Changes

What constitutes the best running shoe will depend a little on what you're looking for. Right now, there are five shoes that I would consider to be 'the best' in their categories.* '''Best Transition Shoe'''{{: [[Saucony Kinvara]]. If you're moving away from a heavy, overShoes-engineered shoe like the [[Asics GT 2000], then the Kinvara is a great halfway house on way to one of the shoes below. It's useful to make changes gradually in order to let your body and biomechanics adapt. It will also help you get a feel for what direction you'd like to go – minimalist, optimal, or [[Minimax]]. You may find that like me, you end up with several shoes in different categories for different lengths or types of run. * '''Best Minimax Shoe''': [[Hoka Clifton]]. This is by far the best [[Minimax]] (minimum drop/maximum cushioning) shoe available. It's remarkably light and remarkably cushioned. So far, nothing else comes close. * '''Best Optimal Shoe''': [[Asics Gel Hyper Speed]]. The Hyper Speed is a wonderfully light shoe that's far better cushioned than you might expect. It's billed as a 'racing flat', but I consider it a wonderful general purpose running shoe, proving just what you need and little more. The [[Nike Zoom Streak LT]] and [[Puma Faas 100 R]] are remarkably close to the Hyper Speed. * '''Best Optimal Shoe''': [[New Balance RC5000‏‎]]. So I had to include the RC5000 as well as the Hyper Speed, as they are both 'the best'. The RC5000 weights less than half the Hyper Speed and provides barely enough cushioning to be efficient. This may not be enough shoe for you, but if you can handle it, the RC5000 is a wonderfully fast shoe. I'm happy to run marathon distances in this shoe, but I wouldn't go further, and you may want a little more cushioning even at that distance (unless you're into a minimalist shoe, in which case it probably has too much cushioning.) * '''Best Minimalist Shoe''': [[Merrell Trail Glove]]. I recommend the trail glove for road running in spite of the 'trail' moniker. It's not a fast shoe by any means, but it's comfortable and will last well. * '''Honorable Mention''': It's not really a running shoe, but the Vivobarefoot Ra is comfortable, minimalist and can more or less pass as a dress shoe. I've worn mine to weddings with a suit and they've not looked out of place. You can run in the Ra, but the leather means it doesn't breathe well. I don't generally review trail running shoes, but check out the [[Hoka Mafate]] if you're after a shoe with remarkable abilities on a wide range of surfaces. [[File:BestRunningShoe.jpg|none|thumb|500px|The best running shoes. The Kinvara (top left), RC5000 (middle left), Hyper Speed (lower left), Clifton (upper right), Trail Glove (middle right), and the Ka (lower right, and yes, I know it's not really a running shoe.]]}}

* '''[[MinimaxMaximalist]]''' (Minimum Drop, Maximum Cushioning). The minimal drop has been the hallmark of minimalist shoes, but these shoes also include lots of cushioning. At their best, these shoes can be like running barefoot on a cushioned track. Minimax Maximalist shoes offer lots of protection and comfort. They are great for longer ultramarathons where sore feet become a problem and for trail running where the cushioning makes it easier to ignore smaller rocks and stones. However, the extra cushioning may [[The Science of Running Shoes| increase the risk of injury]] compared with minimalist shoes and the extra sole thickness increases the stress on your ankle. * '''Optimal'''. These shoes ideally have just enough cushioning to improve [[Running Economy]] without the weight penalty of the Minimax Maximalist shoes. These shoes are often called "racing shoes", or "racing flats", but I don't believe this term is appropriate any more. Many years go, a "racing flat" had little cushioning, but with the advances in materials science, these shoes are now surprisingly comfortable. * '''Fast'''. These are the fastest shoes, often compromised in other ways to achieve their performance.

* '''Balanced'''. These are shoes that are part way between minimalist and MinimaxMaximalist, but are too heavy to be considered Optimal.

