Cross Trainers/Running Shoes

Just check google. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/mosl...ste-money.html http://www.runnersworld.com/article/...4615-0,00.html pulled this off within 5 secs.

The two shoes are not one and the same. The former will generally be heavier, chunkier and provide more support for movement in any direction applicable to a host of training activities. The latter will be lighter, more streamlined, and designed for the foot to move backward and forward as in a running motion.

If you plan to run/jog +80% of the time I would go with a running shoe. I personally prefer a lighter shoe however the tradeoff is that it will have less cushioning and dependent on your body weight and build might not be the best thing. My current shoe is the Asics Cumulus. It is lighter than the Flagship Ascis Kayano, less expensive, and provides great cushioning. All in all a nice balance for me between weight and cushioning.

If you do not already know you should find out whether you are a i) pronator or ii) Supinator or iii) Netural. This refers to how your foot rolls when it strikes the ground. For Pronator - Foot rolls inwards, Supinator - Outwards, Neutral - Neither inward or outwards. The type of running shoe you buy should reflect your foot action. I am neutral. The Asics Colombus is a Neutral designed shoe and suits my foot strike style.

Ultimately you should speak to a Sports Shoe person at your local store who is able to advise you to this effect. If they do not know what Pronator, Supinator, Neutral means and cannot tell you point blank which shoes is which then I highly recommend that you walk out and take your business elsewhere. You risk injury buying the wrong shoe.

Or you could go the other way with less support and do Newtons, Frees or Five Fingers.....heel strikers beware. This is the route I go.

Good advice.

Specifically, I like trail running shoes as an overall good supportive shoe - they are more robustly-structured around the uppers to provide more support, but are still cushioned to be a running shoe. More specifically, I think Vasque trail runners along with the North Face equivalents are excellent shoes.

I like New Balance for running shoes. I stayed away from them for a while because they don't score very high on style points, but as far as functionality I think they're the best. If you go into one of their stores they'll have the full range of widths and levels of support to suit how you run. Spending more money on a good pair makes a huge difference

God, I hope the barefoot versus crazy-Running-Room-expert-fitting-heavy-support-pronation-supination thing gets resolved soon. Just gonna throw this in and say that while I am not really a runner, and have happily drunk the barefoot Kool-Aid, there is good empirical research that indicates the more you spend on a shoe, the more likely you are to hurt yourself, and likewise with support and cushioning.

As noted, there is a difference between a cross-trainer and a runner, but you might still want to research the topic I've just introduced for yourself.

Just sayin'.

l

Edited by Nosu3 - 12/2/11 at 2:57pm