Finding the Best Running Shoe for You

Ever since I started running about 5 years ago, I have gone through a lot of shoes. I started thinking that any shoe would do. After my first ½ marathon in shoes that were not made for running and that were a few years old, my feet told me the truth. They let me know that if I was not going to treat them right then I could forget about ever running a long distance again. I began to search for the best running shoe available.

I was thinking that maybe I would be able to find the ultimate running shoe, kind of like a "One Size Fits All" of running shoes. I tried different brands from Nike to Avia to New Balance. Some I liked, some I didn't. What I found was that we are all individuals, which means our feet are just as individual as we are. So when my best friend swore by a particular pair of running shoes, I simply had to have them. I went no further than trying them on at the store. They hurt my feet whereas they hugged her feet and made it one with the road.

So, how can you find the best running shoe? The answer is that there is no general best running shoe. It doesn't exist. What does exist is the best running shoe for you. The first thing I would recommend that you do is to go to an athletic shoe store with patient employees and try on different shoes. Not just different brands, but different styles within each brand. Try to find a store with a running track. This may sound odd, but I try to only purchase shoes from stores with tracks so I can see what they feel like when I am on the move.

One of the best things I have ever done for my feet is to go to a local store that measures your feet and actually helps you to find a shoe that is made for your measurements. One year I was actually given the gift of having a shoe made from a mold of my feet. Talk about best running shoe! Take a little time to research shoes and find the shoe that works best for your feet. It will make all the difference in the world from comfort to performance.