The Ultimate Guide to Finding the Perfect Running Shoes: Fit, Shape, and Sizing Tips for Every Runner
The following blog post was written by a good friend of the store, Coach Nobby Hashizume, of International Running Academy and Running Wizard.
As the spring comes around (for the people in the northern hemisphere at least!), many of you are starting a new training program with a newly set target race. And many of you go out and purchase a new set of footwear and outfit.
As for my wife, after a long Minnesota winter and running through snow and mud, she likes to set herself up with new equipment. Footwear!!! For runners, footwear is one of the hottest topics. I’ve noticed at my Lydiard Training & Academy Facebook page, whenever I post something about shoes, we seem to get more responses than other topics.
Most runners are an expert on his/her own shoes. After running hundreds and thousands of miles, we all have certain beliefs on how shoes should work. Unfortunately, in my opinion, most of it is based on so-called “conventional” beliefs that were established half a century ago.
For example, has anyone heard of: “You should have a thumb-width extra space at the tip of the shoes…”? If you’ve had shoes with a “flat nose” where the tip of the shoe collapses, you may realize you need some extra space at the end. But the “toe box” of your running shoes should be three-dimensional, and if the toe box is constructed correctly, you would not need that much extra space.
Of course, the SHAPE of the shoe has to match—or closely match—the shape of your foot.
The far right is my footprint. Note the 2 shoes on the left do not match the shape of my foot and I would most likely pronate. The 3rd shoe fits my foot perfectly.
If you trace your foot carefully, meaning you trace around the outside of your foot and then track underneath your arch and get the inner side of your foot in order to follow your foot where it touches the ground; you’d be surprised how curved your foot is.
Of course, some people, particularly if your foot is narrow, have much milder curve than others. But most of us, unless your arch is almost completely collapsed and flat-footed, have some degree of a curve.
The shape of the shoe has to have very close to the shape of your foot. In other words, if you have a distinct curve and try to put this curved foot into a very straight shoe, either the base of your big toe, the base of your pinky toe, or the inner side of your heel would stick out of your shoe’s midsole.
If this happens, you’ll over-pronate… unless the base of your pinky toe sticks out, in which case you will supinate. As Arthur Lydiard always said: “You don’t pronate or supinate. But your shoes pronate or supinate…”. In order to compensate for this, most of us would get oversized shoes. This is a vicious cycle.
If the shoe is too straight, the area marked with a star would stick out.
Many runners lose their toe nails and they like to talk about it as if it’s a feather in a hat. If the shoe fits correctly, there’s no need to suffer from black and/or lost toe nails.
In fact, strangely, one of the biggest reasons for black/lost toe nail is oversized shoes. When the shoe is too big, your foot slides back and forth inside the shoe. This means, each time your foot touches the ground, your big toe will be banged into the front edge of your shoe.
If the shape of the shoe fits the shape of the foot and you get the right shape shoe, you’ll have only very slight extra space and you should not even get black toe nail. For this, however, you’ll need:
The right shape of the shoe.
The right size of the shoe.
Proper toe box.
When these three criteria are met, you’ll have a shoe that is PROPERLY FITTED.
Another problem with over-sized shoes is that you’ll lose proper effectiveness of various features of the shoe. Most of today’s athletic shoes have functional features. Take Nike’s Next 2% for example. You have a carbon plate and X2 air sacks. They are supposed to be right underneath the balls of your foot. But if your shoe is over-sized, where the “curve” of the carbon plate and where those 2 air sacks are supposed to be will be more like where the toes flex.
You will also lose proper functions of your own foot as well. Years ago, the Japanese equivalent of BBC did a field study of shoe size. They divided the participants into two groups. One would wear “normal” over-sized shoes. The other group would wear slightly tighter shoes. They then had them climb Mt. Fuji. The group with slightly tighter shoes reached the top faster and, subjectively, with consummate ease.
They then took an X-ray image of their feet with the shoes on. What they found was that the arch of the participants with over-sized shoes collapsed. Because they had extra space for their feet to get stretched out, their feet lost the ability to work as a spring.
Note: If the shoe is oversized, the ball of your foot will not align with the top of the Air Sacks or the curve of the Carbon Plate.
When you get the shape of your own foot on a piece of paper, as I have suggested earlier, I like to cut a thick paper—like Manila folder paper—and cut it out to bring it to the store. Place this paper—the shape of your own foot—on the bottom of the shoe and see if it fits well within the shape of the shoe.
Another trick, suggested by Bob Dyer, the co-owner of St. Louis’ leading running specialty store, Running Niche, is to simply remove the insoles from the shoes you are considering purchasing and stand on them. If any part of your foot sticks out or there is too much dead space at the end of the toes, it’s not a good sign, and your foot will most likely either over-pronate or supinate.
You should only have minimal extra space at the end of the toes—about 5mm or ¼ inch. A good rule of thumb is to measure your own foot in centimeters. Most of us have one foot slightly bigger than the other, so be sure to fit for the bigger foot. Once you know your foot size in centimeters, flip the tongue of your shoe and see what size (in cm) the shoe is.
American shoe sizing does not mean anything. My shoe size of 9.5, for example, does not represent inches or centimeters—it’s just a vague shoe size. Centimeters are a universal measurement. For reference, American shoe size 9.5 equals 27.5cm. My left foot is 26.8cm, and my right foot is 26.5cm.
Try the nearest rounded-up shoe size first. In my case, that would be 27.0cm, which corresponds to a US size 9.0. Try that size first—you’ll likely find it a bit tight, which is good. Then, size up by 0.5, to 9.5. You’ll be surprised at how comfortable they feel.
With this approach—considering both foot shape and sizing—you’ll get at least two out of three key criteria right! Hopefully, you’ll also have a properly constructed toe box to meet all three criteria.
Until you get the hang of it, finding your own Cinderella shoe can be a bit tricky. This day and age, when you can order pretty much anything online, it is advisable and recommended to go to a local running store where competent and knowledgeable persons are working.
Finding the right shoe for yourself is very much a three-dimensional task. On top of the three points I mentioned earlier, your structure and movement also play a role. Unless you have a good grasp of all those things—and remember, many “conventional ideas,” such as over-pronation, are actually false.
Hopefully, the local store managers are up to date with these topics but, even if not, two brains are usually better than one! You may save a couple of dollars by purchasing shoes online, but you are paying extra for the knowledge and experience of people working at the store.
Trust me; it is well worth it!
Coach Nobby Hashizume
International Running Academy
www.runningwizard.net