Shoes, to alternate or not?

Hi Guys,

I have been training for a marathon and its about 5 weeks away now. I would of put about 550 miles on my asics cumulus 13s by the time of the race.

Would it be better to buy the same model shoe and alternate them until the marathon or just stick with my only pair? I don't want to be running in worn out shoes...

Thanks in advance,

I'd say buy a new pair now and get them worn in for the marathon. Then if they DO suddenly start to fall apart the week before your race, you won't be panicking about what to do.

Which was the situation I found myself in just last month. D'oh! And with the exact same trainers too. Though I find the Cumulus's to be so comfy they hardly need any wearing in at all. I bought a new pair and went straight out for a 20 mile run in them, then the next time I wore them was for the marathon, which I got round fine, no sore feet, no blisters, no problems at all. Phew!

It would do you no harm.
Of course many people wear trainers long past the 500 mile mark, however bearing in mind that they will be past their best and you have plenty of time to break a new pair in, it would be good practice to do so.

I'd get a new pair and run them in 

With the wet weather coming, it's good to have two pairs so you can have dry shoes to run in while one pair is still sitting damp and stuffed with newspaper.

And don't believe all the hype about "having" to replace your shoes every 500 miles - that's (a) highly variable; (b) most often encouraged by the companies who want to sell you more shoes...

I have two pairs of Asics Cumulus just incase one pair gets soaked in a downpour. They usually take a good 24-48hrs to dry out thoroughly. It's good to have a backup pair if you can afford it. The great thing about the Cumulus is that they don't really need much breaking in so 5 weeks is plenty of time to get used to them. You'll have that new shoe spring in your step too.