Some of you call by the store pretty frequently whether you’re telling us about your latest racing plans, asking about trails, replacing your shoes, or checking out our new apparel. But in case we haven’t seen you in a while, or perhaps you’re considering mixing up your shoe rotation in the near future let’s remind you of what a shoe fitting at Run Flagstaff entails.

We’ll often start by asking you what you plan to use the shoe for - everyday, road, trail, a typical Flagstaff route with a bit of everything? We’ll check if there’s a shoe you currently like or dislike so we know if we’re looking for something similar or different. We’ll then watch you walk so we can see your natural gait before picking some options for you to try. If you’ve been in recently perhaps you’ve even tried out the latest addition of the Aetrex where we can also get 3D and pressure images of your natural stance. This state-of-the-art machine helps us determine your EXACT foot shape, and gives us some insight on what shoes would be more compatible to you.

So why do we ask so many questions? Well as you may have seen there are a lot of shoe options on our walls and we want to make sure we’re picking the right category for you. Maybe this sounds familiar, maybe it’s news to you that there are different categories of shoes. So what categories do we have here in Run Flagstaff?

Trail shoes:

Living in Northern Arizona most of us will find ourselves on trails at some point during the year - whether that is exploring Aspen corner - amongst the breathtaking (in more than one way - 9000ft is no joke!) changing leaves or further south hopping around on Sedona’s famous red rocks. Not every trail surface or dirt road will require trail shoes - the Flagstaff Urban Trail System (FUTS) is well maintained and often a road shoe with a robust base will do just fine. But if you plan to explore the more undulating terrain, navigating rocks and roots, investing in a trail shoe is a wise idea.

Trail shoes have two big differences from road shoes - they’ll have a sole that is designed for uneven surfaces and an upper that will hopefully keep some of the sand and dust out. The toe cap will usually also be reinforced to withstand the occasional trip over a rock.

Within trail shoes, there’s plenty of variety - various levels of midsole volume, different shaped toe boxes, and different weights and shapes. Some will have a ‘rock plate’ to help dissipate some of the impact, particularly on the lower-volume shoes.

A few examples of our most popular trail shoes include the Altra Lone Peak, the Hoka Speedgoat, and the Nike Terra Kiger.

On the Run Flagstaff trail wall, you’ll also find a couple of “All-terrain” shoes. These shoes offer a hybrid between the road and the trail world. They’ll have more outsole grip than a road option but will still be soft enough to allow you to seamlessly do what we like to call a “Flagstaff run” - road to dirt road to trail to urban trail maybe even with a sprinkling of grass thrown in. What can we say - there’s no shortage of variety here in our mountain town.

Road shoes:

Road shoes are a wide category that encompasses everything from the everyday shoe to performance shoes that you’ll find on the feet of Flagstaff’s many competitive athletes. The two main categories on our road wall will be ‘neutral’ and ‘stability shoes’. If you’re finding yourself on roads, urban trails, and possibly even on the track, this is the category for you.

Neutral shoes:

Suitable for anyone with what we call a ‘neutral’ gait (you land and take off without any excessive inward or outward ankle movement) neutral shoes will make up a lot of a run specialty store wall. These shoes come with a variety of shoe volumes (amount of midsole foam that provides cushioning), heel drops, and materials; all of which will feel slightly different underfoot. These shoes allow you to land and take off without any changes to your movement patterns.

A few examples of neutral shoes that we carry are the Nike Pegasus, Brooks Ghost, On Cloud monster, and the Hoka Clifton.

Stability shoes:

For those of you who over-pronate; that is that your ankle rolls inwards upon landing and for a lot of your ‘stance phase’ the time during your walk or run gait when your foot is mainly on the ground, stability shoes may be a good option. These shoes will offer some motion control and aim to keep your foot and hence the rest of your leg more aligned.

The technology used to achieve this may vary from shoe to shoe. Oftentimes brands will use either a medial posting - a stronger material on the instep, or a guide rail - a supportive material that runs around the instep and heel. This helps to keep your foot, and then everything else up the chain of movement - knees, hips, back, from experiencing excessive stress.

Our customers who rock stability shoes rave about the Brooks Adrenaline, New Balance Vongo, and Saucony Guide.
Whether a neutral or stability shoe is better for you we have plenty of options for you to try and find something that works for you. And don’t worry you don’t need to know which type you need. That’s why we’re here.

Performance shoes:

In addition to everyday trail and road shoes, we also carry a number of performance shoes. Usually, these are light and fit for a specific purpose - going fast on your chosen surface. A number of brands now have race-orientated trail shoes in addition to the numerous road options available. These shoes are designed to help you go fast.

So usually they’ll be made from light materials that aim to give you that extra edge in racing. Unfortunately, most of these materials are neither cheap nor durable. While most everyday shoes will last 300-500 miles racing shoes are likely to have a lifespan of about a third of this length.

If you’re going to invest in performance shoes we recommend you reserve them for a couple of race-specific workouts and race day. And if you’re just starting out racing or training with our Team Run Flagstaff group there are plenty of light options that will suit your everyday needs as well as let you get after it when you want to.

If you’re well-tuned into the performance shoe world, you’ve heard (and perhaps tested) the Nike Vaporyfly Next % 2, Nike Alpha Fly 2, or maybe you’ve got your hands on a pair of the Craft CTM Ultra Carbon 2’s!

Whether you come in looking for road, trail, or performance shoes, our team is always here to help you determine exactly which option is best for you and what you want to do!

Do you already know what you want?

If so, check out our online store catalog to choose your favorite model. Shipping from Run Flagstaff is FREE!

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