How to Fit Running Shoes?

by Troy
(Utah)

What and how is the best way to fit running shoes?

Answer by Dominique:

Hi there,
Thanks for your question about how to best fit running shoes.

It is a very important question as the right shoe for your feet depends a lot on your foot type.

When you have got the wrong shoes on the wrong feet then you can get all kinds of nasty injuries like plantar fasciitis, achilles tendonitis, black toenails, stress fractures etc.

Which foot type do you have
A popular test is the brown bag test. Wet a foot and place it on a brown paper bag. Then check the imprint the foot leaves on the bag.

There are three main foot types depending on how much of the arch of your foot is visible on the paper bag, these can be a normal arch, flat foot and a high arch.

When you have a high arch your foot leaves only a little imprint on the paper bag (no arch visible).

When you have a flat foot pretty much your whole foot is visible on the bag.

And when you have a normal arch most of your foot, but not all is visible because normally, your arch will be up slightly.

Which foot type needs which shoe?

When you have a normal arch you are, what they call, a normal pronator. So, the right running shoes for you are the ones that help you keep on doing what you are doing. These are stability shoes.

Stability Running Shoes for Men | Stability Running Shoes for Women

When you have flat feet, you are overpronating. Your arch collapses inward, it basically moves too much with every step you take. You can help reduce the movement by taking motion-control shoes.

Motion Control Running Shoes for Men | Motion Control Running Shoes for Women

When you have a high arch, you are underpronating. Then, with every step you take, your arch does not collapse enough. This causes problems because the impact of the landing then travels upwards to your lower legs and knees even more than normally, which can cause running injuries. You need running shoes that neutralize your landing.

Neutral Running Shoes for Men | Neutral Running Shoes for Women

What if I am unsure about my Foot Type?

Don't know your foot type? Imprint on the paper bag not completely clear? Then visit a specialty running shoe store. They have the equipment available to measure your foot type. This can be done easily by making you step on a glass plate and measuring heat patterns or by making you run on a treadmill.

I have to stress that you need to go to a specialty running store, not your regular commercial sports store with teenagers without training serving you who say that each and every shoe is great and looks so cool.

I hope this helps in finding the best running shoes for your feet.
Also check out the Running Shoes page which provides you with pages and pages of running shoe reviews.