Shoe Survey: Help Us Put You In a Better Running Shoes

Sounds like a great idea. I feel like certain shoes stress certain parts of the body physiologically more than others. For instance, I got a stress fracture in my fibula when I was running in mostly Brooks Pure Connects (although before that I loved the shoe- caused mostly by training idiocracy) while I had no issues in the Mizuno Wave Inspire 9 until I got knee pain after about 3+ pairs and no rotation. After I switched to the Pegasus 30's, I had no knee pain but ended up with posterior tibial tendonitis after another shift in my training. Now in the Zoom Elite 6's I have no issues for the most part, so far. I thought of this idea when I was training in the Peg's and coming back from that injury did a tempo in some NB marathon flats and immediately the pain wasn't there.

You could see if some shoes injure certain parts of the body (specifically, like not just lower leg but posterior tibial tendon, by getting a little more detailed asking about injuries.) Like put up the main injuries not just the general location.

Racing shoes could be a different poll with the same questions or you could just add it in there besides training shoes and ask how often they train in their racing shoes and how often people race.

You should have a way to include multiple shoes if people rotate. Possibly see if there is a correlation between rotation and injuries?

No experience with statistics but this all sounds plausible.

Why is the word "jog ger" banned?

Why not ask for social security and credit card numbers while you're at it?

And don't forget these...

8) What color do you want your shoes? AKA, are you sick of this fluorescent crap yet?

9) Do you wear socks when you run? AKA, how important is a slipperesque fit to you?

10) How heavy is too heavy for your training shoe?

11) How light is too light for your training shoe?

12) Would you pay $1000 for a shoe made from a 3D digitally scan of your foot that was essentially an exoskeleton and had different soles that could be attached to it for training, racing, basketball, weightlifting, soccer, etc.? When is this going to be made already?, it's overdue and I'm tired of billion dollar companies like Nike lacking innovation such as this.

13) Would you buy a shoe that is impermeable to water? You know, for winter training.

cdipaolo wrote:

You could see if some shoes injure certain parts of the body (specifically, like not just lower leg but posterior tibial tendon, by getting a little more detailed asking about injuries.) Like put up the main injuries not just the general location.

I agree getting the injury data right is important.

Joqqer wrote:

Why is the word "jog ger" banned?

I had to laugh that "jogger" was actually banned. My coach in college always said I ran, not jogged.

In trying to combat some of the racist post we set up a block last week to try and ban various combinations of a different word that starts with an N and ends with gger. It was catching the word "jogger" and has been fixed now.

no fing way wrote:

Why not ask for social security and credit card numbers while you're at it?

For a site that allows anonymous posting we respect people's privacy. People will not have to create a profile to submit data. We want people to contribute because the more data we get the better model we can develop. If you develop a profile it is not tied to your real name. We want to help people find better running shoes. Seeing which shoes people like over time is a key part of that process so there are reasons for people to create profiles. The longitudinal data will be important.

This is quite different than asking for a social security number and credit card.

1) Basics- shoe and basic demo data.

Age, sex, height, weight, shoe size, width, years you've run and the current shoe you are training in and satisfaction on a 1-10 scale.

--> 38, M, 5'10", 166, 11.5, medium/wide, 7 years, training in a few different shoes:

- brooks purecadence2 (long road miles, 8)

- inov8 233 (track, tempo, races, 8)

- new balance fresh foam 980 (recovery, 6)

- inov8 295 (trails, 8)

- inov8 245 (trail tempo, hybrid, 6)

- la sportiva crosslite 2.0 (winter/mud, 7)

2) More detailed running data

Avg mileage you run

--> 60-85 per week, depending on where i'm at in a training cycle

Primary surface you run on

--> even mix between plain old roads and single-track trails (rocky/rooty)

Do you use orthotics?

--> no

What's you primary event you are training for

--> i want to PR in the 5k and at the 50 mile distance every year until i'm 40. then i'll run a fast marathon.

Avg pace you run

--> training: 7:30 for easy and/or long runs, depending on terrain

--> 5k race pace: 5:45

--> 50m race: 11:00 (variable depending on course)

(Should we ask something about goal pace or various paces you run?)

3) More detailed foot data

Arch type

--> high

Footstrike type (forefoot, midfoot, etc)

--> impossible to tell, likely midfoot or heel, depending on how tired (form breaks down)

Level of pronation or is this captured with arch type?

--> overpronator

4) Do you rotate shoes?

