One of the most important pieces of exercise equipment you can invest in are your shoes. How do you know what to look for in a quality exercise-running shoe? We all get comfortable in a pair of our favorite shoes, so how do you know when it's time to replace them?
Listen in as Ann Ringlein, the manager at The Lincoln Running Company, gives great advice to help you purchase the pair of shoes that fits you and your exercise style the best.
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Exercise Footwear: Make Sure You Get the Right Fit
Featured Speaker:
Ann Ringlein, Lincoln Running Company
Ann Ringlein is the manager at the Lincoln Running Company. Transcription:
Exercise Footwear: Make Sure You Get the Right Fit
Melanie Cole (Host): Bryan Health hosts the community run every October to further their commitment to wellness and mental health. For more information about this event you can go to Bryanhealth.org/run. This special podcast series is brought to you by Bryan Health and the Kim Foundation.
To help you avoid injury and get the most out of your exercise, if you’re a runner or a walker you know you want the best footwear for you. My guest today is Ann Ringlein. She’s the manager of the Lincoln Running Company. Welcome to the show, Ann. How can runners and walkers find the best tennis shoe — I use the word tennis shoe lightly — find the best shoe for them?
Ann Ringlein (Guest): They need to go to a running or athletic store, a store that specializes in running. They need to take their shoes that they’re wearing now, whether they’re walking shoes, running shoes, basketball shoes, just plain dress shoes, whatever they’ve been walking in, and they need to take them in with them. Looking at the bottom of the shoes gives a whole new clue as to what the person is doing every time they take a step. We look at that like your car mechanic would look at car tires. If they’re really worn on the outside we know they could use a little help to get them to roll in a little bit. If they’re really worn on the inside of their foot, at the ball of the foot, then we know that we could give them a little bit more support. They also need to try on a lot of pairs, communicate really well with the sales person, and let them bring out a lot of shoes that could try on and get a really good feel for it.
Melanie: Ann, people get a little intimidated by doing that. They think that they’re going to be annoying the sales person if they bring out a lot of shoes or try on a lot, but, really, shoes are very personal and if you’re walking or running a long distance, you need a pair that fits you so well.
Ann: That is exactly right, Melanie. I think people are actually intimidated to go into a running store. Even if they do run a bit, they think, “Oh, I’m not a runner,” or if they’re a walker. But, if you came in our store any time of the day you would see as many people that just want to be comfortable as walk and run, actually. You are right. Shoes are so important--not just for walking and running but just to have an enjoyable life, to be able to move forward.
Melanie: So, shoe-wise, if you are a runner or if you are a walker, do you need shoes that are specific to running or walking, or can walkers wear running shoes and runners, of course, wear the best shoes they can find.
Ann: That’s right. You hit the nail on the head. Walkers, you can always in a running shoe, but you should never run in a walking shoe. And, the reason is the amount of cushioning and the amount of shock absorption that they have. All shoes are going to feel cushioned, all athletic shoes, all running shoes, all walking shoes are going to feel cushioned, but the amount of shock absorption is what’s really important for the runners. A walker can definitely walk in running shoes and probably 90 percent of the people that leave our stores that are walkers do walk out with a running shoe on their foot.
Melanie: How long should you keep your shoes? This is been a something that people have talked about for a long time. How long should you keep a shoe that you wear?
Ann: It’s really hard to say by time. I tell people I ride my bike every day to work, my husband works the same distance but he drives his car every day. He replaces his car tires way faster than I replace my car tires. So, it’s the same thing, you have to think about it, again, like a vehicle and how many miles you have on your shoes. I really encourage runners, especially, to keep a log and to write down every time they run how many miles they ran, and then, as your shoes start to maybe not feel quite so good, you backwards and you add up how many miles you have. All of a sudden you’ve got--we tell people 300 to 400 miles on their shoes. Walkers can maybe get a little more because they aren’t hitting the ground quite as hard, but, honestly, your body will tell you. You really have to pay attention to it and listen to it tell. We tell people you can start with a little niggly if something bothers you a little bit, you don’t want to let it blow into an injury.
Melanie: What about the increased media attention on minimalist and barefoot inspired footwear? What do you think of that?
