Running Shoes - Fit & Buying Tips
Running shoes need very little, if any breaking in. They are made of synthetic materials that are not designed to stretch, so they fit ‘right out of the box'.
When buying running shoes you need to be aware of what's happening to your feet. The impact at landing is 3.5 times your body weight. As your feet land approximately 500 times per mile, they will tend to spread out in the shoe. Therefore, your running shoes need more room in them than ordinary shoes.
3 Keys to the Right Fit:
- When you stand up, you should have about a thumb's width of room between the end of your biggest toe and the end of the shoe.
- The shoe should hold your foot securely around the midfoot (arch and instep) and at the heel, with little or no slipping.
- The shape of the shoe should match the shape of the foot (more on this later).
What's Your Size?
While the vast majority of shoes do fit in a standard manner, there are always some models that do not conform and come up usually a little short. The problem is the shoe manufacturers do not supply this information – but Foot Traffic can.
We try on every model so we know if the size 9 really is a size 9. We've indicated at the shoe description point if the shoe is coming up short or long and we tell you by how much, i.e. “order a ½ size bigger than normal�.
Bigger is Better!
If you aren't sure of which size to purchase, it is nearly always better to choose the larger size because you can fine-tune the fit. For instance, you could wear a thicker sock or adjust the lacing system to make the fit more snugly.
