Run for your life Magazine Australia

Over the past 2 months I have had the privilege of putting together the 2013 training shoe review for the upcoming edition of R4YL (released 23rd January). And this type of article always starts to make me wonder what other people's favourite shoes are. There are some fantastic updates for shoes in 2013 which many models now significantly lighter, without actually losing any midsole or outsole thickness and therefore any durability.

But before we get to 2013, what were your favourite shoes for 2012? I found that I really enjoyed running in a variety of shoes including the Brooks Ravenna, ASICS DS-Trainer, Nike Zoom Elite and LunarFly, Mizuno Wave Rider, and New Balance 890 to name just a few. Most of these are all light-weight trainers, but that is just what I seem to enjoy running in the most.

What about you? What were your favourite shoes for 2013?
Greeny

hi greeny, after running for many years in shoes with cushioned heel posts as a heel striker i've slowly made the transition to minimalist shoes and as a result now land midfoot. my shoes i now run in are brooks pure cadence and ive just started running in new balance minimus shoes. both are great and have helped my running to no end.

anthony gangell

Like Anthony, I've moved to the minimalist shoe. Loving the New Balance MT101, Saucony Hattori and Adidas Adizero Feather 2s. All great to run in. Makes the transition from heel to mid/front striking a breeze.

Hi Matt and Anthony - the lighter shoes have definitely become a major part of the shoe industry and I am sure you will be both happy with the updates to all of the models you have mentioned. But Matt your reply did highlight something interesting as you have a wide range of heel drops there across those shoes. I have felt I move better in light-weight shoes, no question at all, but not necessarily in shoes with a low heel drop - and always wondered if it was the heel drop or the weight.

Having said that, I am naturally a mid-foot striker in any normal standard training shoe, so I like the lower heel drop just pushes me too far forward in being a fore-foot striker. But for people who are wanting to heel-strike, the lower heel-drop might be a good instrument to help move their contact point further along the shoe. Although that does beckon the question of what is the best foot strike pattern - but we can leave that for another discussion - this one is about shoes!
Greeny

Thanks Greeny,

I run everything from regular barefoot runs on grass, to trail runs in the first pair I grab from the shoe cupboard. Touch wood, but I've never had a running injury in almost 20 years of regular running. Do you reckon we might place too much importance on the shoe design?

Having said that, I'm not an elite athlete. I run 30-50km a week depending on available time, and this includes one weekly 5k event when I do try to push myself that bit extra, and 1 x VO2 session. So maybe I'm not the best judge and don't ever really test the shoe to its limits.

Matt, that is an interesting topic in itself - that is, how many kilometres a week you are running may actually have the biggest impact on if you are able to wear 'Barefoot' style shoes in training. I certainly know from periods when I had been running 180+km per week, there is no way I would have survived in a shoe with minimal cushioning. But at 30-50km, it is very feasible that the body, once it is trained, is able to absorb that load without any problems.
Greeny