Most serious runners probably opt for a premium shoe. I run nearly every day of my life but never on pavement or on other particularly hard surfaces. I try not to, but also inevitably end up doing other things in my shoes besides running. Especially out in the horse barn. Shoot. My shoes end up in stirrups sometimes. I guess I need to find a shoe that is a little more versatile than just a running shoe; but also one that is inexpensive. Any suggestions?
I don't run but I do like to wear skeetchers, the shoe is sturdy and the sole is think enough to take the beating I give shoes because I walk alot every day just for fun.
I'm a minimalist shoe person in that I would rather be barefoot most of the time but that's not always practical. I like the vivo barefoot Achilles and the Merrel Vapor Glove style trail running shoe. The prices are pretty reasonable online. My other favorite thing to do shoe-wise is to go into a big-box outdoor store (like gander mountain) at the end of a season and check out their clearances on trail running shoes.
Yeah. I probably should check out the clearance items in a couple of the big box stores near here. I tend to do a lot of shopping for certain things online and miss out on some of the opportunities right around me. I had to google the MV glove style shoe you mentioned. For some reason, I pictured it having individual toes and was wondering how that would feel--most especially while running.
The main ones with the toes are the vibram fivefingers I think. I like the feel of 5fingers. They're really the next best to barefoot but they start to smell funky really fast and the only socks that work with them are far more expensive than I want to pay for socks. I finally concluded that in most situations where I would wear fivefingers, I could go barefoot comfortably even running. And for road running, those 3mm soles don't last very long in comparison to some other options that feel almost as good. I like the individual toes though. It improves my balance a great deal. My back and knees hurt less too with the change in my stride from the lack of padding. Clearance trail running sneakers from the hiking stores are especially good because they're light weight but designed to be breathable and have nice treads. I am a woman and have small feet so I get lucky because I can buy the "boys" trail running sneakers and don't have to pay the adult prices but even the adult ones aren't bad on clearance.
Very informative, thank you. I am a woman, too. I don't think I have VERY small feet, but I imagine I could buy the boys trail sneakers, as well. I hadn't thought of that before. Most days I run on my furthest horse pasture--I have a trail back there I've been running for so long that my husband google-earthed our home and was shocked that he could clearly see my running trail. I also like running the trails in the national forest area where we go to camp and ride our horses. I can't imagine myself running barefoot. I think I'd always be afraid of stepping on something sharp, not to mention stone bruising. My back and knees generally don't hurt, but I'm curious about what you said about the change in stride from the lack of padding being helpful to your back and shoulders.
