UKC

Looking for some suggestions.

I have over-pronation. I have been wearing ASICS Gel Kayano 14 for a few years now but they are battered, have holes, tread wear and look very tired.

Went and got checked - my over-pronation is still there.

I need a shoe for the road (have trail shoes for offroad/mud).

What are your personal recommendations? (Budget is ideally sub £100)

I would have bought at the shop (as I have built up a lot of money on my loyalty card) but they have marked up significantly and so was rather shocked. E.g. their Saucony shoe was £135 when the equivalent on-line is £58.95 (I will spend the loyalty card money on clothing and equipment instead).

One thing that does get said on running forums is that the OP shoes are a waste and to just get normal (cheaper) shoes. Do you agree?

In reply to grumpybearpantsclimbinggoat:

I am pretty neutral, but I don't know of any of the serious runners I do know that over pronate that use a specialist shoe. They just wear neutral shoes.

I always use a specialist running shop to buy my running shoes (6-8 pairs a year), but then I wouldn't even look at a pair of shoes that cost £130. My favoured road shoes are Adidas Adios and Ace, which retail at £85 and £75, anyone can get a 10% discount with UKA or even park run membership. I also tend to pick up a couple of pairs in end of season sales, usually about £40.

In reply to grumpybearpantsclimbinggoat:
If you are comfortable buying on-line then check out sportsshoes.com - I had a discount voucher emailed to me recently for 20% off ( inclusing things already reduced ), expires tomorrow at midnight - code is R28T. Some of the shoes have free p&p, others it is £5.

In reply to The New NickB: Hi Nick,

I'm using a shop based at the running track so would hope they are specialists.

Thanks for info

In reply to steelbru: Ta for voucher code. Will look at the site.

In reply to steelbru:

Ta for posting, sportsshoes are a good place, shame they went online only.

In reply to grumpybearpantsclimbinggoat:

If you are light and strong, take your running technique seriously etc, then you will probably be fine in neutral and lightish shoes, which can be got quite cheaply.

If you just scoot around a bit, don't really think/know about technique, are big/heavy or have existing problems with ankles/knees/hips etc, then something with a bit of stability might help to keep you in one piece. This is particularly true if you are planning on increasing distance/speed etc in the future. These trainers will generally be more expensive, and require a bit more work to buy properly online.

There is a legitimate debate about the merits of stability shoes. I pronate, and improved my technique a lot when I started running seriously. After that, I found that the best way to keep injury at bay was to use light neutrals for most of my running, but to keep the stability shoes for some of my longer runs on hard surfaces.

Generally speaking a change is the thing that is most likely to injure you in the short term, so beware if budget pushes you into buying something different.

In reply to grumpybearpantsclimbinggoat:

Shoes won't 'cure' or change your over-pronation - they'll help you manage it. My sports doctor was talking to me last night about shoes, and he recounted a lecture from a leading specialist saying that you should use the shoes that work for you. If you've been happy with the Kayanos and haven't been picking up injuries, there's no reason to change to anything else.

And, received wisdom is that you should change your shoes every 500 miles or so, so if you've been using the same shoes for a few years, they're probably quite long way past their best and any support they originally offered will have gone soft and much less useful a long time ago (unless you're not running very much, in which case it probably doesn't matter what you wear).

In reply to grumpybearpantsclimbinggoat: I just purchased some Brooks GTS 13's yesterday, from Runners Need.

I paid a bit more for them in store, but I spent 40mins on and off the treadmill plenty of times, and received some very good advice. They have corrected my MASSIVE over-pronation immediately, both on and off the treadmill analysis. Those who say that the OP shoes are a waste of time obviously haven't struggled through injuries and pain due to over-pronating! The science makes perfect sense, as does watching the video analysis if your seriously over-pronate!

Obviously it's up to you. If you are having problems due to your over-pronation then I'd go for a supporting shoe and start enjoying your running again!

If your running shop has taken the time to do the analysis and recommend a shoe, and analysed you again in the new shoe, I think it's worth paying extra for that service. That treadmill and video isn't free. Plus, not every OP shoe is equal. Some might correct more than others, some might correct in the wrong place (ie cause pain). Again, well worth trying them on teh treadmill in store and getting another analysis done to compare them.