* '''Altra'''. The two distinctive features of the Altra shoes are their zero drop and their shape which mirrors the shape of the human foot. Originally their shoes were quite minimalist with a thinner sole that was typically made of quite firm foam. More recently they have moved towards softer cushioning and the [[MinimaxMaximalist]] style.=Comparison Table={{:Shoes-table}}* '''Topo'''. Like Altra, Topo make shoes that are designed for the human foot. I find that the shape of Topo shoes is even better than Altra, with more room for my toes to move naturally.

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.

* For most shoes, the limiting factor in shoe life is the foam midsole cushioning 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. The foam insole often fails faster than the midsole, so consider [[Replacement Insoles]] to extend the shoe life.

* 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. If you're wearing through the outsole before the foam is dead, there's a good chance you're not pawing back correctly and your shoes are scraping as they land. This tends to waste energy and is a sign of poor [[Running Form]].

{| class=Shoe Gallery"wikitable" |- valign="top"Images |[[File:WornHS6Shoes.jpg|none|thumb|300px|This is a picture of a friend's [[Asics Gel Hyper Speed 6]] showing dramatic outsole wear. These shoes had only completed 230 miles but you can see the outsole is completely gone in places. I suspect that the runner in question is scraping slightly on landing rather than pawing back fully.]]|[[File: ComparisonHS6Shoes.jpg|none|thumb|300px|By comparison this is my Hyper Speed 6 shoes reviewed that have far more miles on this site them. You can see that most of the outsole still has its texture, and the only real outsole wear is on the extreme heel.]]|}==My Experiences with Shoe Life==Since I started tracking my shoe life more accurately with [[MilestonePod]]s, I've found that there is far more wear on my shoes than I realized. With my [[Foot Strike]] the cushioning degrades so that the sole under the ball of my foot is quite a bit lower than the rest of the forefoot. I calculate that about 2mm of compression under the ball of the foot is like running on the camber of a standard road (~3°), which creates additional stresses and might be a cause of injury. In as little as 100 miles (160Km) I've had shoes compress by 4mm under the ball of my foot! Since I injured my meniscus I've found in I can't tolerate shoes with that much wear, as this artificial camber irritates my knee. Prior to my knee injury I could get away with quite massively worn shoes, sometimes putting on as much as 3,000 miles (5,000 Km) before retiring them. {| class="wikitable" |- valign="top"|[[File:ShoeWear1.JPG|none|thumb|300px|This picture shoes the compression of the midsole that occurs under the ball of the foot.]]|- valign="top"|[[File:ShoeWear2.JPG|none|thumb|300px|Here's a cross section through the same shoe, showing how much thinner the foam has become due to wear. (This is from a left shoe, so the ball of the foot is on the right of the slice.)]]|- valign="top"|[[File:Insole Wear and Foot Strike.jpg|none|thumb|300px|An insole where I've marked the area of compression, which is under the ball of my foot.]]|}=How Far Can I Run In That Shoe Gallery?=Many shoe reviews talk about "this shoe is good up to half marathon", or some other distance. Such advice is based on the idea that many people find that as the distance increases, they want a little more cushioning to protect their feet from the pounding and to offset a little of the fatigue that sets in over time. However, because different runners want radically different levels of cushioning, generalized advice is unhelpful at best. Some runners may want a [[Maximalist]]shoe when they run a 5K, while others will run a 100-mile race barefoot. There is no maximum distance that can be run in any given shoe; it depends on what you want. I compare cushioning levels provided by the shoes I review, but remember a thicker, firmer shoe would have the same cushioning rating as a thinner, softer shoe, but would feel rather different.=Comparison Table={{:Shoes-table}}

[[File:ModifiedShoes.JPG|none|thumb|250px|Clockwise from the top: [http://www.roadrunnersports.com/rrs/products/NIK1444/ Nike Free 3.0] (early version) cut open more than most to form a 'running sandal', [http://www.roadrunnersports.com/rrs/products/SCN984/ Saucony Hattori], [http://www.roadrunnersports.com/rrs/products/NBA1542/ NB Trail Minimus], [http://www.roadrunnersports.com/rrs/products/NIK1444/ Nike Free 3.0] and the [[Hoka Shoe Review|Hoka]].]]