your actual shoe size! I loved my ASICS, wore bulky socks and didn’t know any better. Once I got fitted for a size 6 New Balance sneaker, I immediately understood. The shoe hugged my foot like a glove. It never dawned on me that I had to wear 1.5 sizes over what my actual shoe size was in order to feel good in the other sneaker. Since then, I wear a size 6 New Balance and always advise people that if you have to size up that much, it simply may not be the proper shoe.
To reiterate, going to a running-specific store for your sneaker needs is a safe bet that you’ll find what is right for YOU. For something as important as your sneaker, it’s worth it to make sure you are getting what is going to best support you in your miles and keep you feeling healthy and pain-free. Your sneaker size should be very close to your actual, measured shoe size. A half size up is normal to account for thicker running socks and enough room for your feet to slightly shift during inclines and declines on the road. (Trail sneakers may be a different story; I wear 1 size up in my trail shoes to account for heavy duty socks and lots of uneven, technical terrain).
Our sneakers are that primary point of contact with the ground, so it’s essential to keep that connection with the ground supported, monitored and right for you! There’s a lot of data us runners like to obsess over, let this be one of the more important pieces of your running data to prioritize and analyze!