New to Running? Questions and Answers from Someone Like You

Posted by Holabird Sports · Updated Sep 9, 2020

Like the book I found on my first run with my newly, fitted shoes says... "you are not a stranger here."

Toss all judgment aside for I, too, am a running newb.

I used to run in college, but purchased my shoes from department stores, without thinking anything about my own personal foot mechanics. I would walk into a store and say "ooOOoO! Pretty!" And have no second thoughts.

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with walking into a running specialty shop and exclaiming "Me wants! So cute! Yay colors!" BUT what you do next is incredibly important.

Steps to Becoming the Runner You Wish You Were:

And Then Smarter and Healthier Because of It

Have your feet analyzed

Fanciness of "gaits" tossed aside for a second, you may not even be wearing the appropriately sized shoe for your feet! I went downstairs into our showroom for my own gait and foot analysis and turns out, I'm a double E. That's a WIDE foot- I'm aware. But I have been wearing medium width shoes my whole life! And they've been way too small for me. WHO KNEW?! Not me, obviously. I thought you were supposed to squeeze into a "normal" sized shoe. But in running, there is no "normal." Running is personalized. Your feet are your feet. No one else is running on them, right? You need shoes that make you feel good. Ones that fit great and perform well. What works for one person with generally the same foot type and size as another, may not work for that other person, and our expert staff knows all about that! Feet are weird. Have yours evaluated. You might be surprised by what you find.

2. Additionally, have someone perform a "gait analysis" How do you run? Do you roll inward? (overpronation) Outward? (supination) Are you pretty much gliding through your strides without rolling in or out? (neutral) Do you have any idea? I know that I didn't. Some brands, like Altra Running, note that a person's foot mechanics, natural pronation, shouldn't be changed or managed.But others (and most) think it's imperative to type their shoes: supinators, neutral runners and overpronators (mild to severe) and provide technology to combat or keep these natural occurrences. For me, for example, I overpronate. As I run, my feet naturally start rolling inward, so I wear the Saucony Guide 10 to bring me to neutral (after having been fitted and analyzed). The level of pronation control built into the shoe is "light stability," and it has "plush cushioning." It's engineered for mild to moderate overpronation. The goal of Saucony's Guide is to, well, guide your stride, to try and neutralize the gait to improve your running experience.

Check out the Saucony Guide 10

3. Do steps one and two. If you were looking for more advice, unfortunately, I can't give it. What I can give you is this... a quote from Oprah Winfrey.

“Running is the greatest metaphor for life because you get out of it what you put into it.”

There are first steps to changing your life. Start small. Go into your local running store.

See our selection of running shoes