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From Fellrnr.com, Running tips
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My road running shoe reviews are based around my personal experience and my interpretation of [[The Science of Running Shoes]]. I believe that a good running shoe should not interfere with your natural biomechanics, so shoes with raised heels (drop) or [[Pronation| anti-pronation]] features are a bad idea. A running shoe is a trade-off between weight, cushioning, and longevity, and different runners will want to make different trade-offs, so I cover shoes that vary in their characteristics, with the best shoes offering the most cushioning for their weight, from the light & minimalist shoes up to the heavier [[MinimaxMaximalist]] shoes.
* '''Fit'''. The fit of a shoe is quite personal, so while I talk about problems with the forefoot not matching the shape of the human foot, I don't go into details on the overall fit. My advice is to buy shoes from somewhere that provides free shipping both ways and to try them on at home. That way you can see how they fit for a longer period of time. I will often order shoes in two different sizes and return the one that does not fit as well.
* '''Familiarity'''. There is reasonable evidence that runners will adapt based on their training, something that makes intuitive good sense. Part of that adaptation is to the shoes that are normally worn, so any radical change in shoe design can be disruptive, and possibly lead to injury. This is particularly true when moving to a more minimalist running shoe. Therefore, if you're looking for running shoe that is radically different to what you use too, it would be prudent to migrate through intermediary types of shoe. For instance, if you reduced to running in a traditional running shoe, but want to move to a zero drop shoe, you could use the [[Saucony Kinvara]] has a half-way house.
* '''Weight'''. Probably the most critical feature of the shoe is its weight, as relatively small increases in the weight of the shoe create a surprisingly large increase in the effort it takes to run. A general estimate is that each 3.5oz/100g increases the effort by 1%.
* '''Cushioning'''. While cushioning does not appear to be effective at reducing impact, [[The Science of Running Economy]] indicates that cushioning can reduce the effort it takes to run. In addition, I found that the highly cushioned shoes I refer to as [[MinimaxMaximalist]] can reduce how sore my feet become on ultramarathons. However, cushioning and weight, so the right shoe for you will be the right balance of cushioning and weight. The best shoes provide the highest level of cushioning for their weight. Cushioning comes from the combination of the thickness and firmness of the midsole. The shape of the midsole can also make a difference, as a flat bottomed midsoles has less cushioning than an "egg crate" shaped midsole. The insole can also make a difference to the cushioning. Cushioning is quite subjective, and it's the result of both thickness and firmness. There are also factors around how quickly a type of foam deforms, which can also change how a shoe feels. That makes it hard to put a single value on cushioning, but I've combined all these factors into a number for comparison purposes.
* '''Performance Penalty. '''Most studies show that for each 3.5oz/100g of shoe weight performance drops by 1%. However, there is also good evidence that cushioning can improve performance, so some allowance is made for the padding. I give figures for the slowdown based on 4 hour marathon pace, which is 9:09 min/mile or 5:41 min/Km pace.
* '''Longevity'''. How long a shoe lasts normally depends on the foam midsole. In shoes where the foam midsole is not covered by a hard rubber outsole, the life of the shoe is typically limited by how quickly the midsole wears away due to abrasion from the ground. Different types of foam have at differing levels of abrasion resistance. If the midsole is covered by a hard rubber outsole, and the life of the shoe is typically limited by how quickly the foam breaks down and loses its shape and cushioning. There are some minimalist shoes like the Merrell trail glove that have little or no midsole, in which case the life of the shoe is limited by how long the outsole lasts. These shoes typically lost vastly longer than the cushioned counterparts. I rate shoes on a scale of 1 to 5, with a 3 as the average and 5 as longer longevity.
