Had 415 miles out of shoes - time for a new pair?

Bit of a newbie question this.

I bought a new pair of shoes in October 2012 to train in and run both the London marathon and Manchester marathon in.

All done now and I have clocked up around 415 miles in them.

i just took them out of my bag and they are a bit stinky too.

I am running the Manchester 10k in a couple of weeks, so will probably clock up another 50 miles for that.

is it automatically game over for the shoes at the 500 mile point?

They are a neutral shoe from Asics and have been great.

I have also noticed some posterior tibial tendon tenderness over the last 2 weeks (could just be attributed to the 2 marathons ran in the last week), but maybe it could be attributed to the wearing out of cushioning?

I'm not really experienced enough to know how to check the shoes so any advice would be great!

Thanks!

Comments

  • I used to buy new running shoes more often, but I now do around 700miles in a pair before I retire them. 

    I don't notice any real difference in cushioning over their life, but will keep a pair that have done around 100miles for race day.

  • stutyrstutyr ✭✭✭

    Its not automatically game over at 500 miles.  

    My shoes last until they give me strange aches & pains, so its possible that yours are coming to the end of their life. Although, you have just run two marathons in two weeks, I'd expect you to have a few aches & pains.

    I tend to rotate at least two pairs of shoes (lots of good reasons like always having one dry pair etc) so it does become more obvious when a pair have gone as they don't feel as comfortable as the other pair.  If you've done all your running in one pair of shoes, then this might be something to consider?  

    I also tend to pick up my shoes in the sales.  If your neutral Asics have served you well since October, you may be able to find them cheap in the sales as they are last year's stock?

     

  • PhilPubPhilPub ✭✭✭

    If I ran two marathons in a week I think I'd be experiencing some tendon tenderness no matter what I was wearing on my feet!

    No, the 500 mile thing was probably coined by a bloke in a running shop somewhere. Shoes may lose their cushioning over time, and this may cause problems, but it varies from shoe to shoe and person to person (depending on weight, running style etc.)  I'd wait till you're well recovered from the marathons, then see how the shoes feel to carry on wearing.  I've clocked just over 1,000 miles in my current favourites, and will be retiring them shortly because the soles have started wearing down to the midsole material.

  • Nose NowtNose Nowt ✭✭✭

    Agree with philpub.  Especially the issue of your weight.  If you're 14stone, you put a massively greater load on your shoes than if you're 10stone.

  • I weigh just over 11 stone, so hopefully am not putting too much stress on the shoes.

    They look in pretty good condition to be fair, so like you guys say, I'll wait until I'm recovered and take them out again to see how they feel!

    I'd feel better about getting 800 miles out of a pair. It can get quite expensive otherwise I guess!

    I really appreciate the advice here, thank you all very much! image

  • I dont really see the issue. Buy some new shoes. Run in them. Now run in the old ones. Do they feel knackered ? Can you tell the difference ? If so bin them and stick with the new ones. Presumably you were going to buy shoes at some point ?



    I always buy new ones well before the old ones are knackered so I've some choices - and it should lessen the risk of injury from worn shoes.



    Erm I've god knows how many pairs now....
  • Buying new shoes? they're not that expensive, especially compared to all the stuff that cyclists seem to "need". I tend to buy a new pair for the start of the winter, because I run a lot more over the winter, and because it's nice to treat yourself. That's probably nearer 1000 miles per pair than 500 miles, but there's never been much obvious damage to the old shoes at that point.

  • I used to get new shoes at 500 miles. I'm not convinced anymore. I've currently got one pair with 680 miles on them, which look and feel the same as when I got them (apart from a bit of mud), and my "new" pair with 480 miles clocked up. I'm working on the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" approach, and will get new shoes when I start to get unusual niggles etc.

    Don't see the point is chucking money away unnecessarily on stuff which isn't needed, and also increasingly becoming more and more conscious of our buy it and chuck it approach to stuff is using up valuable resources and damaging the environment.

  • But its only chucking away money if you bin the old shoes ? If they are still ok then carry on running in them.

    It's meant to be make your shoes last longer anyway if you rotate them.
  • I just didn't want to buy a new pair for the sake of it, that was all. This has been my first running season with these 2 marathons, so I have no prior experience to go on.

    As Exiled says, didn't see the point in chucking money away if I didn't need to.

    I bike too and have just put my bike in for a service, bought new pedals and shoes, and after both marathons, it's been a pretty expensive month! Haha!

    I have bloody loved the running though and want to keep it up as to hold on to the fitness I have gained. I may well end up with multiple pairs of shoes if I see sales on etc. I think my current pair were £120 reduced to £90, so I'll see if I can hunt down another pair at discount.

    Once again thanks for the advice folks!

  • I've never had my bike serviced in 30+ years of cycling. So easy to maintain yourself. If something big goes - then it can go to the shop. Its only a few allen keys and some lube you need really.
  • PhilPubPhilPub ✭✭✭

    If you can maintain your own bike, it should be a cheaper hobby "per mile" than running.  I've got about 3,000 miles out of a pair of Michelin Pro3 Race tyres (no punctures!) and they were a lot cheaper than my Nike Zoom Elite.  image

    (Maybe I'm tight but I'm reasonably immune to upgrade-blingitis.)

  • Haha, yeah I definitely need to get my hands more dirty when it comes to my bike. It's mountain inking that I do, so fork and suspension maintainence is the killer. Wouldn't trust myself o do it on my own and it's about £160 a pop to have them serviced!

    Running is certainly cheaper! Although I did get a bit carried away at the London marathon expo and spent a small fortune!

  • GraemeKGraemeK ✭✭✭

    Phil, 3000 puncture free miles? I put some Schwalbe Ultremo ZX on, and I'd done less than 2 miles on the first ride when I thought I heard a car backfire, puncture.

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