2E/4E shoe wearers, advice please

I struggle to find any shoes that fit and most shoes seem to either snag on the inner side of the ball of my foot, side of my big toe or my little toe pokes over the edge.

I'm running the London Marathon this year and at the moment don't even really have a proper pair of shoes to train in. I'm running mostly in a pair of Nikes that are about 6 years old and are the only pair of shoes I've had that actually fit well.

Merrell have stopped making anything decent, Nikes have got narrower and a hiatus from 'barefoot' running has meant my calves aren't up to long runs in the Altras I have.

So I went to Runners Need and tried on about half the shoes they have with no luck. I see a lot of wide footers are running in NB 1080s in a 2e or 4e but I can only get these off the internet and I'm sick of returning shoes.

I tried on a pair of Brooks Ghosts in a 2e but my big toe rubbed off the upper, upsizing made them too long. Has anyone tried both the wide Ghosts and the 1080s that can tell me if the 1080 has a wider forefoot or is more foot shaped?

Any other suggestions also welcome. Unfortunately I've now left it too late to get shoes for half marathon I'm running on Sunday and have to chose between the knackered old Nikes or guaranteed blisters.

Cheers,

Dan
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Comments

  • Where are you that has no new balance stockists nearby? 
  • North Herts. My local triathlon shop now only stocks Mizuno and the next nearest only stock NB lifestyle shoes.

    Not only have they to stock NB, but they need to have the wide fittings as well. The closest I've found is in London, and it's cheaper to pay postage.
  • This any help - http://www.newbalance.co.uk/stores?dwcont=C2068296913

    It might be cheaper to pay postage on one pair of shoes - but you're kind of missing the point. Its worth paying extra to get a fitting and make sure the shoe is good for you. I'd rather pay £20 extra and be happy with a shoe than save £15 and be unsure. 
  • Those are just a list of the New Balance stores. I've been to the one in Wembley and they don't have the shoe I'm after in a 2e. All but one of them are outlet stores.

    As I've said, it's one particular shoe I'm looking at having already tried on pretty much a whole stores worth and I'm trying to find out if they're any wider than the Brooks Ghost. Nobody in a shop is going to be able to tell me they fit me by looking at them, only I can decide that. Thanks for your help anyway.
  • NB have always worked for me and I have hobbit feet
  • I use the Asics Nimbus 19 with the 2E wide toe-box, they work pretty well for me.

    I ran the Valencia marathon in November in Nike Vomeros as they also had a really nice, wide toe-box.

    Both have a lot of cushioning which I also like for long distances. I went back to the Asics from the Nikes because I was worried the Nikes were too soft and perhaps didn't offer enough support.

    I tried the Brooks Ghost (wide 2E) and hated them - no doubt they're good shoes etc.. but really didn't suit me at all, I got a lot of shin and calf pain and gave them away to a friend after about 1 month. Different strokes for different folks...
  • dan1wdan1w ✭✭
    Still no luck so far, I have a few hundred quids worth of shoes I'm yet to return both online and to shops.

    Got some more Innov8s expected in the post tomorrow so fingers crossed.
  • dan1wdan1w ✭✭
    The 2e new balance didn't work either. So jealous of people that can pick a shoe that is right rather than one that just actually fits.
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