I’ve been a big fan of the Saucony pretty much since I started seriously running in 2010. When I first started running outside (I had been running on a treadmill for a few years mostly just for fitness and exercise), I didn’t know anything about running shoes. Luckily for me the woman I was dating at the time was already a marathoner. I had a bit of a guide into the outdoor road running scene as well as road races.
Growing up I knew that I had very flat feet. This meant that unlike most people who have normal to high arches in their feet, mine are almost completely flat (foot arch picture). When I tried running in high school and college, I’d get really bad shin splints after about 10-20 minutes of jogging. I therefore thought I’d never really be able to do long distances and races (5K, 10K, etc). I’m always one to look for a good deal and so I never really invested a ton of money into the shoes that I purchased. Usually I’d try something on and if it was comfortable and a good price, then I’d get it. With my background playing tennis and basketball, those were the types of shoes I’d typically gravitate towards.
There was a running shoe store in East Lansing called Playmakers that I was introduced to and they suggested a shoe. To this day I can’t remember what it was. It wasn’t until I lived in San Diego and had a running gait analysis performed at Road Runner Sports did they recommend that I go with a Stability shoe and also use SuperFeet Blue insoles.
I had read somewhere that you need to let running shoes rest for at least 24 hours to allow to cushioning to come back so most people recommended a shoe rotation. I started out with I believe the Saucony Guide 3 and also a New Balance stability shoe (harder to remember NB shoes because their names are often a mixture of numbers and letters.
With the Guide, I liked the simplistic yet elegant design and look of the shoe. For me, however, the biggest positive of course was the support the shoes provided. While not the lightest of shoes, the Guide is a solid everyday trainer that I could use to log many many miles.
I’ve gone from the Guide 3 to the 5 and then the 6. In the interim I also tried the Saucony Omni 8 and the Paramount 3. I settled on using the Guide 6 for my last full marathon. However, I made the mistake of using two of the same shoes as my shoe rotation.
I think by using exact same type of shoe to rotate between, my body was using the same muscles on every run. I know that when you change your shoe and shoe type, it alters the muscles that are used in running (although subtly) so you’re not overusing the same muscles over and over (especially with high mileage training).
I took a small break from Saucony and the Guide and started a 3 shoe rotation after I recovered from my injury for NVM 2015.
Once I retire my Asics from the current rotation, I will be jumping back into some Saucony’s (see below).
-StewsCat
StewsCat 