Some guy said its important to wear the right shoes when running... Why? is there some type of danger to your feet if your not wearing the right shoes?

its worse than that.. there's danger of injury passed on all the way up your body!

primarily its to do with how your foot twists as it impacts & rolls across the ground. this twists the ankle joint which in turn means the lower leg has to twist to compoensate... this means tendons around the knee are out of position... quads in the upper leg have to compensate... muscles in the core & back also have to compensate and your back has to take the load.

ankle, calf muscle, knee joint, tendons & ligaments, quads, back & neck problems are all potential results.

now there's alot of if's and buts and personal variations on the above set of events.. the wrong type of shoe can exaggerate the effect whilst the right type will help minimise it.

you might get away with running in plimsoles, but you'd be a rare case if so.

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At the beginning (a bit like you) never really understood the importance of 'correct footwear' but I have struggled with all sorts of leg related injurys most of which (touch wood) have disappeared since going to a running shop and getting a pair to suit my running style.

Best thing (running related) I've ever done.

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Premiership by the end of the 2009 :D

wow i need to stop straight away and get some proper shoes...

but the impacts arnt deadly are they?

stop straight away, buy some beer & fags and get yourself to the nearest sofa

deadly? not unless you have a 6inch nail lodged in the top of your spine (or something).

if you get anything other than straightforward muscle soreness, you're either pushing things too far too fast, or need to check your shoes.

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(hey, new member here!) But Amen to ed_m! I found I started getting problems after I'd been runing 5 months or so, my doctor (who just happened to specialise in sport science) told me to change my shoes... so I did... the problems kind of went away for a bit, but being a student, I'd skimped on going to a specialist shop because I knew they marked prices up quite a lot, but I was relatively comfortable (aside from a mile ache across the knuckle of my foot). Then I started breaking into higher mileage. From slight ankle twitches came problems with my hips and kness. Anyway, I bit the bullet and went to a specialist shop and low and behold, I was wearing asics that weren't made for over-pronators (I didn't think I was one...) and from the video footage of me on their treadmill they showed me I was over-pronating A LOT! So I tried on some shoes, tried them on their treadmill and ended up buying a pair of Brooks... Best decision I ever made. I felt no twinges what so ever, and as yet have never felt anything other than straight forward muscle ache. I no longer have to shy away from longer runs

Oh, and it's good to change your shoes every 300 miles I think they say. The cushioning can become degraded.

I heard 500 miles was time to change shoes. I still think this is a bit excessive. I mean, do people who run 100+ miles per week buy a new pair of running shoes every 5 weeks? Who said running was a cheap way to stay fit?

Yeah, I know what you mean. But some shoes are specifically designed to last longer, I know the Brooks shoes have some gel component that lasts forever apparently. All I know is, I started out with a pair of adidas shoes, and after having them a couple years, mostly using in the gym, and then for running, I started getting problems that, as mentioned above, my doctor attributed to "off" shoes. Then finally getting the right pair, it made sooooo much difference... it was quite unbelievable really.

I've only worn New Balance running shoes, bought off the shelf. Never had a problem with them, so I just keep going back and buying a new pair in January sales.

Maybe that was a lucky choice or you don't have any pronation or other such joint problems. Can't hurt to go speak to an assistant in a running shop! Besides you only have to do it once, then as you say, just buy the same type in a sale I think dorunning.com are really good, lots of cheap shoes all the time it would seem, and an awesome range, too!