For two years, I worked at the in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. For seven years after that, I worked for a running shoe brand. In that time, I learned there鈥檚 a sizable knowledge gulf between folks in the industry and most consumers. Even many consumers who pay pretty close attention to racing and shoe reviews weren鈥檛 always up-to-speed on the latest tech, how a certain brand fits or whether they need a neutral. stability, minimal, or trail shoe.听聽

It鈥檚 our own fault. Brands create so many SKUs that it can be hard to keep up with each development. Stores stack so many models next to each other on the wall that it can seem impossible to know where to start.听

I can ensure you we didn鈥檛 keep things convoluted on purpose. On the brand side, we wanted people to feel like they knew enough about our footwear to confidently buy shoes from our website. In the shop, we knew customers appreciated feeling like they were empowered to pick the right pair. If they felt overwhelmed at our store, we knew, they probably wouldn鈥檛 come back.

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That got me thinking: What else did I wish every runner out there knew about shoes? So I jotted down this list. It鈥檚 far from comprehensive. Maybe there鈥檒l be a part two.听

Full disclosure: My wife works on the product team for the aforementioned shoe brand. But I think that gives me a valuable window into how brands ideate and produce their products, and I鈥檒l do my best to be objective. Besides, I didn鈥檛 consult her on this. To counterbalance this, I鈥檓 going to go make some major purchases, also without consulting her!聽

One person I did consult, since he鈥檚 been in the shop game a lot longer than I have, is co-owner of Mill City Running and Saint City Running. He will really hate that I called his cross-town rival the best shop in the Twin Cities, but them鈥檚 the breaks. In any case, here’s what came up for us.听

1. No One Shoe (or Brand) Works for Everyone聽

Your coworker might love Asics. Your run club friend might hate Nike. That doesn鈥檛 mean you should buy Asics or avoid Nike. You should try both鈥攁nd a bunch of others鈥攖o see what works for you. (FYI: Sizing can be different from brand to brand, so don鈥檛 be alarmed if you鈥檙e a full size bigger or smaller than you thought, or even a full size different from brand to brand.)

Every set of feet is different, and shoe choice is highly individual. Anyone who tells you with broad strokes to avoid or buy any one brand across the board might mean well, but they鈥檙e probably wrong. (And if they鈥檙e right, it鈥檚 a coincidence.)

2. The Most Comfortable Shoe Is Probably the Best Shoe

So how do you know if a shoe is for you? It鈥檚 simple鈥攊f it鈥檚 comfortable when you put it on, there鈥檚 a really good chance it鈥檒l serve you well. Shoes shouldn鈥檛 require a break-in period to feel good. (This is in addition to other considerations you should address before you鈥檙e trying them on, like whether the tread pattern will be sufficient for the surface on which you plan to run.)

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Not to get all hippy-dippy, but your body is a pretty good judge of this sort of thing鈥攁nd the (albeit very limited) seems to agree.听

3. Shoes Don鈥檛 Contribute to Injuries as Much as We Think

They can absolutely contribute, to be sure, but it鈥檚 also tempting (and lazy) to point the finger to shoes alone when injuries happen. They鈥檙e part of an ecosystem that includes individual mechanics, stressors, your training, and other factors.听

Being in the wrong pair of shoes won鈥檛 help your odds of avoiding injury, but if you鈥檙e in the wrong pair, you won鈥檛 blow out your knee in the first few steps. You鈥檒l get some warning signs before an injury, so make sure you heed them if they appear.听

Things like ramping up your mileage too quickly, or neglecting ancillary strength and mobility, probably play a bigger role in injuries than shoe choice alone. You鈥檙e not Indiana Jones trying to pick out the Holy Grail, so don鈥檛 stress too much.听

3. More Expensive Doesn鈥檛 Always Equal Better

All it often means is that the shoe contains more physical material like midsole cushion, or more expensive material like carbon fiber, and therefore was more expensive to produce. That doesn鈥檛 mean the $200 shoe won鈥檛 work for you, but don鈥檛 rule out the $130 shoe on this basis alone.

