Don't Bother With Runner's World Shoe Recommendations

I love reading Runner's World magazine. I like the features on running gear, various running events around the world and the back story on people that are big in the running community. Since subscribing to it a few years ago, I always took their running shoe reviews with a huge grain of salt, and eventually came to read them so I could get all of my eye-rolling for the month done in one quick session. Now it seems Runner's World itself has said as much.

Christopher McDougall, author of the Born To Run, has posted some information from Runner's World itself that indicates not only that some of the shoes it has been recommending may exacerbate injuries, but that every shoe posted is basically recommended for at least one type of person. In other words, there are no bad shoes!

This was from a 2008 shoe review:

We’ve reported in the past that a more stable shoe will help relieve the pain you feel just ahead of the heel. But recent research has shown that stability shoes are unlikely to relieve plantar fasciitis and may even exacerbate the symptoms.

Whoops! Sorry about that readers.

The founder of Runner's World started the shoe review as a way to help readers find shoes that would help them run better and be worth their hard earned money. Now, the reviews are little more than advertising. In fact, I'd go so far to say they are nothing but advertising. He states the reviews are "a grading system where you can only get an A."

Your body was designed to run. Man has been running for thousands of years with sandals or in bare feet. For 99.9% of running, you don't need much more on your feet than to protect them from the surface you are on, and that is surprisingly little. A thin 2mm strip of rubber in a pair of Vibram Five Fingers, huarache sandals or any number of other minimalist shoes is all you need.

Well, that and good form, something modern day shoes discourage! Heel striking is increasingly looked at as a fundamental problem in running, and it is something that wasn't done until the mid 1960's. It is almost impossible not to heel strike when you have a shoe that has a thick heel. It is going to touch the ground first, and that inch of foam isn't going to do anything to protect your joints and muscles for thousands upon thousands of steps.

The vast majority of people don't need anything to correct our strides either. Motion control, stability, etc. Those are all marketing terms. Runner's World is figuring this out, or it already has and just isn't willing yet to tick off all of its advertisers just yet. Most shoe stores don't like this trend either, though the smart ones are getting behind it.

I sincerely hope in 5-10 years, we'll look back on the "modern running shoe" and laugh like we currently do about decades old fashion. After all, current running shoes are little more than a fashion statement. They aren't doing anything for your health.