How long should I keep my shoes?

Hello iRun world – hope everyone’s training is going well!  Now that we’re getting into that last training push for our Spring races, it’s certainly time to start thinking about when to replace our running shoes.  How long should I keep my shoes?  How far in advance of the race should I replace my shoes?  Should I wear racing flats for my race?  These are a few questions I’ll try to cover in this blog.

How long should I keep my shoes?  All kinds of guidelines out there, but it is generally recommended to change shoes every 600 – 800km or 6-8 months.  I find that this is generally pretty accurate, but an even better guide is often how your knees, shins and feet are feeling.  If it’s been around 6-8 months or 600-800km and you’re a little more sore than normal, probably a good time to change shoes (a good little tip to keep track of the age of your shoes is to write the purchase date in permanent marker on the midsole of the shoe).  If in doubt, go try a new pair on.  Amazing how worn out your old shoes can feel when compared to something new.

How far in advance of the race should I change my shoes?  Rule number one (for many things -not just shoes) is ‘nothing new on race day’!  If you are switching into the exact same shoe, two weeks prior to the race should give you at least 3-6 runs to adapt to the new pair.  If switching into something different (even if it’s a newer version of the same shoe), try to give yourself about a month in the new shoes prior to the race.  This way, you’ll have one or two long runs in the new shoes to make sure that there will be no surprises on race day (blisters etc.).  As tempting as it can be to switch into a fancy new shoe from the race expo the day before the race (especially if they are a great deal!), it is rarely worth the risk.   I would also say the same for clothing – nothing worse than finding out that new shirt that you’ve been saving for race day has a nice logo that causes 42km of chafing!

Should I wear racing flats for the race?  Same as above in that you definitely don’t want to be trying anything new on race day.  If you’ve been using racing flats for training and are confident that they can get you through your race distance, than they certainly can save a few seconds.  That being said, saving a few seconds is certainly not worth losing minutes due to injury! 

Good luck at your races!

Ryan