October 5, 2023 - Running Shoe Geekery

I'm a running shoe geek. I love running shoes. I love reading running shoe reviews. I love trying different shoes. It's just a really enjoyable side habit to the overall running habit. I also own way, way, way too many running shoes. That said, I am absolutely adamant about never letting a shoe go to waste. Even if I don't enjoy running in it much, I'll do just about anything to squeeze at least 300 miles out of them. (There have been two exceptions to this, but just two, and both because they would literally leave my feet a bloody mess.)

Right now, I'm testing three different carbon plated marathon racers for CIM: the Nike Alphafly 2, the Saucony Endorphin Elite, and the adidas Adios Pro 3. I have enjoyed running in all three and I'm torn about which shoe to use. Soon, I'll take each out for a Sunday long run when I'll be running some target marathon pace, then I'll decide which felt best for the 35 kilometers. That's it. No targeted testing to see if I can identify any efficiency difference between the three. Just purely a "which did I enjoy most" test. Were I to guess, I'd guess I'll pick the Nike Alphafly 2. It is wildly comfortable and efficient for me, though does begin to bother my arches after a couple hours. The Saucony Endorphin Elite is extremely comfortable, also, but so efficient that it becomes almost aggressive over big miles instead of protective like most marathon racers. The adidas, that was really just intended as my back-up shoe if it's a very wet day at CIM as the adidas Adios Pro 3 is considered perhaps the best marathon racer in wet conditions with unrivaled outsole grip. But it has felt incredible in my two runs so far and unexpectedly put itself in contention.

My running shoe geekery has an odd twist. I refuse to purchase full prices shoes. There have been a few exception along the way, but very few. In total, I spent less on the above three shoes combined than a single pair would cost full price. I enjoy the shoe geekery. I doubly enjoy doing it on the cheap.

All that said, I don't think the shoe geekery really matters. It doesn't make me a better runner. It doesn't lead to a faster marathon. At most, it allows me to find shoes that work really well for me and are more comfortable than if I didn't work through tons of different shoes. That's a nice thing, of course. Finding shoes that really fit me well and work nicely with my mechanics is great. And those two things might lead to slightly better performance than running in a shoe that's just good for me. But it's not helping much.

I participate in running shoe geekery because I enjoy it. I could show up at CIM with any of the above three shoes and run the same time in any of them. My feet might feel better in one. Or I might feel a little less beat up in another. But I'm running the same race. And yet, I'll still have enjoyed the process of testing them immensely.

I wonder what happens with this hobby once I'm done with CIM. When I'm totally focused on preparing myself for ultra-challenging mountain ultramarathons, there's no need to play in the marathon supershoe space. I could still do it because I enjoy the process, but that feels wasteful. All I'll really need is great daily trainers for high mileage comfortable running and bombproof trail shoes. The trail shoe space doesn't have nearly the innovation and excitement. I'll certainly test different trail shoes and will get joy out of that research and test process. But it will be much more limited. 

Perhaps I'll find something new to fill this gap. Perhaps I won't.