How To Find the Right Running Shoe

For any new runner, the type of running shoes you wear is very important to your well-being. Running shoes are the main piece of gear for runners and being comfortable in your shoes means you will be more comfortable in your running as well. Shoes also dictate possible running injuries and your running experience in general.

Be wise when looking for the right running shoe.

There are so many shoes out there, how do you know which is the right one to buy?

To begin with, there are three main categories of running shoes: neutral, stability, and motion control. You first need to determine your pronation type before beginning to decide on which shoe to buy. Simply put, pronation is the way your feet naturally roll when you walk and run. Pronation is not something you can change, but you can buy the right type of shoe so that when you run you don’t cause injury to your feet, legs, hips, back, etc.

How do I figure out what type of pronator I am?

I’m glad you asked! It’s very simple, really. All you need to do is get your feet wet and make an imprint on the ground. Better yet, grab a brown paper bag and use that to step on. Now you can examine the imprint you made.

Your foot imprint should match one of the above images. If you still can’t figure out what kind of pronator you are, no worries! Ask one of the shoe experts at your local running store to analyze your gait and help you out.

Finally! It’s time to do some shopping.

Now that you’ve figured out what kind of pronator you are it’s time to start trying on shoes. Head over to one of the area’s running stores – Aardvark Sports Shop in Bethlehem or The Finish Line Running Store in Emmaus – and have trying on all of the great running shoes and finding the shoe that’s right for you.

Now go run!