Quote:
Originally Posted by Tapioca
I know people who run with Nike Frees and they swear by them, but they probably haven't suffered any running injuries in their lives. After going through plantar fasciitis, I don't think I could run in something like the Free.
I'm running in some Saucony Ride #2s because they are the only shoe that can accommodate my orthotic. The orthotic has prevented a recurrence of plantar fasciitis, but now I have no cushioning which has made it tough on my knees.
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Free's have been shown in some studies to actually help in the recovery of plantar fasciitis, as long as they are used in the appropriate conditions in the right context. If you are a moderate to severe overpronator, I would not recommend running in the Free's. Using them as a training tool to strengthen the intrinsic muscles of the foot, yes of course but only in moderation. There isn't really anything preventing anyone from trying them, as long as the proper protocol is followed and they are ok with paying $120 for a shoe that should be used maybe 20% of the time.
There are a lot of great neutral shoes that provide tons of cushioning above and beyond your current Ride. If you like the Saucony fit, the Triumph is a higher end shoe that will theoretically provide more cushioning. Shoes like the Asics Cumulus or Nimbus are traditional favourites in the neutral category. Using an orthotic usually means you have removed the original insole that came with the shoe, which decreases a small amount of the overall cushioning, but the majority of the functional cushioning within the shoe is actually in the midsole. Orthotics can come with a cushioned top cover as well, so if yours are hard/firm there are certainly options to help regain some of the comfort of the shoe's original insole.
I don't usually like to refer to specific brands of shoes when I'm asked about a 'good running shoe', simply because every company will make a range of shoes to fit in different price ranges. It's not reasonable to expect a $50 New Balance running shoe to perform as well as a $150 Mizuno running shoe. However the performance gap between a $150 shoe and a $250 shoe is actually quite slim IMO.
dhari New Balance= best running shoe brand ever!
New Balance have hundreds of different shoes in their lineup, and I would certainly say a good number of those are actually quite poor. Same can be said of other brands though. One thing New Balance has over others--most of their shoes are available in multiple widths so you can get the proper fit both length AND width wise more often than not.