4. What Works for the Pros May Not Work for All of Us

I鈥檝e already covered this on the brand front鈥攖hat just because your favorite athlete wears Hoka or On doesn鈥檛 mean you should鈥攂ut this applies to shoe type, too. A lot of pros train and race in shoes that are lighter-weight and lower-profile than many of us should be using. They tend to be lighter, more efficient, and in more dire need of shedding ounces. (It鈥檚 their job to go fast, after all.) If you try and wear road racing flats in a 100-mile trail race because your favorite pro did it, there鈥檚 a good chance you鈥檒l regret it after mile 50.听

Of course, there are exceptions, but a lot of pros know very little about the shoes and brands they鈥檙e endorsing. So take those endorsements with a grain of salt.听

5. 鈥淪upport鈥� in a Shoe Can Mean a lot of Different Things聽

鈥淚 need support.鈥� I鈥檝e heard it a thousand times, and I was only working the floor for two years.听鈥淪upport鈥� can mean more cushion. It can mean more medial stability, designed to mitigate overpronation. For a handful of people, it means the feeling that the arch is hugging the bottom of their foot when they step into the shoe. The list goes on.听

Cushion can be good if it鈥檚 more comfortable for you 鈥� but an ultra-cushioned shoe won鈥檛 necessarily prevent injury at a higher rate than its more moderately-cushioned peers.听

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Medial stability is something pronators might need, although there鈥檚 been a move away from overtly-prescriptive footwear in favor of 鈥渋nherently stable鈥� shoes that work for a broader variety of folks in the last decade or so. (A shop employee should be able to help you decide whether you want a stability shoe.)聽

As for the arch, an insole that hugs the foot tightly might feel good at the outset, but it could be a one-way ticket to blister city. (Earlier I noted that comfort is king, but here鈥檚 one case where comfort now doesn鈥檛 necessarily translate to comfort later. Just don鈥檛 view arch-hugging fit as a dealbreaker.)聽

So, are you sure you need 鈥渕ore support,鈥� whatever that means to you? Try some shoes on and find out!聽

6. Most Shoe Updates Are Earnest Attempts at Improvement

I know, I know. They ruined your favorite shoe. Or even worse, they discontinued it.听I certainly won鈥檛 try to convince you that the last model didn鈥檛 fit you just a little better, or feel a little more right. And this probably won鈥檛 ease the pain. But I can assure you that brands aren鈥檛 updating their shoes arbitrarily, or鈥攁s conspiratorially-minded YouTube reviewers occasionally insinuate鈥攆or marketing alone.听

When a new shoe hits the market, the brands get a deluge of feedback from customer reviews, media reviews, store staff, and reps in the field. It鈥檚 too wide, it鈥檚 too narrow, the upper rips after 100 miles鈥攕tuff they would鈥檝e liked to catch in testing, but didn鈥檛 until their sample size was the entire marketplace.听

From the noise, some signals emerge, and they鈥檒l chart a plan to address the most consistent pieces of feedback. It might be delayed by a model, because it鈥檚 usually a 12- to 18-month process to brief, build, and iterate a shoe before it launches. So the fifth version of a shoe often addresses the feedback they hear from the third version, for example.

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That doesn鈥檛 mean you鈥檒l like the new version as much as the old one. It would be ideal if everyone loved every update, but that鈥檚 not realistic, so the brands鈥� big bet is that more people will prefer the new version. That鈥檚 just business.

Does that mean they always get it right? (Stares at a pile of unused Hoka Clifton 2s in the corner.) Heck no. But they aren鈥檛 doing it just to mess with you. And let鈥檚 be real鈥攕ometimes your old favorite wasn鈥檛 quite as perfect as you remember it.听

7. The Display Shoe Is Most Likely Not Your Size

Where are you now, guy who took that size 8 Brooks Dyad off the wall, squeezed your toes into it, and declared: 鈥淭his doesn鈥檛 fit!” without remorse? Did you think that ruled out the Dyad entirely? Did you tell your friends that Brooks shoes are too narrow? Did you not think we had a size 12 in the back that you could try on? Did you wonder why there was only one shoe, and where the matching half was? I think about you often.

8. Yes, It Comes in Other Colors

And no, we don鈥檛 mind checking for you. If getting the color you want means you鈥檙e more likely to run, we鈥檙e more than happy to help.

