The Perfect Running Shoe.

On November 17th we provided this description for Kara Thom in an article she wrote. If you want to see her complete article, head to our archives and find that post for November 17th or click here. for her full article.

Here was our small contribution to her nice piece.

The perfect shoe is one that blends seamlessly with your unique biomechanics without creating a conflict between the foot and shoe. It should complement your strengths yet be as comfortable as a bedroom slipper. The shoe should not attempt to alter the natural playing field, meaning, that the heel and forefoot shoe be relatively on the same plane. The closer the forefoot and heel are to the same plane of function, the fewer the compensations from your foot’s natural biomechanics. The perfect shoe should have some cushion, but not too much. Studies show excessive EVA foam in a shoe can increase impact forces due to biomechanical changes. The perfect shoe should not attempt to control the foot, for that will weaken the foot’s intrinsic strength. Thus, part of finding “the perfect shoe” entails realizing your foot’s deficits and limitations. Shoe fit is a science and an art. Because no two feet are the same, there is no perfect shoe for all foot types. There are multiple foot types all based off of 4 primary parameters: rear foot varus, rear foot valgus, forefoot varus and forefoot valgus. Throw in some anomalies, old injuries, variations in length and height of the arches, some variations in joint flexibility and functional control as well as some weaknesses and you can see why the algorithm for the perfect shoe spreads pretty wide pretty fast.

Shawn and Ivo, The Gait Guys.