Do shoes REALLY make a difference?

They weigh from 4 oz. to 14 oz. Put a pair on a do a stride and then put the other one on and do it again. That and everyone has a different body.

Buy a new pair of the shoes you are already using. Then see how much faster you run in them. My new pairs always helped my speed and fatigue resistance.

More cushioning can smudge out your impact forces unless there is some element in the midsole to serve as a platform, to prevent concentrated areas of extra sideways movement of the compressing foam. The effectiveness of the design depends on how fast you run, your weight, your stride form, etc. So, some shoes are good for shorter faster efforts than others. Some shoes are designed to baby your feet during recovery runs. So, it's easy to see how you might want a few different styles. Or, as you suggested, you can just run in a comfortable pair and settle for less than optimal.

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RyecorDone wrote:

Buy a new pair of the shoes you are already using. Then see how much faster you run in them. My new pairs always helped my speed and fatigue resistance.

Hobbyjogger alert.

If it's between good shoes then no it's not gonna make that much difference. As long as it fits you well and feels comfortable I would say there's not much to worry about. A lot of people I know prefer to have different shoes at least for normal run/speed workout/racing, but for me light weight trainer and racing shoe is enough.

For good shoe vs bad shoe it sometimes make a huge difference though. There are some with terrible fit on the heel or not enough support or just cheap in general.

Sham 69 wrote:

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I think he ran 2:15 when he won the gold in Rome. He couldn't afford shoes which is why he ran barefoot.

He got his hand on shoes when he was in Tokyo. Going by memory I believe he obtained them a day or two before the race. I'm too tired to look it up. Anyway, he ran 3 minutes quicker there and set the world record.

Zola Budd is another story, but my point is that your post is misleading.

For me, trainers are good for all training. For racing, spikes for the track and XC and road racing shoes for the roads.

They make a huge difference for me. I started running in 1971 when there really wasn't anything that would now be considered a "good" running shoe.

I was injured more often than not. I even stopped running for a year in about 1980 because I was sick of being injured.

I started again in about 81-82 and the shoes started getting better. I can honestly say that any injury I've had since 1985 has been my fault for overdoing it. If I had a pair of shoes that weren't for me, I knew it within a week and got new ones.

i run barefoot a lot. the day after a barefoot run my calves and achilles will be very sore. if i wear supershoes I won't feel any aches or pains at all the next day.

so if you consider a spectrum from 0-10 where 0 is barefoot, 2-5 is a bad quality or minimalist shoe, and 8 9 10 are supershoes, yes they make a difference, to recovery at least.