Getting the Right Fit

I hope you’re staying with your fitness programs. It is easy to let it fall by the wayside, but you pay for that in the long run. We must promise each other that we will stay focused! This is all for your benefit and only a few minutes a day will go a long way.

The following running basics were compiled by Joe Schultz and Spencer Beasley (manager and assistance manager, respectively) of Pacers Running of Alexandria, Virginia.

Basic Mechanics

Here are some basic foot mechanics to understand how your foot works when you run, from heel strike to toe off:

• Pronation: Your foot is designed to let your arch collapse a little with each stride. Along with this, your ankle is supposed to roll inward a little bit. This is what your foot does to distribute the force of your stride. Your foot follows a center line from heel strike to toe off.
• Overpronation: This is when your arch collapses too much or when your ankle rolls in too much (sometimes both). Your heel strikes normally, and then your foot starts to roll inward so you’re pushing off the inside of your big toe at toe off. This excessive movement causes lateral stress across your ankle, skin, knee and hip. This can also cause stress on your lower back.
• Supination: This is when you have a high, tight arch. Your arch doesn’t collapse enough or not at all. You strike on the outside of your heel and continue through your stride on the outside of your foot, pushing off with your smaller toes instead of your big toe. This movement can also cause stress across your ankle, skin, knee, hip, and lower back.

Common Injuries

Injuries are not uncommon when running, but certain problems affect runners more often than others. Here are a few you should be aware of:

• Achilles Tendonitis: This is a very common running injury. It is described as pain or tightness in your Achilles and is commonly felt toward where the tendon attaches to the heel bone. It can be felt up more toward the calf as well. Usually, there is some swelling, tightness, knots, or tenderness along the tendon.
• Shin Splints: This is common with new runners or runners making significant changes to their mileage. Typically, it acts as a dull to sharp pain along the inside length of the shin bone. The area can be tender to the touch, but not typically swollen.
• Iliotibial (IT) Band Syndrome: Common among folks with incorrect support in their shoes or significant strength/flexibility imbalances in their legs or core muscles. It’s typically felt where the tendon attaches at the hip or where the tendon attaches at the side of the knee. Tightness, knots, or sensitivity can be felt in the area affected.
• Plantar Fascilitis: Common among nearly everyone. Pain is typically felt in the tendon at the arch or near the heel where the tendon connects. It comes from not enough strength/support in the arch, causing the tendon to become strained and inflamed. It’s particularly painful during the first steps out of bed in the morning or after prolonged time off your feet.

Shoe Types and Insoles

A good running show or insole can help prevent injury and correct your heel strike and toe off. Here are some types of shoes:

• Neutral: This shoe is typically designated for folks with higher arches but can also apply to lower to flat arches. This shoe offers no specific structural components, opting to allow the foot to work as it wants to naturally. Insoles in this category would be considered cushioned insoles with specific structure to them.
• Moderate Stability: This shoe is typically designated for folks with medium arches that collapse a bit too much. They can also apply to people with higher arches with excessive collapse to their arch through their stride. These shoes offer a medial post component that compresses less than the rest of the mid-sole. This holds up the arch and keeps the ankle better aligned, lessening many lateral stresses. Insoles in this category offer specific arch support to accomplish the same goal. Both shoes and insoles come in different levels of structure.
• Motion Control: This shoe is typically designated for folks with very low to flat arches that have excessive collapse of the arch or roll of the ankle inward. Theses shoes have a broader foot print, allowing space for the arch inside the foot print of the shoe. They typically have a larger and firmer medial post to support the arch and keep the ankle aligned, lessening lateral stresses on the leg. There are no specific insoles for motion control, though arch supportive insoles, as mentioned above, can be coupled with the shoes to add extra support as needed.
• Insoles: It’s possible to provide too much correction with insoles and shoes together. Insoles you plan on using should be brought along to any shoe fitting so they can be properly paired and fitted to avoid potential injury. Sometimes insoles can be added to already purchased shoes to correct a problem, so it is also important to bring your current shoes along to any fitting.

Typical Fitting Procedure

Questions

Here are a few questions a trained shoe fitting expert at Pacers should ask:

• What are you training for?
• When is it?
• How many miles a week currently?
• Will these be used for running only or other exercise as well?
• What is the primary use?
• Do you have any current injuries, issues, problems?
• Previous injuries, issues, problems?

Fit Process

A trained shoe fitting expert at Pacers should follow a specific process:

1. Watch you stand and evaluate the shape of your foot and how you distribute your weight. They should pay close attention to any differences in leg length or angle of knee and ankle. They should note any bunions or differences in shape of feet, among other items. Each of these should be observed and some of the observations explained to you and what impact it has on what shoe they are pulling for you.

2. Watch you walk away and back. Looking at how your foot moves through the stride. How much does each ankle roll in? Height of arch through the stride. At what point does the arch collapse? Where is the excessive movement, if there is any? Symmetries or asymmetries between both sides. This should also be explained to you.

3. Measure your foot using a Brannock Device. Looking for length of foot, arch length, and width across your foot. Typically, we size up a half to full size from what you measure to allow for swelling of your foot while running. This is why it can be important to know the primary use of the shoe as it can affect the sizing.

4. Select a test shoe. We should pull a test shoe to check fit and to analyze your running stride. We are looking for the same things as when you walk. This step is helpful, as many people have differences between their running and walking stride, and this influences the type of shoe pulled.

5. Explain your stride and offer feedback. From here, they should again explain what they see in your running stride and ask for your feedback on the fit and feel of the shoe. Taking all of this info into account, they can pull two or three pairs of shoes to fit you in. They should check the fit of each pair on each foot, watch to analyze the stability, and take into account your input. This should be repeated as necessary to find the shoe that provides the correct stability and comfortable fit for you.

 

There are six stores managed by Pacers in the Washington, D.C. area.