--> yes, see shoe list above

5) Injury data

When was your last injury and what type was it?

--> currently injured with stress fractures in the tibia and femoral head. this is the first time i've been *really* injured. otherwise, just niggles here and there.

*plantar *achilles *knee *calf *toe

Any more detailed injury history questions we can ask here?

--> i think you should ask whether there has been any sudden jumps in volume and/or pace, how many miles each pair of shoes has, and whether either of these things has a correlation to injury patterns.

6) What was your previous shoe you ran in?

Rate it on a scale of 1-10 to see if you liked it better than their current shoe. We think there will be a lot to be learned by linking people together who liked similar shoes in the past and currently.

7) Do we need to ask about racing shoes?

Read more:

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=5779909#ixzz319Dbr9pc

Why not.

1) 25, male, 5-10, 145, size 11.5 D, ~14 years running, Streak LT 2, 8/10 satisfaction

2) 50-70 MPW, roads, no orthotics, 5k-half marathon, average about 6:40 (anywhere from 5:00-8:00 pace)

3) Flat foot, midfoot to heel strike depending on speed, may overpronate

4) No

5) On and off Patellofemoral pain syndrome, aka runner's knee

6) Asics Piranha. 6/10

7) Always train in what I race in.

wejo wrote:

I've thought a little bit more about the questions we want to ask and am putting some of them below for feedback.

I'd suggest adding the following questions.

Frequency of shoe-related injuries (i.e., plantar, heel, metatarsal, neuroma, achilles, knee, etc.)

Most important shoe criteria (excluding cost): For me this would be heel to toe drop, ideally 4mm but not over 8mm. Followed by wide, roomy toe box.

Alright Wejo, well here goes:

1) 19, male, 5'6'', 125-130 pounds, size 9-9.5 (varies by shoe company), currently on 5th year running, current shoe satisfaction 10 out of 10

2) Average mileage: 50-60 (have experimented with 100+ before without injury tho)

I mostly run on roads and side walks

Don't even know what orthotics are.

Main event anywhere from 5k to half marathon

easy runs are 650-710 pace now, 5k pr is 1653 at the moment

3) Don't know what arch type means. I'm midfoot/very mild heel striker. Idk about pronation, I've just always used "neutral" shoes

4) nope

5) Never injured.

6) Brooks Launch, currently on my 8th pair. Favorite shoe I've ever used. It's a 10 for 10.

7) Racing shoes I use Adidas Adios 2, best race shoe I've ever had, I can see why the marathon records go down in them, for the roads they are the best race shoe on the planet.

1.NB 890v3 - satisfaction 10

17 yo male, 120 lb, 5' 9", running for 3 years, normal width

2.60ish mpw, looking to increase after track

lots of graa with some asphalt and a little 'crete

training for 1500 and 3000 right now, but also lookin to run a fast 5k. no orthotics or insoles. average pace is around 7min/mile on easy runs, use these for speedwork and even sprints.

3.high arches, midfoot strike, fairly neutral with a little of pronation(the one towards the outside on landing)

4.no rotation

5.No serious injuries aside from an IT band issue 2 years back, but I was running in other shoes. Nothing at all besides.

6.I've used the v1 and v2 of the 890 and like number 3 the best, but refuse to wear v4 - they've changed too much. satisfied with all of these shoes.

7.I race in Nike Matumbos if it matters, road in nb 730's though probably switching soon.

8.Side note that these shoes come untied very easily and rub green stuff, probably dye, on your socks in the color that I have.

wejo wrote:

I had to laugh that "jogger" was actually banned. My coach in college always said I ran, not jogged.

This is way off topic but I had to test this combination. My daughter does Irish dancing. That makes her a little jigger.

49 YO Male

170-175 depending upon how hydrated I am.

1:40 HM 2 weeks ago-at 6000 feet altitude, so I'm not a complete slacker.

Running for 36 years. Currently run anywhere from 20 mpw to 50 mpw depending upon season and mood and race goals.

NB 1260. Been using them, or predecessors, for about 7 or 8 years (starting at the 1224 model)

Previously used Nikes of all flavors for decades. They ought to name a wing of a Bangladeshi factory after me-after all the money I spent. Pegasus was the last one I used. Got a hip stress fracture in my early forties-tried a number of different shoes at the PT's suggestion, used NB 757 for a year or so, then found the 1224s on sale and am hooked. 10 of 10 satisfaction with them No injuries since. Beefy shoe, but good for a bigger guy like myself.

