The benefits of using lightweight running shoes are abundant and varied. Above all when running a contest of any distance a weight aberration of only a few ounces can make quite an impact. For general training runs a lighter shoe is absolutely going to make things a little easier. Certainly, there are downsides to putting on super lightweight shoes that I’ll bring up, but over all lightweight running shoes are amazing!
In racing, any small control you can get over your competition will be a advantage. Regardless of whether it’s a charity run, a road race, or a track meet, the weight of your shoes will play a big part in how your finishing time. A lightweight shoe will give you extra energy and will ease your race pain by making your feet feel like walking on clouds. Making the change to a lighter race shoe is a great way to shed time off your personal record race times.
During your normal training, a lightweight shoe can be good. For instance, the hardest weekly workout you do. It’s certainly a speed activity of some kind, maybe a ladder workout? Now picture that exercise with lighter shoes. You’ll be running faster and smoother than ever with a new pair of lightweight running shoes.
Most of the really lightweight running shoes don’t provide great support. So, if your feet have a tendency to over or under pronate, you’ll want to make sure you’re still wearing a shoe that will provide a good amount of support. The last thing you want to have happen is getting injured because you put on the wrong shoe.
My suggestion? Get an excellent pair of racing shoes specific to the type of races you run. You’ll definitely need spikes of some kind for a track meet, while a wide range of shoes are available for longer road races. For your long distance development runs, you’ll want to make you’ve got a good combo of great support without adding a lot of extra weight. Your speed workouts are a toss-up. You may want to buy some super-lightweight training shoes specifically for that goal, or you could just put on your normal trainers. It’s all up to you.
Check out some of my favorite shoes over at my blog, Lightweight Running Shoes