A shoe really shouldn't make that much difference should it? 🤷♀️
Some of you might remember the sciatica and nerve injury I had a few years ago, the altered gait, the niggly knee as a result. Me plodding on, good runs and bad runs, upping my distance, dropping back a bit...!
Just recently though, I have made two significant changes; the first being a weekly hilly run and the second being a new pair of Hoka running shoes. I switched to their Arahi 4's... and cannot believe the difference they have made already. When ordering the shoes, I opted for a man's size 8 (I'm tall - 5ft 10) purely because I didn't like the colour of the women's! They felt so comfy right from the off and my footfall in them just feels so natural again! The niggly knee that has been troubling me, seems to be settling, slowly but surely. I am rarely aware of it on my runs now. I think the hilly route that I started running earlier in lockdown because there were fewer folk around, has also helped strengthen my knees and legs but the shoes made such a difference.
Someone posted about the cost of shoes the other day, and whether they were really that different from each other? I guess if you have no major bio-mechanical issues or imbalances then it may be less important but for me this feels like a game changer.
Another 10k trail run this weekend - my legs may be aching a bit but my knee is happy! Who needs ruby slippers, I found my own magic shoes!👟💕
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Sandraj39
Graduate10
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Well done Sandraj39 yes it’s surprising how different shoes can be, even when they look pretty much the same. I use Brooks Glycerin 17s on the road and On Cloudventures for off road. I’m looking forward to using those again whenever Parkrun comes back!🙂👍
I don’t do well with anything that has a drop more than 6mm.
I bought some second hand Hoka OneOnes off FB, took the former owner’s creases out of them* with hot water and newspaper, and loved them so much for Parkrun and street running that I bought another pair from the same person.
Great to see you back at it Sandra, amazing what the right shoes appear to have done.
My wife was having problems with suspected sciatica pain in her leg and sudo gout in the knee which took months to go off, I started to think that her running days were over, she had about 9 visits to a chiropractor physio over a few months on her leg as her shin bone was out of alignment possibly causing a slight drop of the hip, she thinks due to a fall banging the knee in the past, it was causing pain and unable to get a full bend at the knee, she's gradually strengthened the area, and not had a pain attack for a while, think the running does help in a way and thankfully she's now back running with me, think probably now doing even better than me.. lol😊
Great effort and glad your shoes are making such a difference. To be honest the person posting the other day had still bought expensive shoes, just reduced as they were last years model. Compared to fashion or supermarket trainers specialist running shoes win hands down. Enjoy many happy runs 🤗
I think when you find the right shoe you just know it. I've found my perfect shoe and I'm looking for another of the exact same pair. Happy feet , happy runner 😊
Hooray for finding your ruby slippers! I totally agree with you; I swapped to the Hoka Challenger Atr 4 after my first proper pair - Brooks, and these suit me much better. Goodbye to shin & ankle issues! My biomechanics are rubbish - knees & feet rolling in and have plagued me all my life. I also have high arches & wide feet so I'm a tricky customer in normal shoes anyway!
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First 5+ K run (with hills), new route, new shoes
Goodbye to Cornwall (until the next time) 
I think I have broken myself!!