Next time I'll get them online if they are much cheaper, but I've already paid the "premium" during yesterdays fitting.

In reply to grumpybearpantsclimbinggoat:

I have OP too and in my case getting shoes with actual support did help a lot with knee pains. Also on the treadmill during the GAIT test I could see that I was pronating a lot less with the shoes with support than my old, softer, cushioned trainers so I don't think they are a waste of money.

This was a few years ago and the shoes I ended up buying were the Nike Structure Triax 11.

They were not bad but I am sure there were and are better shoes out there, depending on how much you want to spend.

I am not a serious runner at all so I don't know the ins and outs of running shoes etc but the shoes above did feel a bit on the heavy side to me. If you don't mind that, then they'll be ok I reckon.

In reply to grumpybearpantsclimbinggoat: What's the informed take on OP-ers using neutral shoes with the addition of a corrective insole?

In reply to Dan Bailey - UKHillwalking.com:

IMHO absolutely fine with the right insole. So I do it all the time with my custom-built 8-degrees-sidewards-sloping insoles where I'd have been crushing the midsoles in no time without.

In reply to grumpybearpantsclimbinggoat:

Asics 2000 series for over-pronation in road shoes. Cheaper than Kayanos if you've got 'Asics' feet, though (as hinted above) I've now 'downgraded' to 1000 series with my own insoles. Tried Sauconys once, but put them out early because the fit just wasn't right for me.

In reply to petestack:

Which I also used with the 2000 series and still do with all my other running shoes (got several pairs of the custom insoles to swap between them!).

In reply to grumpybearpantsclimbinggoat:
Brookes Beast seem to work for me, and currently on special offer at Chain Reaction. However I wouldn't recommend buying shoes on-line unless you already have a pair.

Do all climbers suffer from over-pronation - is it that we are all likely to have suffered some ankle injuries ?

In reply to grumpybearpantsclimbinggoat: A lot of people slightly over pronate, or may describe a normal degree of pronation as 'over'.

I ran a lot of miles in Kayano's and they're not as heavy or as extreme as some people would say, and I gently overpronate in one leg only. You should shop around online - sweatshop, that sort of place.

Structures are the other shoe that come to mind. They are slightly softer than kayanos' and less affected by extremes of temperature. I never had good experiences with other brands, and I don't bother experimenting now,

I did not get good results using lighter neutral shoes when I was doing a lot of running - I just hammered them to death, and wore them out and got sore legs in the process. What sort of frequency rnning are you doing, and how much do you weigh?

I would also get a mildly supportive show than messing around with the insoles. I have known too many people get all sorts of issues from bodging shoes this way.

In reply to wbo: just doing morning runs three times a week since I restarted back in July. A knee cracking 79kg for weight.

ta all for your contributions

In reply to petestack:

I have custom, rather than off the peg, orthotic insoles. They've made a massive difference, (e.g. eliminated). some very serious achillies problems that dogged me for years to the point I was resigned to giving up running.

In reply to steelbru:
Thanks for that code. Just replaced my Brooks Adrenalines for 44 quid!
Ive been using a pair for years; I'm an over pronator and they've been brilliant.

In reply to angry pirate:

£44! Where did you get them?

I use Brooks Adrenalimes. On my 5th or 6th pair now, and I buy them online, since I know what fits. I usually pay £60 something for older models. I replace them about every 800 miles, roughly 3 times a year. I would do it more often, but it's too expensive, what with all the other fancy gear you also end up wanting to buy just to go running, and they seem OK up to about that distance. They don't look worn by then, just muddy and stinky. Definitely not objects of desire. I am 63-64 kg and don't get injured very often.

In reply to mbh:
At sportshoe.co.uk. the old gts12 are 55 quid and the code got me 20% off. Result.

In reply to petestack: Cool, thanks

In reply to steelbru:
Thanks. Replaced my Innov8 RoadX 233 for half the price paid last time.

Thanks all. With steelbru's voucher I have plummed for Asics 2000 as the Kayano's fit well.

Having checked my offroad shoes I've found they are neutral so I think I will wear out the Asics and then consider a neutral and see how I go after that.

Much appreciated guys and gals.

In reply to Ridge:


Do they really make that much difference? I've pretty much given up running in recent years as every time I run I end up lame for weeks afterwards. I wonder if this could be a solution....