Ann: We have been in business for forty years and we know right down the middle is where things have always gone, and we really never carried the true minimalist shoes. I really feel, and most of our customers feel the same way, that you need a cushion under your feet. Now, we have zero drop shoes, but there’s a ton of cushion underneath. We are long-evolved from our ancestors that went barefoot and we wear shoes all the time and we live in—We’re not in Chicago, but we live in cities and they’re covered with cement, and that’s where most of our trails are so. So, it’s really hard on the feet to do that. I can remember being in a clinic one time, a running clinic, and an orthopedic doctors saying, “If you want to learn how to run barefoot I can make you a plan that will take you two years before you can do it totally,” or minimal. So, I don’t think--We are Americans. We usually aren’t willing to wait very long to do anything. So, as the type of who are, I think shoes with cushion is the best way to go.
Melanie: What about gait analysis, Ann? Do sales staff have the ability to do a gait analysis, to put someone on a treadmill in their shoes to see if they’re pronating, supinating, how they’re walking and what kind of shoe would be the best for them?
Ann: And the beauty of what we have is we have a huge sidewalk out front, and that’s what we use. We used to have a treadmill and what we found was that most of our runners and walkers never, ever got on a treadmill. So, to get on it was unusual. As they were walking or running, it was a little unusual for them. So, we send them outside or we have a track, actually, in our store. We doubled the size of our store. We have a big track in our store where we can watch them run down and run back, or just take them outside where they’re more comfortable in what they do every day. But, we do do gait analysis, absolutely. And we listen, hearing the customer, what feels really good? What shoe do you notice the least? Really listening, I think, is probably more important than anything--a good communication.
Melanie: So, you don’t need to break in shoes technically, right?
Ann: Anymore you really don’t need to. I used to tell people years ago because I’ve been doing this a long time, that, “You know shoes are a little stiffer.” They were made with leather. They were made with suede. It did take a little time to break shoes in. But now, they’re made of such great material, and they sew the uppers. Most of them have no seams on them because there is nothing really that is going to really affect your foot. If you constantly change one shoe to a whole another style, I tell people hold on your other shoe, wear the new show a couple days, wear your old shoe a day. But, if you’re going pretty much similar just from about the same type of shoe to another one similar to it, then I would say you don’t need to break it. You should be able to put those on and take off.
Melanie: And if someone has plantar fasciitis, shin splints, or other issues, can shoes be the answer to some of those problems? And, what do you think about the non-prescriptive orthotics that some shoe store sell, like Superfeet or Spankos?
Ann: Sure. Absolutely. It can definitely be. And, even if they’re in a really good shoe that they have got from us, things can change. Maybe they have upped their mileage, maybe they’re training for a marathon, maybe they’re doing some other kind of work that they’ve added in. Those kind of things can make a difference, and shoes can make a huge difference, and what an easy fix, if it’s just shoes. The other thing is I totally believe in the insole. I really do because maybe you just got your shoes and maybe it’s not quite the right shoe but you don’t want to spend another $100 to $120 on a pair of shoes. A lot of times, we can stick an insole in there. Take a look at the shoe, take a look at the insole, what wear you’re doing on it now, put a new one in and it can really make a huge difference.
Melanie: What about overcorrecting? Some of these shoes have so much support now and then you put in an insole or an orthotic in there. Can you overcorrect?
Ann: Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. And, we get a lot of patients from foot doctors, that maybe they have been in a really, really supportive shoe and now they have an orthotic, too. We kind of have to talk them down a little bit and say, “Listen, this guy is going to be doing the work for you. This is going to be doing what your old shoe did for you, only it’s made specifically for you. It’s made just for your foot, brings the ground up to your foot. So, getting the shoe that has that support, a lot of times is overkill. And, as we explain it to the customers, they understand and are willing to try something new.
Melanie: What if your shoes get wet?
