Do you rotate your running shoes?
This morning, I posted a few questions in the chat. The conversation added value and was deemed #forumworthy.
Dumb question day. Q1: When you are training for a marathon or an ultra, etc., how do you rotate your shoes? Rotate between a few pair or have one pair and wear that one until it's time to replace or something else?
I have 5 pairs of shoes. I rotate a new pair daily.
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I usually have one pair. Once it starts to wear down I work in a second pair before the first are shot @Janyne Kizer
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I run in a couple different pair. they aren't the same brand or drop so I feel like it works different muscles.
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I have 3 shoes (ON, Nike, Hoka) that I rotate through over the week.
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@Janyne Kizer like @Tim Sullivan and @Jeff Phillips I rotate between different makes and models of shoes. I believe this has helped keep the running injury bug away, although it hasn’t prevented each from falling off my bike 😯
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I also rotate between 3-4 shoes (Nike, 2 Hokas, Sketchers). Rotating extends the life of the shoe by giving the soles/foam/etc time to decompress and return to it original state. It also prevents over use injuries of the lower leg/foot (according to my chiro)
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What do you recommend?
Comments
My current mode: I race in VaporFly 4%, so I bought a pair of Nike Pegasus (35) and ZoomFlys, each of which shares some, but not all (and different from each other) features of the VF4%. They all have the same drop and narrow-ish bottoms.
Since I do about half my runs on a cider track, I am using one pair (ZoomFlys) on the track, and the other on the road, then race in the Magic Shoes.
As a general rule, one the past 20 years, with an average of about 20 mpw over that time, I usually had two different shoes I would alternate while training, with a third for racing, lighter in weight. I had no specific reason for that, other than I like variety.
Similar to @Al Truscott I race in Vaporfly's, and train in Zoom Fly Flyknit (fast runs) and Pegasus Turbo (hilly runs or other), and I also mix in my Hoka Cliftons every once in a while and rarely my Hoka Bondis.
So said a different way, it is rare that I run two consecutive runs in the same pair of shoes.
I really think that the slight varieties of the different shapes or even wear patterns of the shoes help with durability and to potentially avoid some of the repetitive movement injuries if you wear the same pair all the time until they are worn out...
Even a couple of years ago when I only trained and raced in my Hoka Cliftons, I had 3 different pairs (each in different stages of use) and rotated through them throughout the training week.
I'm with @Scott Giljum, mostly one pair then start to rotate in a newer pair before the older ones completely fail.