On one of my favorite running forums, we have been discussing shoe mileage. How many miles do you get out of a pair of shoes?
Yes, this is something you should pay attention to. Why? As you wear your shoes, they slowly break down, not just on the outside, but on the inside. How do you know they’re breaking down? Well, for me, I start to feel it in my joints. When I finish a run and realize my knee is bothering me, I immediately suspect the shoes. If it happens again, I know it’s the shoes.
Conventional wisdom says that you should get anywhere from 300-500 miles out of a pair of shoes. I know people who get many more miles than that. Personally, my number is closer to 200-250.
I have no scientific evidence as to why, but I suspect that it has to do with the fact that I’m a slightly heavier runner, but more importantly, I have a short stride. I take more steps per mile than someone taller than me. I also run/walk, which puts more steps into each mile. And of course, there’s no good way to count how many steps you put into each shoe, so miles is the best way to calculate.
My personal tactic is to wear a pair of shoes for runs of any distance up to about 200 miles, then they go into semi-retirement for shorter runs only. I like to have at least 2 pairs of shoes in the rotation. That means a lot of watching sales, because shoes can get expensive. It wasn’t so bad when I was running around 50 miles a month, but in November, I ran 100 miles! That is a lot of wear on my shoes!
Now, you don’t have to track the mileage on your shoes. I do, because it’s easy to do through the running log I use. Also, I find the stats kind of interesting. But if you don’t want to do that, just listen to your body. When your joints start to ache after every run, it’s probably time for new shoes. The benefit of tracking the mileage is that you know approximately when that’s going to happen and can be prepared for the expense of buying new shoes!
How many miles do you get out of your shoes? Do you track it somewhere or just go by feel?
uuuuh excuse me missy but you can’t just casually slip in “in November, I ran 100 miles” like it’s no big deal. HOLY COW! that is a lot of miles 🙂
Yes, yes it was a lot of miles. A scary lot of miles, in fact.
I usually get in about 350 miles. I do track it (I use mapmyrun) but I can usually tell when I’m about maxed out with a pair because I get a lot of shin pain, even on shorter runs, and the treads on the bottom are basically gone. I have no clue how anyone could make it to 500 miles!
I do track my mileage, but I go more by feel first. If I’m aching more than normal, then I’ll check my stats. If my mileage is getting up there, then I know it’s likely the shoes. If not, then I try to look for other reasons. I usually have a few pairs of shoes in rotation, basically because I’m paranoid and don’t really want to have to do a long run or race in either brand new or really old shoes.
Yes, if you are putting on a lot of mileage, then having two pairs of shoes in running/workout rotation is a good way to do it. Back in my younger (i.e., middle-age days) I had quickly learned to alternate two pairs of good running shoes — with daily runs, it is good to let shoes dry thoroughly.
My daughter (who is 30) has taken to running in Vibrams FiveFingers rather than running shoes. I appreciate this in theory but cannot imagine doing it myself.
After shoes accumulate too many miles for running, they can still serve as useful for everyday wear. Eventually they age into “wearing while working in a muddy garden” shoes.
I’m putting off new running shoes until after my rapidly approaching bunion surgery and anticipated several weeks of recovery so I can determine if I will need different model, size, width, etc.