Shoe help please.

[Beads]

I currently have Brooks Ghost 4 (5.5, women's) shoes which fit OK, well I say OK, they could do with being a bit wider (all shoes could do with being a bit wider to be honest).

Anyway I had a really good run yesterday morning (13k!!!! Yippeeeee!) and plan to have more runs that sort of length, but I came home with blisters (after wearing them for 8 months all I can think of is it's the increase in distance that caused them). One on little toe and one on big toe where the shoes are just a tad too narrow. I've been thinking for a while that when I get a new pair of shoes I'll go up half a size. So anyway, searching ebay today I've found a pair for a reasonable amount, a whole size larger. But they're men's instead of women's so as well as being wider because they're a bigger size they're going to be wider because they're men's.

Am I mad to be contemplating getting them? Will they come up massive? Will my foot flop around inside them and trip me up? Should I really do the sensible thing and go to a shop and do this properly? But the problem I have is that I go to a shop they see me, see I'm a woman and won't bring out the men's shoes to try. Is there really a big difference in width between men's and women's?

Sorry, lots of questions. Thank you for any help you may be able to give.

p.s. when I got these ones I had a choice of two different pairs, I bought these ones rather than the other pair as they were a wider fit.

[Hidden]

Can't answer your gender related questions, but do you know the brooks ghost's can be bought in a wider fitting

[Beads Graduate in reply to Hidden]

'Wide' is relative though. The women's ones seem to come in 'normal' and 'narrow'. B and D fittings. I don't know which I've got but narrow really doesn't describe my feet. Gent's come in D and 'wide' and 'extra wide' but the problem I have with gent's shoes is that they start at a size 6 and when your feet measure in at a 4.5 EEE.......

Though saying that my 'everyday' shoes are purple kickers boots in Size 7 (for the width).

[ju-ju- Graduate]

You know, talking as someone that has had umpteen ebay disasters, I swore never to buy shoes unless I knew that size and style fitted.....personally you would be serving your body well if you went to one of those places where they test them out on you ( not been as got mine v cheap from sports direct....but I've heard they are v good). Well done on the running, fab stats

[Beads Graduate in reply to ju-ju-]

I'm gonna have to bite the bullet and go shopping this half term aren't I? Maybe if I insist on wearing gent's shoes.......

[Rollertoaster Graduate in reply to Beads]

I wear mens shoes. The guy in Sweatshop took one look at my wide trotters and brought all mens out

[Beads Graduate in reply to Rollertoaster]

Yay!

Are they a lot wider?

[Rollertoaster Graduate in reply to Beads]

There is a lot more room in the "toe box". It actually works well for me as they fit snuggly everywhere else, but are wider at the top end so have enough room around the toes and I wear my normal size (this aspect may be an error, but that's another story). I wear Brooks adrenaline GTS 12. There is a 13 model out now.

The guy was very tactful, he never told me they were mens, it was only when I got home and googled them that I saw the colour I had were the mens ones and not the womens ones.

[Anniemurph Graduate in reply to Rollertoaster]

Me too - Brooks Adrenaline GTS 12 in mens' size 8. Nice and snug round the heel, but plenty of room to wiggle my toes

My chap was also very tactful and didn't tell me either I had been muttering about not wanting pink trainers though!

[sfb350 Graduate in reply to Beads]

Any decent shop will let you try gent's ones if you find the women's ones too narrow.

I've got my first blisters in ages today - should have worn my double-skin anti-blister socks. Mine are by RunBreeze. If your shoes are a bit narrow anyway you might find the twin-skin socks make your shoes too tight so I think you need to get wider shoes too.

Happy shoe hunting

[Oldgirl Graduate]

I'm wondering if the blisters could be due to the warmer weather and your feet swelling a bit. Little toes are usually the first to succumb when that happens. The other thing could be dehydration if your running longer distances, do you carry water with you?

[Beads Graduate in reply to Oldgirl]

Swelling, yes. Coz of the warmer weather, possibly not, it was quite chilly when I set off and eve towards the end I wasn't regretting the long sleeved top and my feet weren't particularly hot (it was quite dewy and my feel felt pleasantly cool, although damp, which wouldn't help).

Dehydration, very likely, out for an hour and a half, only a glug to drink beforehand, though if I drink much more it all comes through quite quickly and not necessarily as sweat. Please explain how this would affect feet.......

[RainbowC Graduate]

I bought men's shoes in sports direct with no hassle - I said at the start that I was going for them cos my feet are too big & wide for women's shoes (large side of an 8' and broad as a canal barge!). No hassle at all

[Beads Graduate in reply to RainbowC]

Ahh, but when you're a size 5 and have flippers all you get told is that men's shoes don't come smaller than a 6.

[Beads Graduate]

UPDATE: Went out this morning, just a gentle 5k and I stuck to that plan. Taped up my little toe which has the blister and apart from the plaster feeling strange my shoes went on OK. Walking down the road analysing how my feet were doing at the beginning of the run. Slipping forwards in my shoes a little, these don't feel at all tight widthways. I know I was slipping forwards as I could feel the end, but on the flat or going uphill I can't. Bottom of the hill, start to run, long slow gentle 1k all the way uphill, no shoe problems. Onto the 'flat' for a couple of k's, again no problems, nothing feeling sore. The downhill section, again no probs and the final 1.5k gentle uphill and nasty steep climb to my door (that's why I walk it going out) again no foot issues.

Back in the kitchen, shoes off, feet slightly warm and sweaty, sock slightly damp. So if it's not the shoes then it's either don't wear the super duper running socks coz they're too thick or don't run when it's dewy or puddley so feet don't get wet.

So my decision is: Don't get the ones on Ebay, continue with these ones and apply plasters as a preventative when I'm aiming for a long run and when I next go shopping near a decent running shop pop in and have a good chat with someone rather than making a special trip.

Thank you for all your comments, they're really helpful.

[Canidoit Graduate]

I wear men's trainers. I find that I adjust the laces about 4 minutes into the warmup walk as I never get them right!

[Diamondwitch Graduate]

I wear men's trainers too. The only thing really to say is I've never bought shoes of any description without trying them on. Some 8s fit, other's don't. I never know till my feet are in them. And your feet will swell a bit when they get hot

Someone once posted on here a video of how to tie laces differently for different problems with shoes. Sounds mad but maybe try googling it. it was interesting in that nerdy-all-I-talk-about-is-running kind of way.

[tantrumbean Graduate]

My trail shoes are men's - but according to the guy in the shop, these particular ones are actually exactly the same as the women's, the only difference is the colour. My "normal" ones are the women's version though, because I have a really narrow heel and tend to slip around at the back if I try the male option.

[Hidden]

my Brooks shoes have only been out half a dozen times so far, but what I have learned from them has made it a lot more comfortable - It was the guy in the shop (up and running) who showed me how to pull up the laces properly rather than just pulling them up from the free ends and all about kicking my heel back then double looping the laces before tying which kind of locks you ankle in place & then stops the foot slipping around in the shoe.

Have not even done 5k let alone your distances, but I do feel like I could go a lot further if I had the training..

Happy Running

[Hidden]

When I first started C25K I was just using a pair of my normal trainers. However, they were getting worn so I decided to get some proper running shoes. I went to Up and Running in Swansea (I also take an 8) and tried out various shoes on their treadmill. They video you on the treadmill and can see whether a more supportive shoe is needed, etc. I bought Brooks Vapor 10 as these were the ones that felt as though they'd been made for me. I would thoroughly recommend being properly assessed, fitted, and trying shoes out on the treadmill. It really does make a difference.