Should You Have A Shoe Rotation?
About two years into running consistently again, I started slowly adding shoes to my rotation. I was doing more speed work, so first I grabbed a tempo shoe to wear for workouts and occasional races. Then I added a second daily trainer into the mix. I signed up for more and more races and figured a dedicated race day shoe made sense. After a few months of this, I had developed an effective and fun shoe rotation—though I emphasized the efficacy bit when justifying new purchases to my wife. But while you absolutely don’t need a shoe rotation, you might want one and there are some benefits that are worth discussing! Shoes are tools, and some are better at certain things than others, so sometimes it makes sense to have some different options available to you.
Many people, myself included, have used one pair of running shoes at a time for long stretches with no issues. However, studies (such as this one) have suggested that having a shoe rotation could be protective against running-related injuries, the hypothesis being that a) switching back and forth between pairs helps the body experience small variations in gait, which can help strengthen different parts of your feet and legs, and b) that giving your shoes some time off, e.g., not running and/or walking in them every day, could help extend their lifespan. Based on this, I would recommend a rotation if you’re running daily or if you like to use your running shoes for walking or daily activities.
What’s an example of a shoe rotation?
During my first marathon training cycle I used two shoes, both from Saucony: the Ride 16 for my daily trainer, and the Endorphin Speed 3 for my speedwork, and also for the race itself. This worked just fine. Since then, I’ve added the aforementioned several pairs to my rotation, but the principle is the same: shoes are tools, and each pair that I use has a specific purpose.
You don’t have to fill a closet with shoes to have a rotation—two or three pairs will easily get the job done. I totally endorse having a shoe rotation if it’s within your means both for the injury prevention benefits and because it’s just fun to have multiple pairs to wear and choose from. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying buying and wearing the shoes as long as you’re not going overboard—or wearing your race day shoes on your afternoon walk.
In order to mix it up with the right variation of shoes, check out my Running Shoes 101 post for a breakdown of different types of shoes and best use for each.