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=Comparison Table=
{{:Shoes-table}}
=How Long Will They Last?=
There are a lot of variables in how long a running shoe will last, involving both the runner and the shoe. The 'longevity' field in my table can be used as a very rough guide, but don't read too much into the value. You'll need to understand your running style to understand how long a shoe is likely to last for you.
* A runner that lands harder will wear out their shoes more quickly.
* If the landing forces are concentrated, this will dramatically increase shoe wear. So a runner than lands with a midfoot strike will tend to spread the landing forces, where a runner that lands on the edge of the heel will focus the forces in a small area.
* Good [[Running Form]] ensures that the shoe doesn't scrape as it lands. Without this 'paw back', the scraping will wear away the rubber or foam quickly. If the scraping is combined with a concentrated landing area, the effect is a rapid removal of material under the initial contact patch.
* For most shoes, the limiting factor in shoe life is the foam midsole rather than the harder rubber outsole. The means the foam becomes compressed and offers less cushioning. The reduced cushioning is generally not the problem, but rather it's the uneven reduction across the shoe that starts to cause biomechanical problems. A common situation is that the foam under the ball of the foot wears and so the foot is tilted inward.
* Thinner shoes tend to last longer than thicker shoes, which is perhaps counterintuitive. This is because a shoe with a 40mm midsole that loses 20% of its thickness due to wear would be 8mm thinner, where a shoe with only 10mm would only lose 2mm.
* The life of the hard rubber outsole is rarely an issue, and by the time the outsole is worn through the foam is dead. However there are shoes that use relatively soft outsole that can wear more quickly.
* Shoes that don't have a hard rubber outsole can suffer from abrasion wearing away the foam. With these shoes the scraping due to lack of paw back has a much bigger impact on shoe life as the foam is much less resistant to being scraped.
* Temperature can play a factor in shoe life. Hot temperatures can soften shoes and cause them to wear quickly. At Badwater I've had shoes wear away more in 30 miles than I would normally see in 300. On the other hand, foam gives far less cushioning in cold weather, so a shoe that might be okay in the summer might feel worn out in winter.
* The running surface changes the rate of abrasion if that's the limiting factor. Rough concrete or asphalt will erode the shoe more quickly than a smooth surface or dirt.
* How much wear is too much also depends on the individual runner. Some runners may tolerate very little wear, but I know runners that can continue to run injury free in shoes that most people would consider destroyed.
=Shoe Gallery=
Images of the shoes reviewed on this site can be found in the [[Shoe Gallery]].