Running shoes: Three easy ways to get the best deal
Whether you're a hardcore marathoner or just heading our for a leisurely jog around your neighborhood, getting the best deal on running shoes isn't just about saving money - it's also about finding the right pair for you.
Colorado Rockies co-owner Dick Monfort sports a pair of running shoes in his team's primary color as he watches batting practice before the Rockies host the San Diego Padres in the first inning of a baseball game Friday, April 8, 2016, in Denver.
David Zalubowski/AP/File
With Spring comes running season, and many would-be runners will be looking for a new pair of running shoes. And let's face it, the good ones aren't exactly cheap!聽Whether you're a hardcore marathoner or just heading our for a leisurely jog around your neighborhood, getting the best deal on running shoes isn't just about saving money - it's also about finding the right pair for you.聽
1. Buy your first pair at a local聽running store.
Go to your local running store, the kind that does a gait analysis and personalizes their shoe recommendations accordingly.聽This is not a thing to skimp on.聽Chances are good that you'll pay full price, but part of what you're buying here is intel that keeps your feet healthy and which you can use for years to come.
Think of it like Harry Potter choosing a wand at Ollivander's. It had to be the聽谤颈驳丑迟听wand, the聽perfect聽wand. Harry didn't know one wand from another, but Ollivander did, and together they found the perfect wand for Harry.
You are Harry walking into Ollivander's, of course. Except that it's a running shop in downtown Cleveland or wherever it is that you live. While聽,听,听,听听补苍诲听聽are all good brands, everyone's feet are different. Getting the 谤颈驳丑迟听shoes can be聽the difference between achieving聽a personal best at your next聽race versus聽dropping out 3 weeks聽into training with some nasty runner's knee. Quality and fit聽matter, and you'll benefit from that professional advice your first time out.
Once you find the right shoes in-store, though, there are a couple things you can do to possibly get a better deal. Ask if they have any聽of last year's聽model left in stock, or if they have any coupons available.
You could always feign indecision and skip out in favor of finding a better deal online, but as frugal as we are here, that's just tacky.
2. Do not聽ever聽choose fashion over function.
All聽brand messaging to the contrary, running shoes are NOT a fashion statement. They're safety聽equipment聽for your feet that keep you from hurting yourself. If you can find a color you like within the line that's best for you, fantastic!聽But choosing running shoes because they're pretty is just as potentially dangerous as choosing them because they're cheap.
So put those super cute shoes down. Yes, they're cute. 聽I聽know, but just do it.聽You're not going to聽care what they look like at the end of a less-than-fantastic聽run when your blistered feet are screaming bloody murder at you. All you'll want then is to聽chuck them in the nearest garbage bin, fashion be damned.
3.聽Always be on the lookout for your next pair.
Running shoes need to be replaced every 300-500 miles. So if you're jogging聽2 miles 4 days a week, that works out to roughly a 15 month life span for your shoes if you're pushing the upper end of that range. If you're training for a marathon, you'll聽wear them out a lot faster. Track your mileage. Or at least keep an eye on your treads.
Several years ago, a salesperson at my local running store put me in a pair of Brooks Ghost shoes that I absolutely love, so when聽one of our editors posted a聽聽deal on a closeout model last year I immediately sprang聽into action. I wasn't ready for a new pair, but that didn't matter. I stashed them in the top of my closet until聽they were ready to be retired.
Truth be told, I let the tread get way too worn on my old pair. But it was awesome that I had a new pair, bought on sale months earlier, already waiting in the wings!
And that's the bottom line here, really. Don't wait until your current running shoes are聽worn out to go looking for your next pair.聽Once you know what shoes聽work best for you, set up price alerts. Subscribe to email newsletters from running stores that carry your shoes to look for sales. Keep an eye on the聽. And when you see them on sale, buy them. Heck, buy two pairs and stash them in your closet. It's not like they're going to go bad or expire, and you know you're going to need them聽down the road.
This article first appeared in