When we walk into a shoe store we are confronted with a myriad of options and usually don’t know where to start. In reading my previous blog post I hope everyone was able to take something away that will help point you in the right direction and narrow the options to some extent. In this segment I will break down the inner workings of running shoes on the market today.
From the ground up running shoes can be broken into four distinct parts. The first part of a shoe is the outer sole which is the rubber on the bottom of the shoe that supplies traction. The outer sole can be made up of a combination of materials from most common in carbon rubber & blown rubber to more advanced specialty materials designed by shoe companies for their specific purposes.
The outer sole is then attached to the midsole next which is the foam that supplies the impact protection/cushioning. Originally EVA foam was the go to material for all companies. Now almost every company has their own specialty midsole material. The midsole also contain two other common features found on many shoes but not all. These are a crash pad on the heel made of SRC (slow rebound cushioning), and a propulsion pad in the fore foot made of HRC (high rebound cushioning) I won’t go into detail but each company also has their own technology specific to their shoes. Some common one’s everyone has heard of are Nike Air Max, Asics-Gel, and Mizuno Wave Plates etc. Though flashy and touted to be the best you can get, all these technologies do the exact same thing. Supply Cushion. Which is best is personal preference in that what works for one most likely won’t for the next person. The big question is whether you prefer soft plush cushion or firm responsive cushion. Just remember, listen to your feet and not the flashy marketing or pushy sales rep. and you’ll have the most success. Obviously the midsole play’s the biggest role in the shoe’s performance and is the biggest factor in comfort.
The next piece to the puzzle is the most important to most people . It can affect the fit quit a bit but that is a company to company fit difference and not a model to model difference in a specific brands line. Some brand do have drastic differences in their uppers though for the most part this isn't the case. What I mean by this is that each company will have a different fit. The different models in a single company’s line of shoe’s will all have very similar upper fits. There are a few technologies you can find in the upper but not many. Off the top of my head the big three I can think of are the Arch Lock by Saucony, A Symmetric lacing system by Asics, and Fly Wire technology by Nike. The technology in the upper plays a big role in the shoe as it is what holds your foot over and on the sole while moving. It protects you from the elements or breaths really well on hot day. In general it plays a big role in the overall comfort of the shoe. Of course the most important part is how they look right? In my opinion your best bet is holding off on looks for fit, but hey sometimes we can get lucky and find that awesome looking shoe that fits like a glove. Just don’t expect it every time since fashion and running shoes are two things that haven’t joined each others company just yet.
The last piece of the puzzle is the insole. For the most part they are very basic, a thin strip of foam to give a tiny bit more comfort and cushioning. The insole also plays a role in the arch support of the shoe as they are built up to supply more arch or made flat to give a smaller arch. I told you they where simple. There are some over the counter insoles which can be bought separately and are more advance but those are for another post. I hope everyone has learned quite a bit about the structure of running shoes through this blog. I will have one more post on the shoes and then move on. After so much information it makes more sense to write up a small piece on the three categories of running shoes to finish it off instead of packing it into this post.
As usually feel free to email me with any questions and comment with your opinions.
Endurance = Strength = Speed
Happy running
Matt
Mveiga86@gmail.com
