Shoes, shoes, shoes....

Being quite new to this lark, my first pair of shoes were bought with little thought for how I run etc. Initially this wasn't a problem, as I didn't run more than 4 or 5 miles. Now i'm aiming for regular 1/2 marathons and the shortcoming of my Reeboks (mistral DMX) are becoming apparent.

I'm not sure if I "overpronate", but my feet do tend to develop a muscle-type pain across the top and down to the instep, after about 8 miles. My knees also become painful where they meet the thigh after about 10 miles. I am trying to do more trail running, to lessen the impact and now want a new pair of shoes, but which ones? Will it be cushioning, motion control or stabilty? I'm flummoxed!

Get yourself to a decent running shop (Sweatshop or similar) and they will check how you run, measure your feet properly, etc. Take your old shoes so they can see how they have worn. There's really no substitute for having someone experienced look at your running style and feet - beats remote internet diagnosis any day :-)

Thanks. I have actually done just that now and been told that I have quite a pronounced pronation on my right foot, enough to warrant motion control. The left's okay, but I also need cushioning as I'm quite a big bloke. The shop in question only had one pair of suitable shoes, as I want to trail run as well as on tarmac. The ones they recomended were Saucony (can't remember the model) at £75.00. I will buy them if there's nothing else, but any other recommendations would be appreciated.

Filbert, if you can find out the Saucony model that suited you, look in the shoe guides (on this site or in Running Fitness each month) and pick out shoes that are classified similarly. But don't ever buy anything without trying it on first.

I don't think £75 sounds excessive for the type of shoe you are looking for.

The price sounds OK to me too. Saucony have a good triangular lug design which means they are quite good for grip off-road - certainly OK on trails. I have an old pair of Saucony Supremes and use them for Multi-terrain runs as they work well on both surfaces. Certainly they work better on both surfaces than some of the trail shoes which claim to. I have a pair of trail shoes as well but they are more heavy duty for real muddy type runs. As velociraptor says , check the shoe guide for similar shoes but in my experience the Saucony will probably be good for what you want.

I reckon that you were probably recommended the Saucony Grid Stabil, which is the Saucony Motion control shoe at £75 I think.

Because you want to do trail as well as road, the Saucony will be the best. Its a bad idea to buy a pair of trail shoes with no motion control in them - i don't think a motion control trail shoe exists, so you have to go for road shoes with good tread. Other options might be the Puma Complete Peerless, but it is more of a stability shoe than out-and out motion control, and I think it is not as good cushioning-wise for bigger runners. Alternatively if you can get hold of the Saucony Grid Hammer, that would be ok, or maybe the Nike Air Durham if the tread is good enough and you are happy with the support in them.

Many thanks for the replies. Saucony Grid Stabil are indeed the shoes i've plumped for and if all goes well, look out for tales of woodland runs in the near future.