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’s 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’t always up-to-speed on the latest tech, how a certain brand fits or whether they need a neutral. stability, minimal, or trail shoe.Ìę 

It’s 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.Ìę

I can ensure you we didn’t 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’t 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’s far from comprehensive. Maybe there’ll be a part two.Ìę

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’ll do my best to be objective. Besides, I didn’t consult her on this. To counterbalance this, I’m going to go make some major purchases, also without consulting her! 

One person I did consult, since he’s 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’s the breaks. In any case, here’s what came up for us.Ìę

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

Your coworker might love Asics. Your run club friend might hate Nike. That doesn’t mean you should buy Asics or avoid Nike. You should try both—and a bunch of others—to see what works for you. (FYI: Sizing can be different from brand to brand, so don’t be alarmed if you’re 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’re probably wrong. (And if they’re right, it’s a coincidence.)

2. The Most Comfortable Shoe Is Probably the Best Shoe

So how do you know if a shoe is for you? It’s simple—if it’s comfortable when you put it on, there’s a really good chance it’ll serve you well. Shoes shouldn’t require a break-in period to feel good. (This is in addition to other considerations you should address before you’re 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—and the (albeit very limited) seems to agree.Ìę

3. Shoes Don’t Contribute to Injuries as Much as We Think

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

Being in the wrong pair of shoes won’t help your odds of avoiding injury, but if you’re in the wrong pair, you won’t blow out your knee in the first few steps. You’ll get some warning signs before an injury, so make sure you heed them if they appear.Ìę

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’re not Indiana Jones trying to pick out the Holy Grail, so don’t stress too much.Ìę

3. More Expensive Doesn’t 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’t mean the $200 shoe won’t work for you, but don’t rule out the $130 shoe on this basis alone.

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

I’ve already covered this on the brand front—that just because your favorite athlete wears Hoka or On doesn’t mean you should—but 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’s 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’s a good chance you’ll regret it after mile 50.Ìę

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

5. “Support” in a Shoe Can Mean a lot of Different Things 

“I need support.” I’ve heard it a thousand times, and I was only working the floor for two years.Ìę“Support” 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.Ìę

Cushion can be good if it’s more comfortable for you – but an ultra-cushioned shoe won’t necessarily prevent injury at a higher rate than its more moderately-cushioned peers.Ìę

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Medial stability is something pronators might need, although there’s been a move away from overtly-prescriptive footwear in favor of “inherently stable” 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.) 

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’s one case where comfort now doesn’t necessarily translate to comfort later. Just don’t view arch-hugging fit as a dealbreaker.) 

So, are you sure you need “more support,” whatever that means to you? Try some shoes on and find out! 

6. Most Shoe Updates Are Earnest Attempts at Improvement

I know, I know. They ruined your favorite shoe. Or even worse, they discontinued it.ÌęI certainly won’t try to convince you that the last model didn’t fit you just a little better, or feel a little more right. And this probably won’t ease the pain. But I can assure you that brands aren’t updating their shoes arbitrarily, or—as conspiratorially-minded YouTube reviewers occasionally insinuate—for marketing alone.Ìę

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’s too wide, it’s too narrow, the upper rips after 100 miles—stuff they would’ve liked to catch in testing, but didn’t until their sample size was the entire marketplace.Ìę

From the noise, some signals emerge, and they’ll chart a plan to address the most consistent pieces of feedback. It might be delayed by a model, because it’s 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’t mean you’ll like the new version as much as the old one. It would be ideal if everyone loved every update, but that’s not realistic, so the brands’ big bet is that more people will prefer the new version. That’s 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’t doing it just to mess with you. And let’s be real—sometimes your old favorite wasn’t quite as perfect as you remember it.Ìę

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: “This doesn’t 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’t mind checking for you. If getting the color you want means you’re more likely to run, we’re 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.Ìę

But, don’t be scared. Don’t worry about saying the wrong thing. Good shop staff meets you where you’re at, and wants to help get you on your way to enjoying a new pair of shoes. With any luck, you’ll turn into a lifelong runner and a lifelong customer.Ìę

You see, the stores need you more than you need them. If any staff treats you otherwise—and I know it happens—go shop at their competitor across town.Ìę

The post 9 Things Every Running Shop Employee Wishes You Knew appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.

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

“It’s been a trip,” says Caldwell, adding that the ensuing media tour has left him with a lot of time on airplanes and trains. “It’s given me a lot of time to read, which I don’t often get at home with the kids.” Here are the books he’s carrying with him while he promotes the film.

‘The Nature Fix’ by Florence Williams ($18)

“I spend so much time outside, and I know it brings me peace and energizes my mind and body, but  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’re outside at least some of the day. We’re also renting out our house soon 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’re going to homeschool him for this year. Except I call it World School.”

‘Let my People Go Surfing’ by Yvon Chouinard ($17)

“I’ve been a Patagonia ambassador for nine years now, and I love it. They have a greater goal than the bottom line and they’re not just in the business to make money. Athletes are becoming more , and Patagonia, along with and the American Alpine Club’s event, has given us avenues to do that.”

‘The World Without Us’ by Alan Weisman ($11)

“ was a recommendation from Alex Honnold. It’s about what the world would look like without people, which is good baseline knowledge for when you’re trying to be an environmentalist and think about positive ways we can impact the environment or reverse the damage we’ve done in the past.”

‘My Absolute Darling’ by Gabriel Tallent ($16)

“I don’t read a lot of fiction, but Gabriel—a climber himself—describes scenes more vividly than any author I’ve ever read. The subject matter [the isolation and abuse of a child] is intense and can be hard to read, but it’s an , one of those you can’t stop thinking about when you put it down.”

‘Missoula’ by Jon Krakauer ($23)

“I read all the Krakauer books.  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’s really poignant given some recent current events. I’m very much a privileged white male, a one-percenter, and I think there’s a responsibility to try and better understand these issues in this day and age.”

Books I Read to My Kids

“I’m reading all the kids’ books with Fitz and Ingrid too—Harry Potter, all the Roald Dahl books, that sort of thing. We do a lot of reading to each other when we’re driving. Quite honestly, that’s the majority of the reading I do. That’s probably why the rest of the list is so heavy—I need to create balance.

The post What Climber Tommy Caldwell Is Reading Right Now appeared first on șÚÁÏłÔčÏÍű Online.