Ann: Definitely. I do a lot of talks and I have a huge thing about wet shoes. Wet shoes, if you’re a runner or a walker, they are going to lose a lot of their cushioning if you run or walk in them while that midsole is still wet. The first thing you do when you get home is, and I tell people, “I know you want to just take them off and throw then in the corner because you’re usually sopping wet and you’re miserable.” You untie them, take them off, take that insole out if it’s an orthotic or just the insole that came in the shoe, and set it somewhere where it can dry, edge of your tub, and then stuff your shoes with paper towels or newspapers and really stuff that toe box. Two things: it will absorb that moisture, take that moisture out so that that your shoes are drying out, but it also keeps that great toe box shape, and it doesn’t allow it to dry down maybe where it would irritate your toes. That toe box, you like it, if you’re wearing that shoe. You like the way that toe box is around your toes and if you take your shoes and throw them in a corner when they’re wet, one lands on the other, you’ve got a little indentation in the toe, it dries that way, it’s going to take a while for it to come out and your toe is going to be sore in the meantime. So, stuffing it with paper towels, like I said two things: sucks that moisture out and it keeps that toe box really nice and big for you.
Melanie: Do socks matter?
Ann: Yes, they do. I have sheet that I give people that says, “Socks matter.” Absolutely. We tell people cotton is right. Cotton. Your best towels are made of cotton for a reason because it absorbs moisture. But that moisture doesn’t go anywhere. So, with cotton socks, none of our socks have cotton in them. If you read your sock labels like you read the food labels and make sure there’s not cotton in there. You want socks that are moisture wicking, right fit, CoolMax--things that move that moisture away from your feet, spread it to the outside of the sock where it’s spread over a larger area and then it can evaporate off. It keeps your feet dry, it keeps your feet comfortable. Dry feet are warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.
Melanie: Give us your best advice about buying shoes; if you’re someone buying running or walking shoes for the first time, what they should look for; what you really want them to know.
Ann: Sure. I really want them to know, like I said, to bring their shoes in with them. I want them to really communicate with us and tell us what it is they’re doing, and not be afraid. Everybody is the same at our store: walk, run, “I just want to move in and be comfortable.” It’s all the same. Not to be afraid and to really try on several pair. I think what it comes down to, and there are so many different ways to look at shoes and so many technical things that you can do, but, honestly, the shoe that you notice the least is going to be the best shoe you for. No big huge arch, no big side pressure, no heels pinching or slipping, just whatever you notice the least, that shoe is going to be the best one for. Take your time to really use our sales associates. You’re not bothering us, we want to help you.
Melanie: Thank you so much, Ann Ringlein, manager at Lincoln Running Company. You’re listening to Brian Health Radio. If you’d like to learn more about healthy living, you can go to Bryanhealth.org. That’s Brianhealth.org. This is Melanie Cole.
Exercise Footwear: Make Sure You Get the Right Fit
Melanie Cole (Host): Bryan Health hosts the community run every October to further their commitment to wellness and mental health. For more information about this event you can go to Bryanhealth.org/run. This special podcast series is brought to you by Bryan Health and the Kim Foundation.
To help you avoid injury and get the most out of your exercise, if you’re a runner or a walker you know you want the best footwear for you. My guest today is Ann Ringlein. She’s the manager of the Lincoln Running Company. Welcome to the show, Ann. How can runners and walkers find the best tennis shoe — I use the word tennis shoe lightly — find the best shoe for them?
Ann Ringlein (Guest): They need to go to a running or athletic store, a store that specializes in running. They need to take their shoes that they’re wearing now, whether they’re walking shoes, running shoes, basketball shoes, just plain dress shoes, whatever they’ve been walking in, and they need to take them in with them. Looking at the bottom of the shoes gives a whole new clue as to what the person is doing every time they take a step. We look at that like your car mechanic would look at car tires. If they’re really worn on the outside we know they could use a little help to get them to roll in a little bit. If they’re really worn on the inside of their foot, at the ball of the foot, then we know that we could give them a little bit more support. They also need to try on a lot of pairs, communicate really well with the sales person, and let them bring out a lot of shoes that could try on and get a really good feel for it.
Melanie: Ann, people get a little intimidated by doing that. They think that they’re going to be annoying the sales person if they bring out a lot of shoes or try on a lot, but, really, shoes are very personal and if you’re walking or running a long distance, you need a pair that fits you so well.
Ann: That is exactly right, Melanie. I think people are actually intimidated to go into a running store. Even if they do run a bit, they think, “Oh, I’m not a runner,” or if they’re a walker. But, if you came in our store any time of the day you would see as many people that just want to be comfortable as walk and run, actually. You are right. Shoes are so important--not just for walking and running but just to have an enjoyable life, to be able to move forward.