9. Stores Are Excited to Help New Runners

To that end, we know it can be a touch intimidating to make your first run specialty visit. A display wall brimming with technical-looking choices and a floor staffed by serious (nutritionally- and sleep-deprived)-looking runners.听

But, don鈥檛 be scared. Don鈥檛 worry about saying the wrong thing. Good shop staff meets you where you鈥檙e at, and wants to help get you on your way to enjoying a new pair of shoes. With any luck, you鈥檒l turn into a lifelong runner and a lifelong customer.听

You see, the stores need you more than you need them. If any staff treats you otherwise鈥攁nd I know it happens鈥攇o shop at their competitor across town.听

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You probably know Tommy Caldwell for his pioneering ascent of El Capitan鈥檚 Dawn Wall, the blankest section on Yosemite鈥檚 marquee granite monolith and, at 5.14d, possibly the world鈥檚 hardest big wall. His years-long assault on the route with climbing partner Kevin Jorgensen is the centerpiece of the Sender Films feature documentary 鈥�The Dawn Wall,鈥澛爓hose one-night theatrical release last month聽was so successful, a聽.听

鈥淚t鈥檚 been a trip,鈥� says Caldwell, adding that the ensuing media tour has left him with a lot of time on airplanes and trains. 鈥淚t鈥檚 given me a lot of time to read, which I don鈥檛 often get at home with the kids.鈥� Here are the books he鈥檚 carrying with him while he promotes the film.

鈥楾he Nature Fix鈥� by Florence Williams ($18)

鈥淚 spend so much time outside, and I know it brings me peace and energizes my mind and body, but 聽has the actual data and science on benefits to spending time in nature. It discusses nature-deficit disorder in kids, which reinforces the way my wife, Becca, and I raise our kids, Fitz and Ingrid: most days, we鈥檙e outside at least some of the day. We鈥檙e also renting out our house soon聽and going on the road for a year, so we can travel and get Fitz and Ingrid outside as much as possible before they start school. Fitz would be starting kindergarten this year, but we鈥檙e going to homeschool him for this year. Except I call it World School.鈥�

鈥楲et my People Go Surfing鈥� by Yvon Chouinard ($17)

鈥淚鈥檝e been a Patagonia ambassador for nine years now, and I love it. They have a greater goal than the bottom line and they鈥檙e not just in the business to make money. Athletes are becoming more , and Patagonia, along with and the American Alpine Club鈥檚 event, has given us avenues to do that.鈥�

鈥楾he World Without Us鈥� by Alan Weisman ($11)

鈥溌爓as a recommendation from Alex Honnold. It鈥檚 about what the world would look like without people, which is good baseline knowledge for when you鈥檙e trying to be an environmentalist聽and think about positive ways we can impact the environment or reverse the damage we鈥檝e done in the past.鈥�

鈥楳y Absolute Darling鈥� by Gabriel Tallent ($16)

鈥淚 don鈥檛 read a lot of fiction, but Gabriel鈥攁 climber himself鈥攄escribes scenes more vividly than any author I鈥檝e ever read. The subject matter [the isolation and abuse of a child] is intense and can be hard to read, but it鈥檚 an , one of those you can鈥檛 stop thinking about when you put it down.鈥�

鈥楳issoula鈥� by Jon Krakauer ($23)

鈥淚 read all the Krakauer books. 聽is about rape in America in general, but especially cases at the University of Montana between 2008 and 2012. He profiles the people involved, telling their stories and talking about how their lives were affected. It鈥檚 really poignant given some recent current events. I鈥檓 very much a privileged white male, a one-percenter, and I think there鈥檚 a responsibility to try and better understand these issues in this day and age.鈥�

Books I Read to My Kids

鈥淚鈥檓 reading all the kids鈥� books with Fitz and Ingrid聽too鈥�Harry Potter, all the Roald Dahl books, that sort of thing. We do a lot of reading to each other when we鈥檙e driving. Quite honestly, that鈥檚 the majority of the reading I do. That鈥檚 probably why the rest of the list is so heavy鈥擨 need to create balance.

The post What Climber Tommy Caldwell Is Reading Right Now appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.