Why Running Shoes?

All sports have shoes made just for them, running included. But you’ll often see beginning runners hitting the roads in any old shoe they have sitting around in the closet. Tennis shoes, boat shoes, basketball shoes—you name it, people think that they’re OK to run in. That’s too bad, because those people are probably going to hurt more than they should and not enjoy their running as much. Just as you wouldn’t expect to shoot hoops well if you hit the basketball court in bowling shoes, you shouldn’t expect to run well unless you’re wearing running shoes.
What makes a shoe a running shoe? It’s made for one thing, moving forward. After all, that’s what you want to be doing as you make your way down the road. Unlike, say, a basketball shoe, a running shoe doesn’t need to protect your ankles from side-to-side motion, nor does it need to help you jump. It just needs to help your body deal with the repetitive stress of putting one foot in front of the other, thousands of times per mile. So let me say this as clearly as possible: If you’re going to run, get running shoes. Your body will thank you.