Are Your Running Shoes Too Soft?
At a recent half marathon we witnessed the full shift from minimalism to maximalism. 2 years ago at this same race roughly 20% of the runners were running in some form of minimalist footwear with the most notable being Vibram Five Fingers. This year at the race there were exactly 2 pairs of Five Fingers and one runner running barefoot. But this year at the race roughly 20% of the runners were is super cushioned trainers. Hoka was the leader but Altra had a good share and so did Saucony and adidas. We were standing midway up the final hill with roughly 800 meters to the finish. At roughly the 2 hour mark of the race a pair of runners goes by. There was an older runner and she was complaining about her shoes (Altra). She said they were too soft and that her legs were hurting. When asked what she used to run in she said minimalist shoes.
My first thought when she said this was of course, you went from minimalist to zero drop maximal shoes, what did you expect. But then I thought more about my recent experiences and it lead me to this question “Can shoes be too soft?”
The 4 shoes in the picture are quite used and they are left to right. New Balance Zante, Saucony Triumph ISO 12, Zoot Solana, Hoka Clifton. In terms of age and or miles the New Balance is the newer with 50 days in the rotation and probably 20 runs in them. The Hoka is old (bought in August 2014) but has less than 20 runs in them. The Saucony was bought in late November and has 300 miles in them. The first run in the Zoots was Super Bowl Sunday 2014 which makes these shoes the oldest and most used.
Let’s first talk about fit. My foot is not the perfect size and shaped running foot. If a shoe works for me because it fits great it won’t work for most of you. I fully appreciate this when I’m testing and trying on shoes. The Saucony fits me well with thick socks and stayed consist in fit through all 300 miles. The Hoka didn’t fit me to start (too much volume). It comes with an extra flat insole so you can use it to take up space which I did. It worked well but 10 runs in the insoles flattened out, the upper stretched a bit and now no matter what I try I can’t get the laces to secure the midfoot.
It’s hard to tell that the Saucony has 300 miles on it. There is wear shown but not abnormal. A couple weeks ago we went out for 2 hours. When I got back my legs were trashed. (I had run four 2 hour runs since the middle of December). A week later I ran 90 minutes in the Triumph and my legs were sore again the next day. The shoes are still soft but the cushioning is gone.
The Hoka is softer than any shoe on the market. At the Ironman World Championships last year we saw athletes fall off the platform (knees collapsing) of the Clifton. Not because their foot was wide. They were falling off because they were tired and the shoes were ultra soft from the extreme heat. The upper was not holding their foot in place.
Both shoes use a standard (special recipe/chemistry) of EVA. The softer EVA is the less resilient it becomes. We don’t know what the Triumph softness is set to but it’s probably a Durometer of 52. We know that the Hoka is set at Durometer 45 which is off the charts soft. Based on our experience and what we read on the internet, 300 miles seems to be a base number in mileage for both shoes. We all know the runner who claims they can get 1000 miles out of running shoes and all we can do is applaud them.
Looking at the uppers of these shoes one is trashed (Zoot) and the other looks good (New Balance). The New Balance probably fit me too good. In the Runner’s World review they said testers struggled to slide the Zante on and I would agree the midfoot is low in volume. Once on though the forefoot is quite roomy. Our tester in the Zoots had no complaints in fit. You can see by the knot at the top that she no longer uses the laces. She simply slips the shoes on and goes for a run.
The midsoles are both much lower to the ground (a great deal less foam) than the Saucony or the Hoka. The forefoot on the Zante is 19mm thick where the forefoot of the Zoot is 20mm. The forefoot of the Saucony is 27mm. Neither foam is standard EVA. The Zante is Fresh Foam which has a great deal of resiliency built in. Runner’s World said the cushioning was firm and I don’t agree with their assessment. I think their machine can’t test for resiliency and therefore determines it to be firm. The shoe feels quite soft. The Zoot is constructed with Injected EVA. Injected EVA by nature is resilient but can also feel soft and smooth like the New Balance. Resilient foams feel lively.
The answer to the question Can Your Shoes be Too Soft?
Clearly we never want to get to the point in a half marathon that we are complaining that our shoes are too soft.
1. Maybe not too soft. The sales of the Hoka Clifton prove that soft feels great. But from their initial soft feel, they sure can get too soft. Heat in Kona or NYC in July makes shoes softer, extended wear makes shoes softer.
2. It’s really important if you like the soft feel that to pay close attention to your body. The second you feel soreness after a run, ditch the shoes and buy a fresh pair. 300 miles in the Saucony equates to $.50 a mile. That’s ok as long as they get replaced often. If you enjoy running in them it’s all that matters.
3. Resilient foams are better than standard EVA. We are not suggesting that you ditch your max cushioned shoes for the Zante or the Solana. We are using those as examples to show how resiliency plays a huge roll running shoes. Shoes don’t have to be thick to feel cushioned and just because they are thick doesn’t mean they last longer.