Buy last year's model at Joe's NB outlet online. Sometimes these 140 dollar retail shoes hit 30 or 40 bucks at Joe's.

That's cool you all submitting responses but we don't need that now. I'm just trying to figure out what questions to ask.

When we ask them we'll have a poll on the homepage and make it easy to respond. We're trying to get as much standardized data as possible.

I see people who run in multiple shoes complicates things a little bit. My assumption is most people have one primary shoe but think that is changing.

Even if we eventually find perhaps you should be running in 3 different shoes and rotating them, the idea would be to match you to other runners who have your similar profile. That way you could see what they are running in.

for me fit is 70% of the game - all the other stuff is less important.

You mention width..but can you make it more granular?

'on a scale of 1-10 how narrow is your foot' or something like that.

or 'how much would you agree with this statement, scale 1-10:

'I have much trouble finding a shoe wide enough'

or maybe prioritize - find a way to find out the decision point of people. For some it will be price, for others fit, for others lack of a drop.

point is, I would love to have a way to click 'I want a narrow, lightweight pr midweight neutral shoe. Price point is not relevant.'

and find a few options.

I agree with the guy who brought up the gaudy colors of so many of the running shoes these days. There are some that I can't bring myself to buy even if they feel great. I'm shallow.

My suggestion for a question: Do you replace the insole or modify your shoes in any way?

About eight years ago I almost had to quit running because of intense pain on the balls of my feet. I had run for more than thirty years with no major injuries.

I experimented with heel lifts, gel pads under the balls of my feet, different shoes, different types of insoles... then stumbled upon the Aetrex insoles. They were expensive ($60). They have a variety to choose from... the type that had a pad just behind the ball of the foot and in front of the heel, in addition to the normal arch support, (which I had never needed) worked magic. It seemed to increase the impact area taking pressure off the ball of my foot. I'm an extreme forefoot runner with a short stride.

I even need to put them in my walking shoes (retired running shoes)

So, I guess the question is, have you had to modify your shoes in any way to continue running?

Something about durability. Spending $100+ then needing another pair in 8 weeks turns this hobby into a darned expensive one.

1. ok to start. I would add what you love about your current shoe , what you hate.Your best shoe of all time. Whats your expectation from a training shoe.

Are you influenced by the technology trend of the moment.

Stick with shoe data only on this question.

2. Stick with personal data on this question

3. Foot morphology data , everything to do with the foot.

4. Shoe info on question 1.

5. Length of time for injury , related to overuse , shoe , traumatic etc. , how did you rehab injury.

6. Back to question 1.

7. Focus on training shoes

Some ideas:

I would ask more questions about mileage run.

For every pair of shoes, average weekly mileage, standard deviation, range and largest increase. If they don't keep a log, you can 0-10 questions like "While wearing these shoes I would consider my mileage to be.." 0= inconsistent and 10= consistent.

A runner drastically increasing their mileage when they get new shoes could cause an injury more than the shoes.

It may be easier to ask the runner what percent of the injury's cause stems from training and what percent the shoes.

If you ask about racing shoes, ask how many miles they run in them a week. This will show who does their workouts in flats/spikes or races a lot versus runners who wearing racing shoes rarely.

Also total miles on a pair of shoe before they stopped running in them.

I like the ideas of trying to predict the best shoes, but because shoes change so often you maybe recommending something that doesn't exist anymore. You may want to create a list of shoe features and decide if you want to have the respondent identify if their shoes had the features or just give you the shoe name and model and you match that with the features.

Good Luck and look forward to seeing the data analysis.

damn dude 5'6'' - rough

NotAustin18 wrote:

Alright Wejo, well here goes:

1) 19, male, 5'6'', 125-130 pounds, size 9-9.5 (varies by shoe company), currently on 5th year running, current shoe satisfaction 10 out of 10

2) Average mileage: 50-60 (have experimented with 100+ before without injury tho)

I mostly run on roads and side walks

Don't even know what orthotics are.

Main event anywhere from 5k to half marathon

easy runs are 650-710 pace now, 5k pr is 1653 at the moment

3) Don't know what arch type means. I'm midfoot/very mild heel striker. Idk about pronation, I've just always used "neutral" shoes

4) nope

5) Never injured.

6) Brooks Launch, currently on my 8th pair. Favorite shoe I've ever used. It's a 10 for 10.

7) Racing shoes I use Adidas Adios 2, best race shoe I've ever had, I can see why the marathon records go down in them, for the roads they are the best race shoe on the planet.