Melanie: So, shoe-wise, if you are a runner or if you are a walker, do you need shoes that are specific to running or walking, or can walkers wear running shoes and runners, of course, wear the best shoes they can find.
Ann: That’s right. You hit the nail on the head. Walkers, you can always in a running shoe, but you should never run in a walking shoe. And, the reason is the amount of cushioning and the amount of shock absorption that they have. All shoes are going to feel cushioned, all athletic shoes, all running shoes, all walking shoes are going to feel cushioned, but the amount of shock absorption is what’s really important for the runners. A walker can definitely walk in running shoes and probably 90 percent of the people that leave our stores that are walkers do walk out with a running shoe on their foot.
Melanie: How long should you keep your shoes? This is been a something that people have talked about for a long time. How long should you keep a shoe that you wear?
Ann: It’s really hard to say by time. I tell people I ride my bike every day to work, my husband works the same distance but he drives his car every day. He replaces his car tires way faster than I replace my car tires. So, it’s the same thing, you have to think about it, again, like a vehicle and how many miles you have on your shoes. I really encourage runners, especially, to keep a log and to write down every time they run how many miles they ran, and then, as your shoes start to maybe not feel quite so good, you backwards and you add up how many miles you have. All of a sudden you’ve got--we tell people 300 to 400 miles on their shoes. Walkers can maybe get a little more because they aren’t hitting the ground quite as hard, but, honestly, your body will tell you. You really have to pay attention to it and listen to it tell. We tell people you can start with a little niggly if something bothers you a little bit, you don’t want to let it blow into an injury.
Melanie: What about the increased media attention on minimalist and barefoot inspired footwear? What do you think of that?
Ann: We have been in business for forty years and we know right down the middle is where things have always gone, and we really never carried the true minimalist shoes. I really feel, and most of our customers feel the same way, that you need a cushion under your feet. Now, we have zero drop shoes, but there’s a ton of cushion underneath. We are long-evolved from our ancestors that went barefoot and we wear shoes all the time and we live in—We’re not in Chicago, but we live in cities and they’re covered with cement, and that’s where most of our trails are so. So, it’s really hard on the feet to do that. I can remember being in a clinic one time, a running clinic, and an orthopedic doctors saying, “If you want to learn how to run barefoot I can make you a plan that will take you two years before you can do it totally,” or minimal. So, I don’t think--We are Americans. We usually aren’t willing to wait very long to do anything. So, as the type of who are, I think shoes with cushion is the best way to go.
Melanie: What about gait analysis, Ann? Do sales staff have the ability to do a gait analysis, to put someone on a treadmill in their shoes to see if they’re pronating, supinating, how they’re walking and what kind of shoe would be the best for them?
Ann: And the beauty of what we have is we have a huge sidewalk out front, and that’s what we use. We used to have a treadmill and what we found was that most of our runners and walkers never, ever got on a treadmill. So, to get on it was unusual. As they were walking or running, it was a little unusual for them. So, we send them outside or we have a track, actually, in our store. We doubled the size of our store. We have a big track in our store where we can watch them run down and run back, or just take them outside where they’re more comfortable in what they do every day. But, we do do gait analysis, absolutely. And we listen, hearing the customer, what feels really good? What shoe do you notice the least? Really listening, I think, is probably more important than anything--a good communication.
Melanie: So, you don’t need to break in shoes technically, right?
Ann: Anymore you really don’t need to. I used to tell people years ago because I’ve been doing this a long time, that, “You know shoes are a little stiffer.” They were made with leather. They were made with suede. It did take a little time to break shoes in. But now, they’re made of such great material, and they sew the uppers. Most of them have no seams on them because there is nothing really that is going to really affect your foot. If you constantly change one shoe to a whole another style, I tell people hold on your other shoe, wear the new show a couple days, wear your old shoe a day. But, if you’re going pretty much similar just from about the same type of shoe to another one similar to it, then I would say you don’t need to break it. You should be able to put those on and take off.
Melanie: And if someone has plantar fasciitis, shin splints, or other issues, can shoes be the answer to some of those problems? And, what do you think about the non-prescriptive orthotics that some shoe store sell, like Superfeet or Spankos?
