Do you have multiple pairs of running shoes, or do you run in the same shoes day after day? There are some advantages to having more than one pair of running shoes and rotating them throughout the week. But how exactly do you rotate your running shoes in an effective way? Here are some ideas to consider when you have multiple pairs of running shoes.
How to Rotate Your Running Shoes
There is no one way to rotate your running shoes. You need to find what works best for you! It will depend on how many shoes you have and what feels most comfortable for you. Some people don’t follow a system, and that’s ok. But try to track your running shoe mileage so you know when your shoes need to be replaced!
Review your shoe options
Take stock of how many shoes are in your rotation, which ones are oldest, and which ones you wear the most. If you want your oldest shoes to last for as long as possible you can use them once a week for a short run. Think about which shoes are your favorite, or which you tend you reach for the most often. Again, if you want these to last awhile try to spread out how often you use them.
Decide on a race shoe
It’s important to know which shoes you will likely want to wear for races so you can plan ahead. You don’t want to wear a brand new pair of shoes on race day. You also don’t want to realize a week before your race that your favorite shoes are worn out. Once you decide on a shoe you can wear them for long runs and/or race specific workouts to make sure you are used to running in them.
Try out a shoe for speedwork
One of my favorite ways to vary my running shoes is to wear a lighter, more responsive shoe for speedwork. Depending on what you usually run in you may need to gradually adjust to this kind of a shoe. Typically these lighter shoes allow your feet to work more naturally which is good overall, but could be an injury risk if you are used to very cushioned or supportive shoes. If you can learn to wear lighter shoes once or twice a week it may even help to strengthen your feet! Many runners feel like it’s easier to run faster in this type of a shoe.
Alternate between more and less cushion
There are different schools of thought on whether runners should use cushioned shoes or those with support. But if you find that you can wear different shoes without any issues you may find that it’s nice to alternate between more cushion on some days and less on others. Maybe for easy runs you will enjoy the feel of extra cushion but when doing a tempo run you want something lighter with less cushion.
Keep a pair of indoor shoes
If you run on a treadmill, maybe you want to figure out which shoes you prefer for those runs and keep a pair near your treadmill or in your gym bag (if you use a gym treadmill). This way one pair of shoes will stay clean if you’re only wearing them indoors.
Slowly incorporate lower drop shoes
If you are used to wearing shoes with a high heel to toe drop you don’t want to suddenly start wearing low drop shoes for your runs. It’s important to get used to wearing these kinds of shoes. Some runners find that a low drop shoes helps them to run more efficiently with better form. If you are already rotating your shoes you can start by adding these in for just a few minutes a week, and working your way up.
Alternate between newer and older shoes
As you incorporate new shoes into your rotation you can alternate them with older shoes so that they last longer. It’s also a good idea to start adding a new pair of shoes before your old ones are totally shot. This way you’re not at risk of wearing shoes that are too worn down.
Example of how I rotate my shoes
I have a lot of running shoes, and I try to use all of them pretty regularly. This is how I decide which shoes to wear for my runs:
Brooks Ghost (most supportive)- Easy/Recovery runs
Brooks Glycerins (most cushioned)- Easy/Long runs
Brooks Hyperion Tempos (lightest/most responsive)- Speedwork/Shorter Races
Brooks Lauch- Treadmill runs
Brooks Levitate- Easy runs/Tempo runs (But these are pretty versatile and I’d wear them for all types of runs)
Brooks Aurora BL- Easy runs/Tempo runs
Deciding on how to rotate your running shoes really depends on what shoes are in your rotation and which shoes feel best for which kind of run. It can be fun to rotate through several different pairs of shoes each week! You can never have too many running shoes, right?
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Do you rotate your running shoes?
How do you decide what shoes to wear for each workout?
I need to improve on this. Thanks for the reminder, Lisa.
I am limited because I wear customized insoles that are designed to go with a particular shoe model, so I only rotate between road and trail shoes.
But still, I could alternate more, eg wear more cushioned Hokas without the insoles on some runs. It would change up things a bit!
If what you’re doing is working you might not want to change it too much! Especially if you have specific shoes/insoles that have helped you prevent injuries. But sometimes trying out new shoes can be fun!
I do rotate between the Levitate and the Glycerins and usually have about 3 in my rotation at a time. This is one of the changes I’ve made in the last year that I believe has helped with injury prevention
I agree that it’s really helpful to wear different shoes throughout the week! Those are 2 of my favorites.
I rotate between road shoes and trail shoes, lol…I really need to be better about this. I actually have 3 pairs of road shoes that I often rotate through, but not always. I do use my own insoles in all my shoes.
Sometimes its hard to change things up when you really like a certain pair of shoes!
I hit on this notion, several years ago, when I found a favorite shoe on sale but still had “good shoes” not yet ready for retirement. I kept the new shoes for distance runs, and kept using the “senior” shoes for short runs or speedwork. I still keep a few pairs of retired shoes on hand for cycling. I don’t track the individual shoes’ mileage, though, but I can usually tell by wear and feel when they’re ready to be replaced.
That sounds like a good plan! I haven’t been as good about tracking my shoe mileage lately, but I always worry that by the time I realize they need to be replaced it will be too late.
I do rotate my shoes. My older ones are used to walks.
My newer more cushioned ones for half marathons and older cushioned ones for long runs.
Lighter shoes for short runs and newer lighter ones for 5ks/10ks.
I only wear low or no drop and I eased into them. It is important not to switchback and forth between higher drop and lower drop. Bad for achilles, PF, calfs etc.
Obviously I own a lot of pairs of shoes.
I also save an older pair of shoes to use for walking. Sounds like you have a good plan in place!
Wow, that is a whole lot of shoes! I’m usually rotating between a couple of pairs of shoes. I never thought about having a dedicated pair for treadmill runs!
I also like my lighter shoes for speedwork. I used to wear fairly minimal shoes, but I’m not sure my feet still like them. I had been running/racing in them for years!
Great tips, Lisa.
I mostly do the treadmill shoe thing for convenience. Its nice to have a pair that is always downstairs near my treadmill and I know they won’t be dirty.
Yep, great post. Right now with all my foot issues I’m wearing my Hoka Cliftons for every single run. But I’m also not running that much so it probably doesn’t matter. When I was running more I had two different shoes I rotated between- I’ll have to think about getting back to that.
It can be tricky when you’ve had foot injuries and finally found a shoe that works for you. In some cases, its better to keep doing what you’re doing if that’s working for you!
I’m like Wendy! I rotate between trail and road!! I try to rotate between the two pairs of road I have but love one so much more than the other! This was really interesting Lisa, thanks for sharing!
Great stuff! I keep my most comfy shoes for long runs, and my lighter shoes for speedwork. “Dead” shoes get cycled to walking or hiking or dog walking.
I rotate between three pairs: two pairs that I alternate between for most runs, and a pair of trail shoes. Once shoes are done, I will use them for daily wear or walking.