Ann: Sure. Absolutely. It can definitely be. And, even if they’re in a really good shoe that they have got from us, things can change. Maybe they have upped their mileage, maybe they’re training for a marathon, maybe they’re doing some other kind of work that they’ve added in. Those kind of things can make a difference, and shoes can make a huge difference, and what an easy fix, if it’s just shoes. The other thing is I totally believe in the insole. I really do because maybe you just got your shoes and maybe it’s not quite the right shoe but you don’t want to spend another $100 to $120 on a pair of shoes. A lot of times, we can stick an insole in there. Take a look at the shoe, take a look at the insole, what wear you’re doing on it now, put a new one in and it can really make a huge difference.
Melanie: What about overcorrecting? Some of these shoes have so much support now and then you put in an insole or an orthotic in there. Can you overcorrect?
Ann: Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. And, we get a lot of patients from foot doctors, that maybe they have been in a really, really supportive shoe and now they have an orthotic, too. We kind of have to talk them down a little bit and say, “Listen, this guy is going to be doing the work for you. This is going to be doing what your old shoe did for you, only it’s made specifically for you. It’s made just for your foot, brings the ground up to your foot. So, getting the shoe that has that support, a lot of times is overkill. And, as we explain it to the customers, they understand and are willing to try something new.
Melanie: What if your shoes get wet?
Ann: Definitely. I do a lot of talks and I have a huge thing about wet shoes. Wet shoes, if you’re a runner or a walker, they are going to lose a lot of their cushioning if you run or walk in them while that midsole is still wet. The first thing you do when you get home is, and I tell people, “I know you want to just take them off and throw then in the corner because you’re usually sopping wet and you’re miserable.” You untie them, take them off, take that insole out if it’s an orthotic or just the insole that came in the shoe, and set it somewhere where it can dry, edge of your tub, and then stuff your shoes with paper towels or newspapers and really stuff that toe box. Two things: it will absorb that moisture, take that moisture out so that that your shoes are drying out, but it also keeps that great toe box shape, and it doesn’t allow it to dry down maybe where it would irritate your toes. That toe box, you like it, if you’re wearing that shoe. You like the way that toe box is around your toes and if you take your shoes and throw them in a corner when they’re wet, one lands on the other, you’ve got a little indentation in the toe, it dries that way, it’s going to take a while for it to come out and your toe is going to be sore in the meantime. So, stuffing it with paper towels, like I said two things: sucks that moisture out and it keeps that toe box really nice and big for you.
Melanie: Do socks matter?
Ann: Yes, they do. I have sheet that I give people that says, “Socks matter.” Absolutely. We tell people cotton is right. Cotton. Your best towels are made of cotton for a reason because it absorbs moisture. But that moisture doesn’t go anywhere. So, with cotton socks, none of our socks have cotton in them. If you read your sock labels like you read the food labels and make sure there’s not cotton in there. You want socks that are moisture wicking, right fit, CoolMax--things that move that moisture away from your feet, spread it to the outside of the sock where it’s spread over a larger area and then it can evaporate off. It keeps your feet dry, it keeps your feet comfortable. Dry feet are warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.
Melanie: Give us your best advice about buying shoes; if you’re someone buying running or walking shoes for the first time, what they should look for; what you really want them to know.
Ann: Sure. I really want them to know, like I said, to bring their shoes in with them. I want them to really communicate with us and tell us what it is they’re doing, and not be afraid. Everybody is the same at our store: walk, run, “I just want to move in and be comfortable.” It’s all the same. Not to be afraid and to really try on several pair. I think what it comes down to, and there are so many different ways to look at shoes and so many technical things that you can do, but, honestly, the shoe that you notice the least is going to be the best shoe you for. No big huge arch, no big side pressure, no heels pinching or slipping, just whatever you notice the least, that shoe is going to be the best one for. Take your time to really use our sales associates. You’re not bothering us, we want to help you.
Melanie: Thank you so much, Ann Ringlein, manager at Lincoln Running Company. You’re listening to Brian Health Radio. If you’d like to learn more about healthy living, you can go to Bryanhealth.org. That’s Brianhealth.org. This is Melanie Cole.